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Strawberry Roll Cake is a fluffy and creamy cake that’s perfect for summer! Making a cake roll is easier than you think and it tastes so delicious. Perfect for guests and special occasions!
Our Strawberry Roll Cake is so fluffy and full of strawberry flavor! This German cake, called Erdbeer Biskuitrolle in German, is a perfect dessert to impress your guests, but easier to make than you think. Made with a sponge cake layer (Biskuitteig in German) and a delicious, creamy strawberry filling, this German version of a Swiss Roll or Jelly roll is super easy to make and tastes so delicious and flavorful.
My secret for making the most delicious strawberry filling that even keeps for a few days is to make a reduction from freshly puréed strawberries. This way you get all the fresh strawberry flavor but only minimal moisture, so your filling won’t get runny. Making the perfect strawberry roll cake has never been easier!
Looking for more German Cakes? Check out my German Apple Cake, German Strawberry Cake, and Black Forest Cake.
Why our recipe
- This show-stopping cake is surprisingly easy to make from scratch and comes together quickly
- You can make this cake roll a day in advance, refrigerate it, and it will taste even better the next day (like many German cakes)
- This Strawberry Swiss Roll is flexible on the flavor of the filling
Ingredient Notes
- Eggs: You need 3 large eggs for this recipe. The eggs need to be at room temperature for the best result.
- Vanilla: Vanilla extract or vanilla sugar work.
- Flour: You need cake flour to make this roll cake. To make your own cake flour, take 1 cup all-purpose and remove 2 tablespoons of flour. Then add 2 tablespoons corn starch. Stir until combined and sift once to evenly distribute the corn starch.
- Baking Powder: Adding baking powder makes the cake roll base fool-proof.
- Butter: I always use unsalted butter for my baking recipes. The butter should be at room temperature.
- Cream Cheese: Full fat cream cheese works best. It should be soft, so take it out of the fridge about 30 mins before you need it.
- Strawberries: Fresh strawberries are my go-to, but you can also use the same amount of frozen strawberries.
- Garnish: To decorate the cake, I use homemade whipped cream and whole strawberries.
Julia’s Tips and Tricks
- Make-ahead: You can bake the cake roll one day in advance, roll it, and store it (with the towel) tightly wrapped in plastic wrap in the fridge. Let it sit on the counter to come back to room temperature while making the strawberry filling. I find this makes it easier to unroll the cake.
- Cake roll: This cake is a sponge cake, a traditional European cake. It relies on the volume of the whipped eggs to rise properly, so it is critical to beat the eggs and sugar for the time stated. The volume of the mixture should have tripled. Many sponge cake recipes are made without baking powder and the whipped sugar egg mixture is the only leaving agent. I always use baking powder because it makes the recipe foolproof.
- Baking time: Make sure not to overbake the cake layer. Otherwise, it will be dry and difficult to roll.
- Rolling the cake: Immediately invert the cake onto the towel once it comes out of the oven and roll it up. Don’t let it cool before rolling it, or it will crack! Always roll it from the short side, or you won’t have a nice swirl in the middle.
- Strawberry Filling: Reducing the fresh strawberry purée intensifies the strawberry flavor and removes the surplus of moisture that would make the strawberry filling runny.
- Decorating: Instead of garnishing the cake with whipped cream, you can also dust it with powdered sugar.
Frequently asked questions
There are a few things that help prevent cracking. Make sure not to overbake the cake layer. Take it out of the oven when it is just done and lightly golden, this prevents it from getting dry and makes it easier to roll. Additionally, it’s important to invert the cake onto a kitchen towel right away and roll it up while it’s still hot. Don’t let it cool down before. Then let it cool rolled up in the towel at room temperature.
Yes, I would even recommend making it a day in advance and chilling it overnight. The filling will firm up inside the cake and make it easier to cut it, and the biscuit will get softer because the filling will infuse it with just the right amount of moisture.
Variations
This cake roll can not only be made with strawberries, but also with a lot of other flavors depending on what is in season. Just use the same amount of fruit and prepare it according to the recipe. You want to have a 1/4 cup of reduced fruit purée to add to the cream cheese filling. Here are a few ideas:
- Berries: Raspberries, blueberries, and other berries
- Stone fruit: Peaches, apricots, mangoes, or cherries
Serving and Storage
Garnish the cake just before serving if you make it in advance. Slicing is easier when the strawberry filling is cold, so I recommend refrigerating it for about 30 minutes before serving.
Store this cake in the fridge, covered, for up to 3 days.
More Strawberry Recipes
Strawberry Roll Cake
Equipment
- Immersion Blender
Ingredients
For the Roll Cake
- 3 large eggs
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup cake flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- powdered sugar, for dusting
For the Strawberry Filling
- ½ cup unsalted butter, softened
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 8 oz cream cheese, softened
- 6 oz strawberries, chopped
For the Garnish
- ½ cup heavy whipping cream
- 1 tablespoon powdered sugar
- 6 whole strawberries
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400°F (200°C) and line a 15×10-inch rimmed baking sheet (or jelly roll pan) with parchment paper.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat eggs, sugar, and vanilla on medium-high speed until thick and pale and tripled in volume, about 8–10 minutes.
- In a small bowl, combine the flour, salt, and baking powder.
- In three additions, sift the flour mixture into the egg mixture, using a silicone spatula to fold it in after each addition.
- Transfer batter to the prepared baking sheet. Smooth the top with an offset spatula. Bake until light golden brown, about 8–10 minutes.
- Dust a clean kitchen towel generously with powdered sugar and invert the baking sheet with the cake onto it; slowly remove the parchment paper. You can brush the paper with a little bit of water to make it easier to peel off.
- Using the towel and starting at a short end, roll up the cake and towel. Let cool completely, rolled into the towel, seam side down.
- When the cake has cooled, make the strawberry filling.
- Using a handheld immersion blender or food processor, purée the strawberries. You should have about 1/2 cup strawberry purée.
- In a small saucepan, reduce the purée by half. Let cool.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter and powdered sugar at medium speed until pale and fluffy.
- Add cream cheese and mix until the mixture is whipped, white and fluffy, about 1–2 minutes. Scrape down the bowl as needed.
- Add the strawberry purée and stir into the mixture on low speed until just fully incorporated.
- Carefully unroll the cake. Spread the strawberry filling evenly over the surface, leaving a 1/2-inch border on the outer short end. Gently roll up the cake tightly in the same direction you rolled it the first time (without the towel).
- Place it on a serving platter and cut off the ends for a prettier cake if desired.
- To garnish, make whipped cream by whipping 1/2 cup heavy cream with 1 tbsp powdered sugar on medium-high speed until soft peaks form.
- Garnish the cake with dollops of whipped cream and strawberries.
Since I am not such a fan of cream cheese, is it possible to use mascarpone instead? Thank you.
i was wondering can i use a store brought sponge cake.
No, storebought sponge cake won’t work.
I made the strawberry filling from this recipe and a cake from a different recipe because I don’t know what cake flour is. But I love the strawberry filling. I also used powdered monkfruit instead of sugar because I don’t use or have sugar. What I’m going to try and do next time is add less of the monkfruit and add some honey to the strawberry purée after it’s done reducing and see if that works. Maybe add some pectin in there too to give it a slight jelly consistency :)
I’ll try the cake sometime too.
This cake turned out picture perfect and rolled beautifully. However, the texture was a little stiff after rolled and there was a distinct egg flavor to the cake itself. I bumped the temp down 5 degrees as my oven runs hot but the edges still burned a little. I was able to trim that off and save the rest of the cake. I plan to make this again and revise my comment after I look into why it had such an egg flavor. I was very happy with how easily it was to manage and work with when it was cooled; I am hopeful I can figure out the egg mystery. Thanks for sharing!