Chocolate Raspberry Cake Roll – Chocolate cake is spread with raspberry buttercream and rolled up into a beautiful cake roll
I tried to make it all month without baking anything sweet but I just couldn’t do it. Three weeks isn’t bad, though!! I finally broke with this cake roll. It’s just the treat for your Valentine’s Day baking needs, thanks to the beautiful pink raspberry buttercream. But can easily be adapted to work for any time of the year.
Before we get into the specifics of this cake roll, let’s answer some of the questions I’m sure you’re asking right now…
What is a cake roll?
A cake roll is just what it sounds like – a sheet cake rolled up into a log and sliced. The concept is simple but the execution doesn’t seem like it would be. How the heck do we get the cake to roll up like that without breaking into pieces?
How is a cake roll made?
The most important part about making a cake roll is rolling the cake up. But how exactly is that done? While the cake is still hot, it is rolled up into a kitchen towel and kept there to cool. As it cools, it sets it’s shape.
Once the shape is set, the cake is unrolled and the buttercream is added. The cake is rolled back up and voila! It’s ready for serving!
Raspberry Buttercream
The buttercream recipe is so special because it not only has tons of sweet raspberry flavor but the buttercream stays smooth and creamy with the use of an awesome trick I learned. But before I tell you what it is, let me teach you a little about the basics of buttercream.
Buttercream is loaded with fat – this is what gives it the creamy texture we all love. But something you have to remember about fat is that it does not mix well with water or liquid of any kind. So we can’t just add juice or foods with lots of juice (e.g. fruit) to buttercream because that will cause the butter fat to separate from the rest of the mixture.
In order to avoid this disaster but keep the natural flavor of the raspberries, we use a raspberry powder made from real freeze-dried raspberries. To make the powder, you simply pulse the raspberries in a food processor.
Tips & Tricks
- You must cool the cake completely before spreading on the buttercream. Otherwise, the heat from the cake will melt it and it will ooze out of the cake and make a horrible mess.
- I finish my cake roll with fresh whipped cream but you can use chocolate ganache instead, if you want a stronger chocolate presence.
- The buttercream firms up when chilled so, if you store the finished cake in the fridge overnight, you must let it get back to room temperature before serving.
Chocolate Raspberry Cake Roll
Ingredients
For the chocolate cake:
- 4 large eggs separated
- ⅓ cup sugar
- ⅓ cup light brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon strong black coffee
- ¼ cup unsalted butter melted
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- ½ cup all-purpose flour
- ¼ cup natural unsweetened cocoa
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
For the raspberry buttercream:
- 2 sticks unsalted butter softened
- 5 cups powdered sugar
- ¼ cup heavy cream
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup freeze-dried raspberries
For the whipped cream:
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Instructions
For the cake:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray 12x17 rimmed baking sheet with nonstick spray. Add a sheet of parchment paper and spray that with nonstick spray too. We need to make sure the cake doesn't stick to the pan.
- Separate eggs and place egg whites in a large bowl for a stand mixer. Whip egg whites and sugar together until stiff peaks form. Place into another bowl and set aside. Add flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt to the same bowl. Whisk together. Set aside.
- In a separate bowl, add egg yolks and brown sugar together and whisk until smooth and light, about 2 minutes. Add melted butter, vanilla extract, and coffee and whisk to combine. Pour egg mixture over flour mixture. Mix together just until combined.
- Add 1/3 of whipped egg whites to mixture and gently fold together. Add next 1/3 of mixture and fold together. Finally, add the last 1/3 mixture and fold together. Pour mixture into prepared baking sheet. Spread into one even layer. Bake in preheated oven until cake bounces back when you touch it, about 10-12 minutes.
- While the cake bakes, lay a thin kitchen towel on the counter. Sprinkle with a thin layer of cocoa powder on it. When the cake is finished baking, flip cake over onto the powdered towel. Gently roll the cake up into the towel. Place it into the refrigerator to chill until completely cool, about 1 hour.
For the raspberry buttercream:
- Add freeze-dried raspberries to a food processor and pulse until a powder forms. Set aside.
- Add butter to bowl of a stand mixer, whip until light and fluffy, about 4 minutes. Add powdered sugar, heavy cream, vanilla extract, salt, and raspberry powder together and mix for another minute.
- Unroll the cooled cake and add buttercream in one smooth layer. Roll cake back up and finish with the seam side down. Place onto serving plate. Top with fresh whipped cream, raspberries, and chocolate chips.
For the whipped cream:
- Add cream, sugar, and vanilla to a bowl fitted for a stand mixer. Beat with whisk attachment on medium high until stiff peaks form. *You can prepare this ahead of time and store in a sealed container in the refrigerator for up to 2 days.
Notes
More recipes you’ll love:
Chocolate Raspberry Mousse
Chocolate Berry Cups
Raspberry Hot Chocolate
Oh my goodness this is one of the most beautiful roll cakes I’ve seen! What a lovely combination of flavors and so beautiful for Valentine’s Day! I wish I could sneak a slice through my screen 🙂
I just love that you used freeze-dried raspberries! They add so much flavor and the color is gorgeous. This is one impressive looking cake roll, too! So classy. 🙂
I have been wanting to make a swiss roll cake for so long and this recipe looks super delicious! raspberry is my fav flavour for this type of cake and I am super excited to make this. Thank you for sharing this recipe, I cant wait to try to out!
Wow, such perfect rolling! I’ve never made a cake roll because I’m afraid I’d ruin it somehow. But this makes it look doable! Can’t wait to try it.
Wow, what a rich, decadent dessert recipe! I love the raspberry and chocolate flavors together. So perfect!
What a luscious cake! I wondered how you got the raspberry flavor without making the buttercream mushy — how clever that you made a powder from freeze-dried raspberries. Roll cake, here I come!
It’s beautiful to look at and so delicious with that thick layer of filling! The combination is perfect and I love the simple decoration on top. Can’t wait to make it as soon as I see fresh raspberries around here!
This looks so delicious and beautiful! I want to make this for Valentine’s Day and I’m so excited. Your recipe and step-by step instruction are so helpful. Thank you!
This is my kind of cake, strawberry cakes are definitely my thing. They’re my favorite, this recipe will instantly go to my list, can’t wait to make this at home and be mesmerized.
Oh my heavens does this look luscious and PERFECT for Valentine’s day! And I am loving the tips about using freeze-dried raspberry powder too! Adding the ingredients to my list to make this weekend!
Aaah, I need this cake roll RIGHT NOW!
MMM This sounds amazing and a perfect treat for Valentines day!
This is the perfect Valentine’s day cake! It looks beautiful and everyone can easily make the recipe because it’s not too complicated.
My family is going to love this recipe! Can’t wait to give this a try! Looks so pretty and yummy!
Such a pretty cake, I just love the pink raspberry filling. I’ll be trying this with my kids at the weekend.
These cake rolls are so delicious. The raspberry buttercream is absolutely delightful!
Ooh I love chocolate and raspberry together! Thanks for the tip on how to roll the cake. So pretty 🙂 can’t wait to try!
How beautiful and prettY are these rolls. Would be perfect for valentines day. Thanks for sharing
This looks amazing and so delicious! I want to try this out
This cake is absolutely gorgeous! Perfect for valentines day 🙂
Oh yum, this looks so delicious! I would love to have this for dessert one night.
Cake rolls are my signature dessert but I usually make them with nutella, I need to try your recipe tho it looks delicious
Chocolate and raspberry are one of my favorite flavor combos. I love the use of the freeze dried raspberries.
Sharon your roll cake is so beautiful! Perfect for Valentine’s Day <3 I wish I had a slice of this beauty tonight the chocolate and raspberry combo is perfection.
I’ve actually never made a roll cake before but now I’m going to have to do it so I can try this one! Love the color of that raspberry buttercream!
Someone pass me a fork and a glass of milk STAT! This looks scrumptious! Such a great recipe for Valentine’s day too! I can’t wait to make this!
I would eat the whole cake right now! It looks so scrumptious and beautiful! Definitely need it in my life!)
I had no idea how you made a cake roll, it always seemed so scary. I’ve had plenty of pumpkin rolls but this chocolate raspberry is going to be perfect for Valentine’s Day!
This is so pretty! My cake rolls usually crack, but it doesn’t matter if they are covered in cream!
Soooo pretty!! This cake roll is absolutely gorgeous. Raspberry is my favourite flavour of all time so this cake roll stuffed with raspberry buttercream is calling my name. Looks like a perfect Valentine’s Day dessert!
This looks so delicious! I love the combo of the chocolate and raspberry…YUm!!!
This looks so amazing! I love the combo of flavors of the raspberry and chocolate…YUM!!!
Such a beautiful dessert! Chocolate and raspberry going perfectly together.
This is beautiful and I know that I must try. Pinning
This cake roll looks perfect. I love the raspberry.
This cake is so pretty. Not to mention it tastes like heaven on a plate. Big hit for my moms birthday.
Raspberry and chocolate are my fave and perfect for Valentine’s Day!
I’ve always wanted to try making a cake roll but I always thought it would be too difficult. Looking at this one though with that pretty pink raspberry buttercream.. I may just have to give it a try.
Cake rolls have somehow managed to escape me this far. You make it look so easy…maybe I should give it another try?
I love light and fluffy desserts!
That looks yummy and beautiful. It might be even easy enough that this non baker might be able to re-create it.
Chocolate and raspberry are two of my absolute favorites. I can already tell this is going to be a huge hit.