Mocha Chocolate Swiss Cake Roll Recipe

A light, airy chocolate cake roll filled with coffee whipped cream and topped with a dusting of powdered sugar. This mocha roll recipe is a great afternoon treat for any coffee lover and its signature swirl is sure to be a crowd-pleaser at any event. 

Swiss rolls can sometimes be intimidating, but boy are they satisfying when you get that perfect swirl. Yes, they are a bit more complicated to make than your traditional sponge cake as they are typically made using a genoise sponge.

A genoise sponge is a light and airy cake that rises from whipping air into the eggs rather than adding baking soda or powder. It also uses the whole egg (not just egg whites), which in my opinion, makes it easier to work with. 

Why You’ll Love This Mocha Roll Recipe

Light, airy texture: Because you’re whipping loads of air into the eggs and then carefully folding in the dry ingredients, the structure of this cake is more open and light than a traditional sponge (like the one used in this chocolate cupcake recipe).

Lovely coffee and chocolate flavor: Who doesn’t love coffee and chocolate? It really is the best flavor, am I right? 🙂 The mocha flavor comes from the rich chocolate in the sponge combined with the light, coffee-flavored whipped cream filling. (Pair with this salted caramel cream cold brew recipe for a coffee lover’s dream.)

Includes some foolproof tricks: Swiss rolls are notoriously tricky to make. The first time I made a Swiss roll cake, it was a rubbery mess. I had to throw it away. That’s why in this recipe, I wanted to include some tricks and tips (and extra ingredients than your typical genoise sponge) to ensure a perfect, light sponge that doesn’t crack—so your mocha roll comes out beautiful every time without the need for test batches. 

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Ingredients

For the Cake: Eggs (whole), sugar, vanilla, vegetable oil, brewed coffee, flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt.

For the filling: heavy whipping cream, powdered sugar, vanilla extract, and brewed coffee.

Ingredient Notes

Whole Eggs: ​As mentioned earlier, this recipe uses the genoise sponge technique of whipping air into the entire egg at the same time (vs. separating the egg yolks and beating the egg whites to stiff peaks). 

Baking powder: To help make this foolproof, add a small amount of baking powder to the batter. This way, if you accidentally fold too much air out of the mixture, it will still rise. 

Vegetable oil: Adding a couple of tablespoons of vegetable oil to the cake keeps the cake moist and helps prevent it from cracking when you roll it. 

Coffee: Even though this is a mocha cake, the coffee added to the cake actually enhances the chocolate flavor, rather than providing a cake with coffee flavor. There is not enough coffee in the cake or the filling to feel the effects of the caffeine (unless you are super sensitive to it). Bring the coffee to room temperature before adding to the batter. 

Love the flavor of coffee? Check out these toffee nut latte cupcakes or this coffee jello with condensed milk.

Variations & Substitutions

Types of Coffee: I found that strong coffee works best when added to the whipped cream. You can use instant coffee granules, instant coffee powder, instant espresso powder, or brewed hot coffee. You can use decaffeinated or caffeinated coffee. 

Fillings: This recipe simply uses a coffee-flavored whipped cream filling, but you could also swap the whipped cream for a buttercream frosting if you prefer that taste. Or even this raspberry cream cheese frosting. Just know it will be thicker to spread as well as sweeter to taste. 

Topping:  I’ve simply dusted this mocha roll with powdered sugar and cocoa powder as well as decorated it with a couple of dollops of leftover whipped cream frosting. You could also cover the cake roll with a layer of chocolate ganache to give it an extra burst of chocolate flavor. (Kind of like a grown-up Little Debbie’s Swiss Roll).

Tips & Tricks for Success

While I’ve added a few extra ingredients to the recipe to help prevent any baking disasters, there are a couple of things to keep in mind when making your mocha roll. 

Roll when warm. You need to roll up your cake immediately when it comes out of the oven. This helps train the cake to keep its shape when you roll it back out and fill it with frosting. 

Cool completely. ​I know it’s tempting to cut corners (and most of the time you can) but with this one, you really need to wait until the cake is completely cooled before rolling it out and filling it. Feel free to stick it in the fridge for a few minutes to hurry up the process if you’re in a rush. 

When filled, roll up as tight as you can. ​To get a tight swirl, roll the cake as tightly as the filling will let you roll. It’s a balance between giving the filling some room and having a tight spiral. When it doubt, roll tighter than you think. 

​Slice with a sharp knife (preferably a serrated knife). While this cake tastes great, this one is all about the presentation and the cake is much easier to slice if you use a sharp, serrated knife. It will give you the clean lines you are looking for to show off that tight swirl. 

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Step by Step Instructions for How to Make a Mocha Chocolate Swiss Cake Roll

Step 1: In a large bowl of a stand mixer or electric mixer, whisk the whole eggs and granulated sugar until very light and fluffy. They will quadruple in size, be light in color, and have the same texture as mousse. Whisk on high speed until soft peaks form or the mixture leaves a trail that takes more than 2 seconds to dissolve back into itself. 

Step 2: Sift together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt in a separate bowl. Set aside. In a small bowl, stir together the brewed coffee (if using instant use 1 tsp of instant and 2 tbsp hot water), oil, and vanilla extract. 

Step 3: Add half the dry ingredients to the whipped egg mixture, sifting again as you add it. Gently fold the dry ingredients into the mixture so as to not knock out all of the air you just whipped into the eggs. Fold until combined. 

Step 4: Add the coffee, oil, and vanilla. Then add the second half of the flour mixture, sifting as you add them. Gently fold everything together until there are no visible patches of dry ingredients. 

Step 5: Pour the batter onto a very well-greased baking sheet (12×17 pan with raised edges or a jelly roll pan) lined with greased parchment paper (we don’t want it to stick). Use an offset spatula or knife to coax the cake batter to the edges of the pan, creating an even layer. The batter will be very thin. 

Step 6: Bake at 350 for 8 minutes. While baking, tear off another 12×17 piece of parchment paper (or you could use a clean towel) and sprinkle a light dusting of cocoa powder all over it. When the cake is cooked, remove the cake immediately from the pan. I transfer it to a wire rack and then transfer it from the rack to the parchment paper (it’s just easier logistically for me, but the goal is to get it to the parchment paper).

Step 7: Roll up the cake into the parchment paper starting from the short side. Place the seam side on the bottom. Set aside to cool completely. 

Step 8: Combine the heavy whipping cream, vanilla extract, powdered sugar, and brewed coffee to make the coffee whipped cream filling. When the cake is cooled, spread a thin, even layer of filling stopping just a 1/4 of an inch away from the sides. You will use the majority of the whipped cream for the filling. Tightly roll the cake up to get that signature spiral. Place the seam side down. 

Step 9: Decorate however you’d like! I chose to sprinkle powdered sugar on the top of the cake as well as use the remaining whipped cream for decoration. The choice is yours!  

Yield

One mocha Swiss roll cake produces about 10 equal slices. 

Storage Options

Store completed mocha rolls in the refrigerator in an airtight container for up to four days. Best if eaten within 48 hours. 

Frequently Asked Questions