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Nothing says Summer like a delicious Strawberry Roll Cake! This dessert is made with a light and fluffy sponge cake and filled with luscious whipped cream and fresh strawberries.
One of my favorite desserts for the Summer cookout parties is a homemade Strawberry Roll Cake (also known as Strawberry Swiss Roll). You can make it ahead of time and refrigerate until ready to serve!
I also like to make my Classic Tiramisu recipe or French Vanilla Ice Cream to treat my friends and family on a hot Summer day.
Why you will love it
This has all of the Summer characteristics of a light, creamy, and refreshing dessert. You can make it with just a few ingredients, it’s easy to assemble, and everyone will love it!
There are 3 main parts of this dessert:
Sponge cake. Be sure to follow the instructions to make it light and airy.
Whipped Cream. Always use fresh cold heavy cream for the best results.
Strawberries. Use organic smaller size strawberries, as they taste sweeter and have more aromatic flavor.
How to make it
Preheat the oven to 350°F and line a 13×9 baking sheet with parchment paper. Set aside.
Using a hand mixer or a stand mixer with a whisk attachment, beat the eggs on a high speed for about a minute until foamy. Gradually add granulated sugar and vanilla extract and continue beat on a high speed for 6-7 minutes, until the mixture is thick, pale, and tripled in size (Photos 1-4).
In a separate mixing bowl, mix together all-purpose flour, baking powder, and salt (Photos 5-7).
Sift dry ingredients to the wet mixture in three steps. Using a spatula, fold it in until smooth consistency with no hidden flour pockets. Do not overmix (Photos 8-13).
Pour the batter on the baking sheet, and using a spatula, even it out. Bake at 350°F for about 10-12 minutes until the top is golden and a toothpick comes out clean (Photos 14-16).
While it’s is baking, place a clean towel on a counter and sprinkle it with powdered sugar. This step will prevent the cake from sticking to the towel when rolling (Photo 17).
Take it of the oven, use a paring knife to loosen the cake from the pan. Remove it from the baking pan to the clean linen towel (face down) and remove the parchment paper. Roll into the towel and let it cool off (Photos 18-20).
While it’s is cooling off, finely dice the strawberries.
Using a hand or stand mixer with a whisk attachment, whisk cold heavy cream, powdered sugar, and vanilla extract until stiff peaks.
When the cake is cooled off, carefully unroll and loosen it from the towel. Spread 2/3 of the whipped cream evenly and top with diced strawberries, then roll again. Place it on a serving plate (Photos 21-24).
To decorate, dust the dessert with 2 tablespoons of powdered sugar. Using the rest 1/3 of the cold whipped cream, pipe 4 large swirls on top and top them with 4 half strawberries.
Refrigerate for a couple of hours before serving. Enjoy!
Tips for best results
- The volume of a sponge cake directly depends on the volume of the whipped eggs. It is important to beat the eggs on a high speed for at least 6-7 minutes until the mixture get a thick consistency, pale, and triples in volume.
- Another important step is when you add the flour, you should sift it into the mixture in three steps and fold it in with a spatula. Make sure not to overmix it as you can lose the volume and the cake won’t rise.
- Don’t put too much filling in the cake. Otherwise, when you roll the sponge back in, it will squeeze the excess filling outside.
Frequently Asked Questions
When the cake is cooled off it loses flexibility. So, if you try to roll a cold sponge cake, it will crack. That’s why it’s important to roll it while it’s still warm and flexible, so it will keep the shape once we fill it with the filling.
Most likely you didn’t roll it while it was warm. This is a vital step to make sure that the sponge doesn’t crack.
I like to loosely cover the dessert with plastic wrap. If you don’t cover, it might absorb the refrigerator smells.
It will stay fresh in the fridge for up to 2 days.
Did you make this recipe?!? I’d love to know how it turned out! leave a comment and a rating below👇 thank you!
Strawberry Roll Cake
Ingredients
- 4 large eggs room temperature
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup all-purpose flour or cake flour
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 1/2 cups strawberries finely diced
- 1 1/2 cups heavy cream cold
- 1/2 cup powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F and line a 13×9 baking sheet with parchment paper. Set aside.
- Using a hand mixer or a stand mixer with a whisk attachment, beat 4 eggs eggs on a high speed for about a minute until foamy. Gradually add 1/2 cup of granulated sugar and 1 tsp vanilla extract and continue beat on a high speed for 6-7 minutes, until the mixture is thick, pale, and tripled in size.
- In a separate mixing bowl, mix 1/2 cup all-purpose flour, 1/2 tsp baking powder, 1/4 tsp salt, and sift it to the mixture in three steps. Using a spatula, fold it in until smooth consistency with no hidden flour pockets. Do not over mix.
- Pour the batter on the baking sheet, and using a spatula, spread evenly.
- Bake at 350°F for about 10-12 minutes until the top is golden and a toothpick comes out clean.
- While it's baking, place a clean towel on a counter and sprinkle it with powdered sugar. This step will prevent the cake from sticking to the towel when rolling.
- Take it of the oven, use a paring knife to loosen the cake from the pan. Remove it from the baking pan to the clean linen towel (face down) and remove the parchment paper. Roll into the towel and let it cool off.
- While it's cooling off, finely dice the strawberries.
- Using a hand or stand mixer with a whisk attachment, beat cold heavy cream, powdered sugar, and vanilla extract until stiff peaks.
- When the cake is cooled off, carefully unroll and loosen it from the towel. Spread 2/3 of the whipped cream evenly and top with diced strawberries, then roll the cake again. Place it on a serving plate.
- To decorate, dust the dessert with 2 tablespoons of powdered sugar. Using the rest 1/3 of the cold whipped cream, pipe 4 large swirls on top and top them with 4 half strawberries.
- Refrigerate for a couple of hours before serving. Enjoy!
Video
Notes
- The volume of a sponge cake directly depends on the volume of the whipped eggs. It is important to beat the eggs on a high speed for at least 6-7 minutes until the mixture get a thick consistency, pale, and triples in volume.
- Another important step is when you add the flour, you should sift it into the mixture in three steps and fold it in with a spatula. Make sure not to overmix it as you can lose the volume and the cake won’t rise.
- Don’t put too much filling in the cake. Otherwise, when you roll the sponge back in, it will squeeze the excess filling outside.
Nutrition
Update Notes: This post was originally published in 2017, but was republished with new photos, step by step instructions, tips, and FAQs in Feb of 2020.
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That’s an lovely summer cake! It looks so perfect. What a great dessert to serve with BBQ
This is simply gorgeous! I adore roll cakes and I must make this for the family 😀
What a lovely summer cake. The strawberries make it look so vibrant and fresh. I have a book club meeting next week and this would be ideal to serve with a crisp glass of white wine. I know my ladies will love it.
My favorite type of situation would be a strawberry cake roll to celebrate summer. This is just what I have been looking for, and I am really happy I’ve found this recipe!
I love a good cake roll. With your detailed step by step instructions, my cake roll turned out flawless. The cake is so airy and light!
What a beautiful dessert! This will be impressive at the end of any meal. Your instructions are easy to follow as well. Thank you for sharing!
I love how light and fluffy this looks. Absolutely gorgeous. I wish I had the patience & skill for such nice decoration.
We have an overabundance of strawberries in our fridge. I have found a delicious and stunning use for them. I will be making this cake roll for dessert this weekend.
Strawberries are really delicious! This Strawberry Roll Cake is making me drool. Looks really scrumptious.
With strawberry season in full swing, this is the perfect recipe. Great as a dessert at a bbq party. Perfect as an addition to the weekend brunch menu. Delicious to eat ANY time of the day.
Oh, I’m so excited to have found this recipe that does not need cream cheese for the filling!!! I am living in Russia and cream cheese is a little expensive here, but heavy cream (30%) is super cheap 🙂 My strawberries are turning red this week, so I was looking for something fun to make and share with my neighbors, this will be perfect. I will post a pic on Instagram once I’ve completed it 🙂
Thank you, Lori! I’m sure cream cheese is harder to find outside of the US. I’m actually updating this recipe in 2 days with new photos, step-by-step instructions, and a video tutorial. Would love to know your feedback after you make this cake!
How long will it last well in the fridge?
Hi Amy! I usually like to make it the same day I serve this cake. If you want to make it a day before, it should be ok. But I wouldn’t refrigerate it for more than one day.
It tasted pretty good, and was sooo easy to make. However, the sponge cake stuck to the tea towel and even stuck to parchment paper when I tried to use that instead! Any tips on how to avoid that? Thanks for the recipe 🙂
Hi, Carolyn! I am glad that you liked the cake) You can sprinkle powdered sugar on the towel before placing the cake)
Really looks nice and tasty!
Thank you, Dawn)
Love this Veronika. It looks so light and summery.
Thank you, Marie 😉