This dreamy gingerbread roll cake is made with a soft and fluffy gingerbread chiffon cake, rolled up with eggnog whipped cream, and decorated with gingerbread men!
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Notes from the baker
I'm in love with this holiday version of my favourite roll cake or swiss roll recipe. I've made them countless times and they always turn out light, fluffy, airy, and creamy, just the way they should be.
This gingerbread roll cake with eggnog whipped cream is the epitome of the holidays and I'm obsessed. Just like my other roll cakes, it tastes like it could have come from a bakery. This time, with all the gingerbread spices and holiday flavours to make it extra festive.
Why you'll love this recipe
- Soft and fluffy chiffon cake. This is my go-to chiffon cake recipe that is so soft and pliable, it never rips when rolled.
- Spiced gingerbread flavour. It's lightly spiced for just the right flavour.
- Eggnog whipped cream. The addition of eggnog really makes the filling taste special and so festive.
- Stays soft even straight from the fridge. Since this cake is made without butter, it stays soft even after chilling and when served cold straight from the fridge.
- Great for making in advance. Since this roll cake needs to be chilled overnight, preferably, it's perfect for making 1-2 days before you plan to serve it.
Tools
- 12x17" baking tray - The cake sheet for this roll cake is baked in a regular 12x17" baking tray that I normally use for baking cookies. You use any similarly sized 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 until they reach stiff peaks.
- Fine mesh sieve - For sifting the flour mixture into the batter to break up clumps and aerate the flour.
- Offset spatula - An offset spatula has the perfect angle for smoothing the whipped cream onto the cake sheet and for cleaning up any edges.
- Piping bag - You'll need a piping bag if you want to pipe a rosette of whipped cream on top of the cake rolls.
- Closed star piping tip - I used a closed star piping tip for the rosette on top of the cake rolls but you can use any piping tip you like.
Ingredient notes
As always, the full recipe card with ingredient amounts and instructions is at the bottom of this post! Keep reading for more details on each ingredient or skip ahead to the recipe.
- Cake flour - Cake flour contains less gluten than all-purpose flour and makes a lighter and fluffier cake.
- Cinnamon - This blend of spices gives this cake a light gingerbread flavour.
- Ginger
- Nutmeg
- Allspice
- Cloves
- Baking powder - This cake is leavened by the air whipped into the egg white meringue but I still like adding baking powder just in case the meringue fails.
- Eggs - These should be at room temperature. Room-temperature eggs whip up faster. For this recipe, you'll be separating the eggs into bowls of egg whites and egg yolks.
- 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 just omit it.
- 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
- Whipping cream - I usually use whipping cream but heavy cream also works well for a richer and thicker cream filling.
- Eggnog - The eggnog gives the whipped cream an amazing flavour.
- Powdered sugar
Tips for making the best gingerbread roll cake
- Be careful not to get any egg yolk in the egg whites. Even just a bit of yolk or an oily mixing bowl will prevent the egg whites from whipping up properly. I recommend cracking the eggs into a separate small bowl, one at a time. Scoop the egg yolk up in your hand and pass it in between your hands until the egg whites drop into the bowl. This way, if any yolks break, you will only ruin one egg and not the whole batch.
- Whip the egg whites to stiff peaks. When you pull the mixer out of the egg whites, it should leave pointy peaks on the surface of the meringue and mixer attachment that curl over slightly at the tips. When you flip the bowl upside down, the meringue should not budge at all. This is the correct consistency. If it's not at this point yet, keep mixing!
- Pre-roll the cake sheet while it's still warm. Pre-rolling the cake sheet helps train the cake to stay that rolled up shape once it has cooled. When you roll it up again with the filling, the cake should not rip.
- Chill the cake roll before slicing. The whipped cream needs time to set and firm up otherwise it'll just ooze out when sliced. Once chilled and firmed up a bit, you can shape the roll with your hands for a rounder shape and the firm whipped cream should be able to hold the shape.
Storage
This gingerbread roll cake can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days.
Leftovers can be frozen in an airtight container for up to 1 month. Thaw in the fridge overnight before eating.
Frequently asked questions
Why are your measurements in grams? Why do you mix gram measurements with tablespoons/teaspoons?
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. 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 ¼ 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 roll cake recipes to try
Recipe
Gingerbread Roll Cake
Soft and fluffy gingerbread chiffon cake rolled up with eggnog whipped cream
Equipment
Ingredients
Gingerbread Cake Sheet
- 110 g cake flour
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ½ teaspoon ground allspice
- ½ teaspoon ground cloves
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- 6 large eggs, room temperature
- ½ 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, avocado oil, etc.
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Eggnog Whipped Cream
- 460 g whipping cream, cold
- 125 g eggnog, cold
- 50 g powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 8 gingerbread men cookies, optional, for garnishing
Instructions
Gingerbread Cake Sheet
- Prep: Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a 12x17" baking tray with parchment paper and set aside.
- Flour mixture: In a small mixing bowl, stir together cake flour, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, allspice, cloves, and baking powder. Set aside.
- Separate eggs: Carefully separate the egg whites and egg yolks into two separate large mixing bowls. Set the yolks aside.
- Egg white meringue: To the egg whites, add the cream of tartar. Use an electric hand mixer to beat the egg whites until they become frothy like cappuccino foam. Sprinkle in 100g of granulated sugar, one spoonful at a time, mixing well in between each addition. Once all the sugar has been added, continue beating on medium-high speed until it becomes stiff peaks. Set aside.
- Egg yolk mixture: 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. Mix on low speed until combined. Use a fine mesh sieve to sift the flour mixture into the egg yolk mixture. Mix until combined.
- Combine: Add about ⅓ of the egg white meringue to the egg yolk mixture. Fold together with a spatula until combined. Add the rest of the meringue and fold together until no streaks remain and the batter is fluffy, making sure to scrape the bottom of the bowl where the batter tends to settle.
- Fill pan: Pour the batter into your lined baking tray. Use an offset spatula to spread the batter into the corners of the tray and into an even layer.
- Bake: Bake the cake sheet for about 12-15 minutes or until the edges are lightly golden brown and the cake sheet is puffy.
- Cool: Let the cake cool in the tray for only about 5 minutes. While it's still warm, run an offset spatula around the edges of the cake to release it from the tray.
- Release cake sheet: Place a sheet of parchment paper on top of the tray, grip the tray and parchment paper with both hands and flip it upside down. Peel the parchment paper off the cake sheet. Place another sheet of parchment paper on top and flip it over again so that the nicer looking side of the cake sheet will be on the outside of the roll cake.
- Pre-roll cake sheet: Starting from one of the short ends, roll up the cake sheet with the parchment paper and let it cool completely in this rolled up shape.
Eggnog Whipped Cream
- Whip cream: In a large mixing bowl, add the whipping cream, eggnog, powdered sugar, nutmeg, and vanilla extract. Whisk until it becomes stiff peaks.
Assemble the roll cake
- Spread cream: Unroll the cooled cake sheet. Add some dollops of eggnog whipped cream on top of the cake sheet and use an offset spatula to spread it into an even layer, leaving about 1" empty at the end of the sheet. Keep any leftover whipped cream in the fridge for decorating later.
- Roll cake: Firmly roll the cake sheet up in the same direction it was pre-rolled in. If any whipped cream squishes out of the seam or the ends, use an offset spatula to remove the excess and clean it up. Wrap the roll cake in plastic wrap and chill it in the fridge for at least 4 hours or preferably overnight to allow the cream to firm up.
- Slice: Once chilled, use a serrated knife to cut the roll cake into about 8 slices, depending on how thick you want them.
- Decorate: Re-whip the remaining eggnog whipped cream if needed and transfer it to a piping bag fitted with a closed star piping tip. Pipe rosettes on top of each roll cake slice and press a gingerbread man cookie on top (optional).
Notes
- Gingerbread men cookies: I made a half batch of my Gingerbread Cookies to use as decoration on this cake but you can simply go without if you prefer.
Nutrition
Calories: 470kcal | Carbohydrates: 40g | Protein: 8g | Fat: 31g | Saturated Fat: 15g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 11g | Trans Fat: 0.04g | Cholesterol: 198mg | Sodium: 101mg | Potassium: 191mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 28g | Vitamin A: 1069IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 109mg | Iron: 1mg
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