My Chocolate Strawberry Swiss Roll recipe was inspired by the huge chocolate-covered strawberries around Valentine’s Day. This chocolate Swiss roll cake is filled with strawberry jam and ermine buttercream, and coated in chocolate to resemble a chocolate-covered strawberry.
The chocolate cake recipe in my chocolate strawberry Swiss roll is adapted from Mary Berry’s Baking Bible cookbook. I was interested in her recipe because it calls for self-rising flour, and I was given a bag of self-rising flour by mistake in my curbside grocery order. If you do not have self-rising flour, do not worry — you can substitute all-purpose flour and add 1 teaspoon of baking powder plus an additional pinch of salt.
I have always loved how pretty Swiss roll cakes are, especially ones that have that perfect swirl. I rarely make them though because of how difficult it can be to achieve that swirl without cracking.
Tips to prevent Swiss roll cracking
However, I recently learned an incredible trick from the talented Hamza Gulzar (@boybawarchi on TikTok, Instagram and YouTube). He douses his Swiss roll in simple syrup while it is still warm before rolling it up to set the swirl. I thought this was genius. More moisture = more flexibility. So, for this cake, I used ¼ cup granulated sugar and ¼ water to create a plain simple syrup. You could even add cocoa powder, espresso powder or vanilla to take the flavor up a notch.
I follow Mary Berry’s Swiss roll technique in this chocolate strawberry Swiss roll recipe of rolling the warm cake up with a sugared parchment paper sheet. I know others use a clean tea towel, which can also work. However, the bit of sugar that is imparted on the outside of the cake adds more sweetness, which I like, but if you don’t like overly sweet cake then perhaps forgo this step or use the tea towel method.
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What to fill a Swiss roll cake with
Swiss roll cakes can be filled with whipped cream, buttercreams and jams, jellies and curds.
I love frosting. No frosting is too sweet for me, however, those that I share my bakes with complain about “too sweet” frosting, so I am always trying to find a happy medium. Hence this ermine frosting making an appearance in this recipe.
Ermine frosting is also referred to as boiled milk frosting. I think it is a perfect frosting to make if you don’t have time to make a swiss meringue buttercream, but you don’t want a sickly sweet American buttercream.
I used a quick homemade strawberry jam here, but you could use store bought or use another fruit jam altogether. If you like fruit and chocolate desserts, consider my raspberry cheesecake chocolate tarts.
Tips:
- You can substitute self-rising flour for the same amount of all-purpose flour, but add 1 teaspoon of baking powder and an additional pinch of salt.
- This cake will keep in the refrigerator in an airtight container for about 3-4 days.
- If using chocolate chips, add 1 teaspoon (or more) of shortening to thin out the mixture and make it a pourable consistency.
- Alternatively, you could make a quick chocolate ganache to pour over using 200g chocolate to 100g heavy cream melted over a bain-marie.
- You could add cocoa powder, espresso powder or vanilla to take the flavor up a notch in your simple syrup.
📖 Recipe
Chocolate Strawberry Swiss Roll Cake
Ingredients
Chocolate Swiss Roll
- 4 large eggs
- 100 g granulated sugar (4 oz)
- 65 g self-rising flour (2 ½ oz) see notes for substitution
- 40 g cocoa powder (1 ½ oz) I prefer dutch process
- Pinch salt
- ⅓ cup simple syrup
Ermine Frosting (you could also just use whipped cream or american buttercream)
Quick Strawberry Jam
- 12 oz fresh strawberries (340g) washed and diced
- ¼ cup sugar
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
Garnish
- 16 oz Chocolate melting wafers
- Freeze-dried strawberries chopped, optional
Instructions
Make the swiss roll
- Preheat the oven to 400°F. Grease and line a (9x13) pan with parchment.
- Beat eggs and sugar with a hand mixer or stand mixer with whisk attachment until light and fluffy and your beaters leave a trail when pulled up.
- Sift in flour, cocoa and salt. Gently fold in the sifted ingredients.
- Pour batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top.
- Bake for 10 minutes or until you see the sponge begin to pull away from the edges of the pan. While baking, lay out a piece of parchment or wax paper on the counter that is a bit larger than your pan. Sprinkle sugar over the parchment or wax paper.
- When the cake is done, invert it onto the sugared parchment and peel off the parchment from baking. Spoon simple syrup evenly over the warm cake. Roll the cake up tightly with the sugared parchment from the long side.
- Leave to cool completely.
Make the frosting
- Combine flour and sugar in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Whisk and cook for about 2 minutes to toast the flour.
- Slowly add milk, whisking to combine, and turn heat to medium-high. Bring the mixture to a simmer, whisking continuously until it is thick and pudding-like. Once simmering, cook for an additional minute.
- Transfer to a heat-proof bowl. Cover with plastic wrap so that it is touching the surface without any air bubbles in between to prevent a skin from forming. Let cool in the refrigerator for a few hours or overnight. Alternatively, Spread the mixture onto a sheet pan (covered with plastic) and put it in the freezer for 30 minutes to cool it down faster. Ensure the mixture is completely cool, otherwise it will melt the butter.
(Start your jam here if you’d like to save time while your frosting cools.)
- Add softened butter to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment and mix on high until very light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.
- Add the cooled flour mixture gradually, by the spoonful, while still beating. Incorporating the mixture slowly ensures a smoother consistency.
- Add vanilla and salt, and mix until fully incorporated.
Make the strawberry jam
- Combine diced strawberries, sugar and lemon juice in a medium saucepan over medium heat-high heat.
- When bubbling, cook for about five minutes or until strawberries have softened.
- Use an immersion blender to completely puree the berries, you could also use a blender here but be careful as the mixture is very hot. Continue cooking, about five minutes more on medium heat until the jam has thickened to a consistency you like.
- Move to a heatproof bowl to cool completely.
Assemble the swiss roll
- Gently unroll the cooled cake and spread an even layer of jam. Then spread an even layer of ermine frosting. I used a piping bag to make an even layer without disturbing the jam.
- Tightly re-roll the cake and wrap in plastic. Place in the fridge until ready to coat in chocolate.
- If using melting wafers, warm the wafers in the microwave in short bursts or in a bain-marie. See notes for alternatives.
- Remove your swiss roll from the refrigerator and place on a rack over a sheet pan to catch the excess chocolate. Pour chocolate over the cake, coating evenly.
- Once the chocolate coating has cooled you can pipe additional chocolate in a drizzle pattern. I also garnished mine with chopped freeze-dried strawberries. Slice and enjoy!
Notes
- You can substitute self-rising flour for the same amount of all-purpose flour, but add 1 teaspoon of baking powder and an additional pinch of salt.
- This cake will keep in the refrigerator in an airtight container for about 3-4 days.
- If using chocolate chips, add 1 teaspoon (or more) of shortening to thin out the mixture and make it a pourable consistency.
- Alternatively, you could make a quick chocolate ganache to pour over using 200g chocolate to 100g heavy cream melted over a bain-marie.
