Coffee Swiss Roll (Coffee Roulade)

This coffee Swiss roll cake or coffee roulade is a simple dessert made with a biscuit Joconde and generously filled and covered with coffee mascarpone cream. Perfect for coffee lovers.

Follow my step-by-step photographed explanations, expert tips, and tricks to help you succeed with this incredibly yummy and delicious recipe.

After making several rich chocolate cakes like Royal chocolate cake, French chocolate cake, and Fondant au chocolat, it is time to please a coffee lover like you and myself with a new coffee-flavored dessert.

Coffee Swiss roll recipe

• It is the perfect coffee roll cake with an elegant taste of deliciousness.

• The recipe is easy and quick to make.

• It is best served for birthday parties or Christmas as a holiday Yule log.

Ingredients

Get a quick overview of the necessary ingredients. For precise measurements and instructions, refer to the recipe card below. Also, discover the essential baking tools I rely on for daily baking.

• Almonds: Use blanched almonds to grind with a food processor or use a store-bought almond meal.

• Sugar: Use superfine caster sugar or process granulated sugar in a food processor to make it superfine. Make icing sugar yourself with a coffee grinder or use store-bought powdered sugar.

• Flour: The recipe calls for all-purpose flour.

• Butter: Use unsalted butter melted and cooled to room temperature.

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

• Hazelnuts: Use store-bought roasted hazelnuts or learn how to roast hazelnuts at home.

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

• Heavy cream: Use heavy or heavy whipping cream with at least 30% fat content.

• Espresso coffee is the star of the coffee roll cake.

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

Recipe variations

• Add one tablespoon of white rum or Grand Marnier to the mascarpone cream if serving the cake to adults.

• Replace roasted hazelnuts with candied nuts (walnuts, almonds, chestnuts, etc. ).

• Decorate the cake with meringue mushrooms, nougatine pieces, or other Christmas decorations to serve it as a Yule Log.

How to make coffee Swiss roll

Step 1. Preheat the oven to 390°F (200°C) and prepare a non-spill baking sheet (no need to grease it).

Pro tip: Alternatively, use a silicone baking mat or a 12 x 16 inches (30 x 40 cm) baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Grease the baking tray, then add the parchment paper and lightly grease it.

Step 2. To make the cake batter, with a hand whisk, mix ground almonds, all-purpose flour, and icing sugar in a mixing bowl.

Pro tip: Consult the biscuit Joconde recipe for step-by-step photographed explanations, helpful tips, and tricks.

Step 3. Melt butter in the microwave at 20-second intervals and let it cool.

Step 4. Place whole eggs in the bowl of a stand mixer with a whisk attachment and whip for a few seconds.

Step 5. Add the dry ingredients to the egg mixture and mix at medium speed for 3 minutes until creamy and homogeneous. Pour the cooled melted butter and gently mix with a rubber spatula.

Step 6. In a separate clean bowl, whip egg whites at high speed with an electric hand mixer. Once foamy, gradually add caster sugar and beat until stiff peaks.

Step 7. Gently fold the beaten egg whites into the almond preparation in two or three batches and carefully mix with a spatula.

Step 8. Pour batter onto the prepared cake pan, smooth the surface with a long offset spatula, and bake for 10-15 minutes. If baking a silicone mold, place it on the oven rack. The sponge should be slightly golden and spring back with touching.

Step 9. Remove the cake from the oven. Turn it onto a kitchen or tea towel generously sprinkled with icing sugar. Gently peel the baking mat (photo 1) or the top layer of parchment paper (it was bottom during baking).

Step 10. Sprinkle the sponge with icing sugar, roll the cake into the towel, and let it rest for 10 minutes (photo 2). Then, unroll it and let it cool to room temperature.

Step 11. To make the coffee mascarpone cream, place the prepared mascarpone (see the tips below) in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment. Whip the cheese for a few seconds.

Step 12. Add cold heavy cream, icing sugar, espresso coffee, and instant coffee powder to the bowl. Mix with a hand whisk to homogenize everything. Then, whisk with the stand mixer until medium peaks.

Step 13. To roll the cake, spread ⅔ of the cream filling in an even layer and smooth the surface with a bent spatula. Sprinkle with the chopped roasted hazelnuts (photo 3).

Step 14. Roll the biscuit from the short end, using the kitchen towel to help. Make sure the end of the roll is facing down (photo 4). Tight roll as much as possible.

Step 15. Refrigerate it, still in the towel, for 4 hours. Wrap the bowl with the remaining cream with plastic film and refrigerate.

Step 16. To decorate the cake, with a sharp knife, cut the ends of the cake for a neat appearance (photo 5). Spread coffee cream over the top of the cake (photo 6).

Leave it plain or decorate it in the way you desire.

Storing and freezing

To ensure the freshness of the cake, apply the coffee mascarpone cream to the cake 1-2 hours before serving: the mascarpone-based cream dries out quickly. Keep the cake rolled in a towel in the refrigerator until you are ready to complete it.

Store leftover cake in the fridge for up to 24 hours. It is not recommended to freeze it.

Expert Tips

• If using a smaller Swiss roll pan, read how to line a Swiss roll tin and recalculate ingredients with a cake pan converter.
• For the best mascarpone cream, use chilled mascarpone that is slightly softened. Remove it from the fridge 15 minutes before making the cream.
• If the cream starts curding, gently heat it in a water bath while whisking. Once the lumps disappear, stop heating. Allow the cream to cool to room temperature, then whip it briefly for a few seconds.
• Keep the cake wrapped in a towel until you are ready to assemble it. Because the mascarpone cream can dry out rapidly, it is recommended to assemble the cake 1-2 hours before serving and keep it refrigerated until ready to serve.
• Make ahead option: Bake the biscuit, roll it with ⅔ of the cream, and wrap it with a kitchen towel one day ahead. Store the rolled cake and cream covered with cling film in the fridge. Next day, one hour before serving, decorate the cake with cream, nuts, or chocolate crisps, and keep it in the refrigerator until serving.

Recipe FAQ

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Recipe card

Follow my step-by-step photographed explanations, expert tips, and tricks to help you succeed with this incredibly yummy and delicious recipe.

The nutritional information has been calculated using an online recipe nutrition calculator such as Verywellfit.com and is intended for informational purposes only. These figures should be used as a general guideline and not be construed as a guarantee.

The recipe was adapted from Femme Actuelle. It was originally published on December 17, 2018. It has been revised to include the improved recipe and photos.