This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our disclosure policy.
Soft and fluffy coffee Swiss roll cake filled with delicious mascarpone cream and savoiardi cookies. It’s a delicious and visually impressive dessert that reminds you of the classic tiramisu.
If you love tiramisu and roll cake, why not combine the two and enjoy the best of both worlds? Tiramisu roll cake is a delicious and visually stunning dessert that is perfect for any occasion.
What is Tiramisu Swiss Roll Cake ?
Tiramisu roll cake is a dessert that combines the flavors of tiramisu and a Swiss roll cake. It is made of a sponge cake sheet that is spread with a tiramisu filling made with a mixture of mascarpone cheese, heavy cream, espresso, cocoa powder, and savoiardi cookies. The cake is then rolled up tightly to create a spiral shape. You have all the elements of classic tiramisu in a form of a roll cake.
The recipe is adapted from here with slight modifications.
Tiramisu Swiss Roll Cake
Ingredients
Coffee sponge cake:
- 15 g cocoa powder plus more for decorating
- 5 g instant coffee
- 30 g hot water
- 80 g egg yolks from 4 large eggs, about 58-62 g with the shell
- 50 g oil
- 30 g milk
- 10 g sugar
- 65 g cake flour
- Pinch of salt
Egg white meringue:
- 120 g egg whites from 4 large eggs, about 58-62 g with the shell
- 65 g sugar
- 1 tsp vinegar or lemon juice
Coffee syrup:
- 4 g instant espresso powder
- 15 g sugar
- 5 g coffee liquor skip if you don't have any
- 50 g hot water
Mascarpone cream:
- 140 g heavy cream
- 20 g icing sugar
- 5 g coffee syrup you prepare earlier
- 10 g coffee liquor skip if you don't have any
- 120 g mascarpone cheese
Filling:
- 6 Ladyfingers cookies or as needed
Instructions
- Spray the baking pan, 9 x 13 x 1 inch, with non-stick cooking spray or brush some oil and then line with a parchment paper on the bottom and the side
Prepare the cake batter:
- Combine coffee, cocoa powder, and hot water. Stir into a paste and set aside to let it cool down
- Preheat oven to 350 F (180 C) for a conventional oven. Lower the temperature by 20 F (15 C) degrees for a convection oven. In a large mixing bowl, whisk egg yolks, oil, sugar, milk, and coffee mixture until combined. Sift in the cake flour, and salt. Whisk to mix until combined and no lumps
Prepare the meringue:
- Make sure the egg whites are at room temperature. Place egg whites in a mixing bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment. Whisk until foamy on medium speed and then add cream of tartar or lemon juice/vinegar and whip again for another minute then and 1/3 of the sugar and continue to add sugar until you use it all up. Whip until the egg white develops a medium-soft peak (refer to video if you need to). When you lift the meringue up it will hold up its shape but the tail will bend. Do not whip until stiff peak. The cake will crack when you roll it later
Fold meringue into the cake batter:
- Fold about 1/3 of the meringue into the egg yolk batter and use a rubber spatula or whisk to fold or whisk until mix and continue to fold in the next 1/3 until you use up all the meringue and the batter is smooth . The batter should be a pourable consistency
Pour into the baking pan:
- Pour the batter into the pan and use a rubber spatula to help to spread evenly. You can use a dough scraper to help you even out the surface too if necessary
Bake:
- Gently tap the baking sheet on your working surface several times to pop any air bubbles
- Bake in a preheated oven for 30 minutes and then switch to convection mode (fan mode) and bake for another 3-4 minutes or until the top is golden brown and dry to touch. If you don't have convection mode, bake another 5 minutes and check to make sure the top is golden brown and dry to touch. It is important that the top is dry to touch so this layer won't peel off when you roll later
Cool down:
- Remove the cake from the oven and then lift it out from the pan immediately to a cooling rack and peel off the parchment paper from 4 sides. This helps to prevent wrinkles on the surface. Let it cools down like this for 5-6 minutes (I use a timer to actually time it)
- After 5-6 minutes. Place a new piece of parchment paper, larger than the cake, on top of the cake and flip over to the other side. Peel off the parchment paper
Prepare the filling:
- Combine espresso powder, sugar, coffee liquor and hot water and stir to combine
- Place the cold heavy cream, icing sugar, coffee syrup and coffee liquor in a mixing bowl and whip on medium speed until just thickened but the cream can still drip. Add the mascarpone cheese and whip on low speed until stiff. Do not overwhip until the cream turns grainy
Assembling:
- Use a serrated knife to trim about 1/4-inch of the 4 edges. This makes rolling the cake easier.
- Spread 1/3 of the mascarpone cream on the surface of the cake, leaving about 1/2 inch border on the edges. Dip the ladyfinger cookies in the coffee syrup quickly and place them on the long side of the cake. You may need 2-3 pieces,depending on the size of the cookies. Break into smaller pieces if needed to fit the length of the cake. Cover with ta hin layer of cream on top of the cookies. Stack another layer of the cookies and cover with a thin layer of cream again
- Very gently use one hand to lift the parchment paper up to help you roll the cake up until you reach the other side. Tuck the parchment paper under and use a dough scraper to help you tighten the roll-up. Tighten the roll by using a bench scraper to tuck underneath the parchment paper while pulling the paper at the same time
- Keep it wrap in the parchment paper and chill in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour
- Keep the rest of the cream covered in the refrigerator
Decorating the cake with more cream:
- Trim both ends of the cake a bit to make it looks neat. Spread the rest of the mascarpone cream all over the surface of the roll cake. Use a spatula to scrape the cream at an angle to create simple design. Chill in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour before cutting
To serve:
- Sprinkle the cake with some cocoa powder. Cut into the desired size and serve
RECOMMEDED TOOLS
*Nutrition facts are just estimates and calculated using online tools*
How to make tiramisu roll cake
1. Spray the baking pan, 9 x 13 x 1 inch, with non-stick cooking spray or brush some oil and then line with parchment paper on the bottom and the side. Combine coffee, cocoa powder, and hot water. Stir into a paste and set aside to let it cool down
2. Preheat oven to 350 F (180 C) for a conventional oven. Lower the temperature by 20 F (15 C) degrees for a convection oven. In a large mixing bowl, whisk egg yolks, oil, sugar, milk, and coffee mixture until combined. 
3. Sift in the cake flour, and salt. Whisk to mix until combined and no lumps
4. Make sure the egg whites are at room temperature. Place egg whites in a mixing bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment. Whisk until foamy on medium speed and then add cream of tartar or lemon juice/vinegar and whip again for another minute then and 1/3 of the sugar and continue to add sugar until you use it all up. Whip until the egg white develops a medium-soft peak. When you lift the meringue up it will hold up its shape but the tail will bend. Do not whip until stiff peak. The cake will crack when you roll it later
5. Fold about 1/3 of the meringue into the egg yolk batter and use a rubber spatula or whisk to fold or whisk until mix and continue to fold in the next 1/3 until you use up all the meringue and the batter is smooth . The batter should be a thick and pourable consistency
6. Pour the batter into the pan and use a rubber spatula to help to spread evenly. You can use a dough scraper to help you even out the surface too if necessary. Gently tap the baking sheet on your working surface several times to pop any air bubbles
7. Bake in a preheated oven for 30 minutes and then switch to convection mode (fan mode) and bake for another 3-4 minutes or until the top is golden brown and dry to touch. If you don’t have convection mode, bake another 5 minutes and check to make sure the top is golden brown and dry to touch. It is important that the top is dry to touch so this layer won’t peel off when you roll later
8. Remove the cake from the oven and then lift it out from the pan immediately to a cooling rack and peel off the parchment paper from 4 sides. This helps to prevent wrinkles on the surface. Let it cools down like this for 5-6 minutes (I use a timer to actually time it)
9. After 5-6 minutes. Place a new piece of parchment paper, larger than the cake, on top of the cake and flip over to the other side. Peel off the parchment paper
10. Prepare the filling: Combine espresso powder, sugar, coffee liquor and hot water and stir to combine
11. Place the cold heavy cream, icing sugar, coffee syrup and coffee liquor in a mixing bowl and whip on medium speed until just thickened but the cream can still drip. 
12. Add the mascarpone cheese and whip on low speed until stiff. Do not overwhip until the cream turns grainy
13. Use a serrated knife to trim about 1/4-inch of the 4 edges. This makes rolling the cake easier.
14. Spread 1/3 of the mascarpone cream on the surface of the cake, leaving about 1/2 inch border on the edges. 
15. Dip the ladyfinger cookies in the coffee syrup quickly and place them on the long side of the cake. You may need 2-3 pieces,depending on the size of the cookies. Break into smaller pieces if needed to fit the length of the cake. Cover with ta hin layer of cream on top of the cookies. 
16. Stack another layer of the cookies and cover with a thin layer of cream again
17. Very gently use one hand to lift the parchment paper up to help you roll the cake up until you reach the other side. Tuck the parchment paper under and use a dough scraper to help you tighten the roll-up. 
18. Tighten the roll by using a bench scraper to tuck underneath the parchment paper while pulling the paper at the same time
19. Keep it wrap in the parchment paper and chill in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour. Keep the rest of the cream covered in the refrigerator
20. Trim both ends of the cake a bit to make it looks neat. Spread the rest of the mascarpone cream all over the surface of the roll cake. 
21. Use a spatula to scrape the cream at an angle to create simple design. Chill in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour before cutting
22. Sprinkle the cake with some cocoa powder. Cut into the desired size and serve
Tips for success
1. Be gentle when rolling up the cake to avoid cracking or tearing the sponge.
2. Don’t overfill the cake with the tiramisu filling, or it will spill out when you roll it up.
3. Chill the cake before slicing for clean, even slices.
Did you make this tiramisu roll cake recipe?
I love it when you guys snap a photo and tag it to show me what you’ve made. Simply tag me @WhatToCookToday #WhatToCookToday on Instagram and I’ll be sure to stop by and take a peek for real!
