Hazelnut and Coffee Roll Cake

Attention all coffee lovers! This hazelnut and coffee roll cake (aka coffee Swiss roll) is a festive dessert made with a biscuit Joconde soaked with maple syrup and generously covered with the coffee-flavored mascarpone cream. It is simply irresistible.

After making rich Royal Chocolate Cake and Chocolate Meringue Cake Concorde, it is the time to please coffee lovers with a new coffee-flavored dessert.

I adapted the recipe for coffee Yule log created by French chef Nicolas Bernardé. I had to make some changes to make it easier and more affordable.

Yes, you can make it as a Yule log using Christmas edible decorations or make a simplified version of the cake as a coffee roll cake (aka coffee Swiss roll cake).

There is one challenging part of making the cake. It is a fancy-looking decoration made with the use of St. Honore tip.

If you do not have one, decrease the cream ingredients by ⅓ and spread the mascarpone cream all over the cake. Use a rubber or bent spatula or the back of a tablespoon to spoon it out.

Want to be inspired by the roll cakes' decorations? Please, have a look at this Nutella Cake Roll or Raspberry Pistachio Roulade. I am pretty sure you will fall in love with their simplicity.

Jump to:

• What is biscuit Joconde
• Tips for making mascarpone cream
• How to pipe with St. Honore tip
• Why you should try this recipe
• Ingredients
• How to make coffee roll cake
• Expert tips
• Frequently asked questions
• Recipe
• Comments

What is biscuit Joconde

Biscuit Joconde is a light sponge cake made with almond flour, eggs, all-purpose flour, sugar, and butter. It takes its name from the French La Joconde, meaning Mona Lisa.

The main difference between biscuit Joconde and other sponge cakes is that its recipe calls for whole eggs and not just egg whites.

Biscuit Joconde is the basic sponge for Opera cakes, the decorative collar to entremets filled with mousse or buttercream.

Tips for making mascarpone cream

Mascarpone cream, better-saying mascarpone whipped cream, is a stabilized version of the whipped cream. Mascarpone works as a stabilizer in this case.

This cream is perfect for frosting cakes and cupcakes. It is easy to make, but it quickly dries out at room temperature and even being refrigerated.

It is better to pipe the mascarpone cream about one hour before serving and then storing it in the fridge.

To make the mascarpone cream, make sure to use the chilled mascarpone, but slightly softened one. Take mascarpone out of the fridge 15 minutes at maximum before whisking the cream. It is essential.

Then whip the cheese for a few seconds, and add whipped cream, sugar, and flavorings.

If the cream starts curding, use a water bath to heat the curded cream while constantly whisking it.

Once the lumps are gone, stop the heating. Let the cream get to room temperature and whip it one more time for a few seconds.

How to pipe with St. Honore tip

St. Honore pastry tip is a stainless steel tube with a triangle cut tip. It is mostly used to pipe icing onto one of the most famous French desserts - St. Honore cake. It is also used to decorate other types of cakes, cupcakes, and pies.

The decorative element is made with St. Honore tip is a big wave. To properly pipe with this tip, first, fix the St. Honore tip and fill your pastry bag with the cream. 

Then holding the pastry bag sideways, place the tip onto the cake. Make sure that its opening faces upwards. Press the bag gently and draw a wave.

In the case of this coffee Swiss roll, hold the pastry bag with St. Honore tip and draw straight lines, starting from one side of the cake and moving towards another side.

Why you should try this recipe

1. This coffee-flavored Swiss roll is for coffee lovers.
2. The recipe is straightforward, and it is made within 2 hours.
3. It is best served for birthday parties: add alcohol to the cream to serve adults and keep it as in the recipe if you serve for kids.
4. Topped with Christmas chocolate decorations, meringue mushrooms, nougatine pieces, and/or chocolate crisps, this roll cake is easily transformed into a coffee Yule log.

Ingredients

Here is a quick overview of what ingredients you will need. Follow the full recipe below for detailed amounts and instructions. I recommend making this recipe as written for the best results. 

Almond flour: use blanched finely ground almond flour (not a coarse almond meal). While measuring almond flour, spoon it from a container gently into a measuring cup. Please, do not press it down.

Icing sugar: make it yourself with a coffee grinder or use a store-bought powdered sugar.

Granulated sugar: replace it with caster sugar if you prefer.

Flour: the recipe calls for all-purpose flour.

Butter: use unsalted butter melted in advance.

Eggs: use whole large eggs and large egg whites. To separate egg whites from egg yolks, use an egg separator.

Hazelnuts: use store-bought toasted hazelnuts or toast nuts yourself as written in the recipe.

Maple syrup: it is used to soak the biscuit. Replace it with light corn syrup if you desire.

Mascarpone: it is added to stabilize the whipped cream. Take mascarpone out of the fridge 15 minutes (maximum!) before you start making the cream.

Whipping cream: use whipping cream with 35% fat content.

Espresso coffee: it is the star of this roll cake. Use your favorite one!

Instant coffee powder: use your preferred brand of instant coffee. To make it powdered, use either a coffee grinder or mortar and pestle.

Dark chocolate crisps: this is an optional chocolate decoration. Also, decorate the cake with store-bought chocolate thins or homemade pieces of tempered chocolate.

Caramelized hazelnuts: follow the instructions on how to caramelize hazelnuts provided in the recipe for Hazelnut Cake.

How to make coffee roll cake

To toast hazelnuts, preheat the oven to 300 F/150 C. Spread all the hazelnuts - 5.3 oz. (150 g) - on a baking sheet and toast for 15 minutes. Let cool and chop the nuts.

To make the biscuit Joconde, increase the oven temperature to 355 F/180 C. Place icing (powdered) sugar, almond flour, all-purpose flour, and 2 whole eggs in a bowl. Whisk at slow speed, using an electric or stand mixer.

Increase the speed and continue to whisk. Add the other 2 whole eggs, cold melted butter, and mix again (photo 1).

In a separate bowl, beat egg whites until they are mounted. Add granulated (caster) sugar and beat again until stiff peaks (photo 2).

Add half of the meringue to the main preparation and mix gently with a rubber spatula. Finally, add the rest of the meringue and combine (photo 3).

Pour the biscuit dough on a baking sheet covered with parchment paper or on a non-spill baking sheet to the thickness of 25/64 inch/1 cm. Sprinkle with chopped toasted hazelnuts (photo 4).

Bake for 20 minutes. Remove the biscuit from the oven and let it cool for 30 minutes.

To make the mascarpone cream, place mascarpone, icing (powdered) sugar, whipping cream, espresso coffee, and instant coffee powder in a bowl.

Mix with a hand whisk to homogenize everything. Then whisk with a stand or electric mixer until firm (photo 5).

Cover the bowl with plastic film and refrigerate the cream until assembling the cake. 

To assemble the roll cake, flip the biscuit on a sheet of parchment. Then peel parchment paper or the baking mat.

Soak the biscuit with maple syrup using a silicone brush. Spread the mascarpone cream and even the surface with a bent spatula. Sprinkle with chopped toasted hazelnuts.

Roll the biscuit from top to bottom along the biscuit's long side, using the parchment sheet (photo 6). Tight it as much as possible. Refrigerate the rolled biscuit for 4 hours.

To decorate the cake, cut the roll cake 10-inch/25 cm long. Use a knife to make the ends of the cake neat. Spread a layer of cream on the rolled cake (photo 7).

Place the remaining cream in a pastry bag with a St. Honore tip and cover the cake's entire surface. Pipe straight lines, starting from one side of the cake and moving towards another side.

Decorate it with dark chocolate crisps and caramelized hazelnuts (photo 8).

Expert tips

1. While rolling the baked biscuit, it may crack. Continue to roll the biscuit, tight it into parchment paper, and refrigerate. It will be fine once it is chilled.
2. Add one tablespoon white rum or Grand Marnier to the mascarpone cream if you desire.
3. To caramelize hazelnuts, follow the instructions in the recipe for Hazelnut Cake.
4. Keep the cake wrapped in parchment paper until assembling. Since the mascarpone cream tends to dry out quickly, it is best to assemble the cake 1 hour before serving. Keep it refrigerated until ready to serve.
   

Frequently asked questions

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The nutrition information has been calculated using an online recipe nutrition calculator and is intended for informational purposes only and should be used as a general guideline. If the nutrition information is important to you, you should independently verify it using your preferred tool. Please, read the disclaimers in our Privacy Policy.

The recipe was adapted from here https://www.femmeactuelle.fr. It was originally published on December 17, 2018. It has been revised to include improved content and photos. All posted pictures are mine.