This coffee swiss roll is made with an incredibly soft and fluffy coffee chiffon cake rolled up with coffee whipped cream. It's a dreamy and airy roll cake that's not too sweet and perfect for coffee lovers!
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Notes from the baker
I've made many swiss rolls aka roll cakes over the years and I figured the collection was missing a coffee version! This coffee swiss roll has all the same highlights of my other roll cakes with the super soft and plush cake texture and airy whipped cream filling. Now with a delicious and fragrant coffee or espresso flavour. My house seriously smelled so good while making this cake.
Swiss rolls are one of my favourite cakes to make because they're so much easier to make than a layer cake. One baking tray to make one cake sheet instead of multiple round cake pans. And then you just roll the cake up with the whipped cream instead of frosting multiple cake layers! The cake to cream ratio of roll cakes is also perfect, in my opinion!
Why you'll love this recipe
- Soft and fluffy chiffon cake. This coffee swiss roll is made with my go-to chiffon cake that doesn't crack or rip when rolled and tastes just like the cakes you would find at Asian bakeries.
- Light and airy whipped cream. The cake is filled with the perfect whipped cream that isn't too sweet or too heavy like typical frosting.
- Easy and delicious coffee flavour. We're using espresso powder to add the fragrant coffee flavour into both the cake and whipped cream for the double the flavour.
- Cake stays soft in the fridge. Since this cake isn't made with butter, it will stay soft even when served cold from the fridge. It's a great make-ahead recipe since you can keep it in the fridge overnight and serve it the next day!
Tools
- 12x17" baking tray - The cake sheet for this cake is baked in a regular 12x17" baking tray that I normally use for baking cookies. You use any similarly sized pan or jelly roll pan as long as the walls are at least 1" tall.
- Electric hand mixer - A hand mixer or stand mixer is essential for whipping the egg whites and whipped cream until they reach stiff peaks.
- Offset spatula - An offset spatula has the perfect angle for smoothing the whipped cream onto the cake sheet and for cleaning up any edges.
Ingredient notes
As always, the fullย recipe cardย with ingredient amounts and instructions is at the bottom of this post! Keep reading for more details on each ingredient or skip ahead to theย recipe.
- Eggs - We'll be separating the egg whites and egg yolks and mixing them separately to create an airy and spongy cake. Room-temperature egg whites whip up faster.
- Cream of tartar - This is an acidic powder that helps stabilize the egg whites and helps them whip up faster into a stable meringue. If you don't have this, you can substitute it with a splash of vinegar or lemon juice or omit it altogether.
- Granulated sugar - Divide your sugar into separate bowls of 100g and 50g to make it easier when using them in the recipe.
- Milk - Use any dairy or non-dairy milk prefer. I usually use oat milk or almond milk because it's what I have on hand. It's a small amount so it doesn't matter.
- Oil - Use any light-tasting, neutral oil such as canola oil, avocado oil, or grapeseed oil.
- Vanilla extract
- Cake flour - Cake flour contains less gluten than all-purpose flour and makes a lighter and fluffier cake.
- Espresso powder - Use instant espresso powder that dissolves in water, NOT ground up espresso beans. This is how we'll get the delicious coffee flavour into the cake and whipped cream without adding any additional liquid. You can also use instant coffee but I love the stronger flavour you get from espresso powder.
- Baking powder - This cake is leavened by all the tiny air bubbles we're whipping into the egg white meringue but I like to add baking powder in case the meringue fails to make the cake rise.
- Whipping cream - Keep the whipping cream cold before using it so that it whips up faster. You can also use heavy cream for a richer cream texture.
- Powdered sugar
Tips for making the best coffee swiss roll
- Don't let any egg yolks get into the egg whites. The egg whites won't whip up properly if there's even a little bit of egg yolk or oil in the bowl. When separating the eggs, I like to crack the eggs one at a time into a separate small bowl. Use clean hands to scoop up the yolk and pass it back and forth between my hands until the egg whites slip through my fingers. Place the yolk and whites into their respective mixing bowls and repeat. This way, the sharp edges of the egg shell are less likely to puncture the yolk and even if the yolk breaks, it won't ruin the entire batch of eggs (since it's in a separate bowl).
- Whip the egg whites to stiff peaks. The egg white meringue is at the correct consistency when you pull the mixer out of it and the meringue stands up in pointy peaks that gently curl over at the tips. If it's not at stiff peaks yet, keep mixing but don't be tempted to use a very high speed on the mixer because that will create large air bubbles that collapse during baking.
- Pre-roll the cake sheet while warm. Only let the cake sheet cool for about 5 minutes before working with it. Pre-rolling the cake sheet while it's still warm will help "train" it to stay in that rolled up shape and prevent it from ripping or cracking once it has cooled.
- Chill the cake before slicing. The whipped cream filling needs time to set and firm up and stay in that beautiful swirl shape. If you try to slice it immediately, the whipped cream will likely just squish out the sides and the cake will slip around. Don't skip the chilling step!
Storage
This coffee swiss roll can be stored in an airtight container or covered in the fridge for up to 5 days. Since there's no butter in this cake, it will stay soft even if you serve it straight from the fridge. If you prefer, you can let it come back to room temperature for 15 minutes so that it's not fridge-cold.
Leftovers can be frozen in an airtight container or wrapped well in plastic wrap and/or aluminum foil for up to 1 month. Thaw in the fridge overnight before eating.
Frequently asked questions
Baking by weight is much more accurate than volume. When using US standard cups, ingredients like flour and sugar can easily be overpacked into the cup causing you to add too much of certain ingredients. Recipes with weight measurements are also easier to scale to smaller or bigger batches without dealing with weird fractions.ย To measure by weight, you simply need a kitchen scale which you can usually pick up for less than $20.
Small measurements are given in tablespoons and teaspoons because most kitchen scales are not accurate under about 10g. Tiny amounts like a ยผ teaspoon may not register accurately unless you have a drug scale. Mixing these measurements is a common practice among other recipe sites and commercial kitchens.
More swiss roll recipes to try
Recipe
Coffee Swiss Roll
Equipment
Ingredientsย ย
Coffee Chiffon Cake
- 6 large eggs, room temperature
- ยผ teaspoon cream of tartar
- 150 g granulated sugar, divided into 100g + 50g
- 50 g milk, dairy or non-dairy
- 50 g oil, e.g. canola oil
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 110 g cake flour
- 2 tablespoons espresso powder
- ยฝ teaspoon baking powder
Coffee Whipped Cream
- 400 g whipping cream, cold
- 40 g powdered sugar
- 1 ยฝ teaspoon espresso powder
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructionsย
Coffee Chiffon Cake
- Prep: Preheat oven to 350ยฐF. Line a 12x17" baking tray with parchment paper cut to size on the bottom only and set aside.
- Separate eggs:ย Separate the egg whites and egg yolks into two large mixing bowls, being careful not to get any yolk in the egg whites. Set the bowl of egg yolks aside.
- Egg white meringue:ย To the egg whites, add cream of tartar. Use an electric hand mixer to beat the egg whites on low-medium speed until they become frothy like cappuccino foam. Add 100g of sugar, one spoonful at a time, mixing in between each addition. After all the sugar has been added, continue beating on medium-high speed until the meringue becomes stiff peaks. Set aside.
- Egg yolk mixture:ย To the egg yolks, add the remaining 50g of sugar. Use the same hand mixer to mix until combined. Add the milk, oil, and vanilla extract and mix until combined.
- Sift in dry ingredients: Hold a fine mesh sieve above the mixing bowl and add in the flour, espresso powder, and baking powder. Sift them into the egg yolk mixture. Mix on low speed until the flour has just combined.
- Combine meringue and egg yolk mixture:ย Add about โ of the egg white meringue into the egg yolk mixture and fold together with a spatula, making sure to scrape the bottom of the bowl. Add the rest of the meringue and fold together until no streaks remain. Again, make sure to scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl where thicker batter can stick.
- Fill pan:ย Pour the batter into your lined baking tray. Use an offset spatula to spread the batter into the corners and edges of the pan and smooth the batter into an even layer.
- Bake:ย Bake for 13-14 minutes or until the edges are lightly browned and the top of the cake sheet is puffed up.
- Release cake:ย Let the cake cool on a wire rack for only about 5 minutes before running an offset spatula around the edges of the pan to release the cake. Place a wire rack on top of the pan, grip both sides of the pan and rack (with oven mitts), and flip the cake onto the rack. Peel the parchment paper off the cake. Place a fresh sheet of parchment paper on top and flip the cake onto the parchment paper.
- Pre-roll cake: While the cake is still warm, roll the cake upย withย the parchment paper starting from a short end. Let the cake cool completely in this rolled-up log shape.
Coffee Whipped Cream
- Whip cream: To a mixing bowl, add the whipping cream, powdered sugar, espresso powder, and vanilla extract. Use a hand mixer or whisk to whip until it becomes stiff peaks.
- Spread cream on cake:ย Unroll your cooled cake sheet. Add dollops of whipped cream on top of the cake sheet. Use an offset spatula to spread the cream into a thick, even layer. Leave the last 1" at the end of the cake sheet empty.
- Roll cake:ย Roll the cake up in the same way as before. When you get to the end of the roll, place a sheet of plastic wrap next to the cake so that you can roll the cake right onto the plastic wrap. Use an offset spatula to remove any excess cream that squishes out of the seam. Use any remaining cream to fill in the ends of the roll. Wrap the cake roll in plastic wrap and chill the in fridge for at least 3 hours or overnight to allow the cream to set.
- Slice:ย Before serving, use a serrated knife to cut off about ยฝ" off both ends of the roll to reveal the swirl. Cut the cake into 1-1.5" slices.
Karen says
May I ask about freezing this Roll. I had always thought the whipped cream would not thaw well and would be runny. How is this different or am I mistaken? That would be a game changer for me.
Cynthia says
I have instant coffee granules instead of expresso powder. Can I just put them in the food processor to make them into a powder and use that instead?
Gail Ng says
Yes, that should work!
Cynthia Bennett says
If I want to make a chocolate roll, can I substitute the instant coffee for cocoa powder?
Kalpana Sharma says
Coffee & Chocolate are different flavor profiles. You canโt substitute 1/2cup Cocoa with 1/2cup coffee Powder. Cocoa Powder absorbs more fluid than plain flour. Coffee lends no body to batter/dough. They are replaceable! Yet can create coffee flavor with different proportions.
Anonymous says
Thank you SO MUCH for posting this! I've been slowly making all your swiss roll recipes, they've been SUCH A HIT. One of my friends loves coffee so I was going to attempt to modify your mocha one. But your timing was perfect...He loved it!! The coffee flavor was strong but not overpowering. Looking forward to other flavors you explore:)
Gabie says
Soooo good!!! I think I just might have found my new favorite whipped cream flavor!
Instructions were super easy to follow. Only thing I would recommend is adding parchment between your cake and wire rack before flipping, to prevent sticking since itโs still hot. I experienced a little cracking when doing the second flip because the cake was sticking to the wire rack, but still so good. Perhaps just a user error lol