The Easiest Chocolate Swiss Cake Roll (With Ice Cream Filling)

Remember the swiss cake roll from your childhood lunchbox? This homemade version takes that nostalgic treat to a whole new level, with a light chocolate sponge cake wrapped around a cloud-like vanilla ice cream filling. It’s surprisingly simple to make and looks impressive enough for any special occasion.  

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This rolled-up ice cream cake has always been a go-to birthday dessert at my house. We’re big chocolate cake fans, and anything served with ice cream is a winner in my book. So it makes sense to combine the two into a decadent dessert that features dark chocolate sponge cake, ganache, and creamy, refreshing ice cream all rolled into one.  

To ensure success with this swiss cake roll recipe, it’s important to prepare your workspace and ingredients in advance. Make space in your freezer for the rolled cake and gather all necessary equipment. When folding the whipped egg whites into the batter, do so gently to maintain the airy texture of the sponge cake.

Why You’ll Love Making A Swiss Cake Roll

• Stunning Presentation: The mesmerizing spiral pattern creates an immediate “wow factor” when sliced, making it a perfect centerpiece for special occasions without requiring complex decorating skills.
• Customizable Filling Ideas: The neutral-flavored swiss cake roll specifically complements both light and rich fillings, from traditional whipped cream to more adventurous options like coffee mousse or chocolate ganache, without competing with their flavors.
• Space Efficiency: The horizontal roll design takes up minimal counter and freezer space compared to traditional layer cakes that require the same serving capacity.
• Make Ahead: This cake can be made a couple days ahead and stored in the freezer, ready for serving, allowing you to prep ahead for a special event.

🍥 Every time I visit a certain friend, I sneak in with a cherry chocolate chip ice cream cake roll, and she literally squeals with joy – it never gets old!

Recipe Ingredients

• Cake flour — not self-rising
• Cocoa powder — unsweetened
• Baking powder
• Salt
• Eggs
• Sugar
• Vanilla extract
• Ice cream — vanilla or your favorite flavor
• Heavy cream
• Chocolate — I like semisweet for this cake.
• Corn syrup
• Vanilla extract

See the recipe card below for full information on ingredients and quantities.

How To Make a Swiss Cake Roll

Step 1: When all your ingredients and equipment are ready, it’s time to start mixing. First, combine the dry ingredients. In a large mixing bowl, whip the egg whites on medium-high speed until they form stiff peaks. This is what gives the cake it’s airiness.

Step 2: To check your peaks, simply stop mixing and lift the whisk (beater) out of the egg whites, turning it upside down. If the egg whites droop, keep whipping. If they cling to the wire whisk and stand up straight into a peak, you’re good to go. 

Pro Tip: It’s important to use the whipped egg whites fairly quickly after they reach stiff peaks. Egg whites tend to separate if they sit around for too long. 

Step 3: Next, beat the egg yolks with the sugar and vanilla. Add the dry cake ingredients to the egg yolks. Then gently fold a quarter of your whipped egg whites into the batter just to lighten it. Folding in a little bit initially helps to incorporate it more easily without deflating the egg whites.

Step 4: Finally, gently mix the remaining whipped egg whites into the batter and fold until just combined. No streaks of whites should be visible, but you also don’t want to mix any more than is necessary. The dough should be light and airy.  

Step 5: When spreading the cake batter into your prepared pan, make sure to spread it as evenly as possible. If the edges are too thin, they will bake up as a crispy cookie rather than a cake. Then when you go to roll the cake the edges will crumble. However, if this does happen to your edges, you can troubleshoot by carefully trimming them off before rolling your cake.

Pro Tip: Be sure not to over-bake the cake. You need it to be soft and pliable to roll up easily. 

Tips For Perfectly Rolling The Cake

You’ll roll this cake twice: first when it comes out of the oven. And second, after filling it with ice cream. 

First Roll

Step 1: For the first rolling, it’s important to roll the cake when it’s still warm from the oven. It’s best to let the cake cool just slightly in the pan while you dust a clean dish towel with powdered sugar. 

Step 2: Run a knife around the edges of the pan to make sure the cake is not stuck to the pan. Then quickly invert the cake so it comes out onto the dishtowel, remove the parchment, and immediately roll the cake. 

Step 3: Fold the bottom of the towel over the short end of the cake and roll the dish towel and the cake into a log. Set the rolled cake so it sits on the seam, which will help seal the cake later. Allow it to cool like this.

Second Roll: With Ice Cream

Step 1: First, take your ice cream out of the fridge to let it soften up a bit. It should be soft but not melted. You will use the full 1½ quarts of ice cream for this recipe. 

Step 2: Before unrolling the cake, get your tools ready. You’ll need large pieces of parchment and aluminum foil to wrap the cake after rolling, as well as a rubber or offset spatula to spread the ice cream evenly. 

Step 3: Next, unroll your cake on parchment paper for easy clean-up. You’ll need to work quickly as the ice cream will melt. Cover the full surface of the cake with ice cream, all the way out to the edges. 

Pro Tip: I’ve found the easiest way to spread the ice cream is to put large dollops of ice cream across the cake and then spread the dollops together. 

Step 4: Now roll the cake up as smoothly as you can, following the same roll pattern as the first time. Note that some melted ice cream may ooze out the ends as you roll; no worries. Just keep going. Finally, wrap the ice cream-filled cake in the parchment and aluminum foil and freeze. 

Step 5: Before glazing, trim the ends for better presentation (and a snack for the chef!), and slice the cake with a serrated knife to minimize crumbs. 

Making Chocolate Ganache

While your ice cream roll cake is freezing, prepare the finishing touch: a homemade chocolate ganache to drizzle over the top of the cake. 

Our recipe is a basic four-ingredient glaze with heavy cream, semisweet chocolate, corn syrup, and vanilla. Be sure to use low heat and stir frequently while the chocolate is melting.

When it’s time to glaze the cake, make sure that your glaze is at room temperature and thickened. Otherwise, it won’t stick to the cake, but will slide right off.

At room temp, the glaze should set quickly on the frozen cake. You can do a test drip to see if the glaze is thickened to pour over the ice cream cake roll. It’s best to glaze your cake while it’s set on a wire rack over a baking sheet to catch any drips.

Recipe FAQs

Expert Tips

• Powdered Sugar Dusting: Apply powdered sugar to your kitchen towel in a very thin, even layer using a fine-mesh sieve.
• Cooling Position: After the initial roll, position the seam side down while cooling – this weight helps “train” the cake to hold its shape and prevents it from unraveling when you fill it.
• Pre-Roll Trim: Before your final roll with the filling, trim about ¼ inch off each short end of the cake at a slight angle – this creates a cleaner-looking spiral and prevents filling from squeezing out the ends.
• Filling Temperature: If using a cream-based filling, chill it to 40°F (4°C) before spreading – the cooler temperature provides better structure and prevents the filling from becoming too soft during rolling.

More Favorite Chocolate Cake Recipes

Two of our favorite ice creams to wrap up inside a chocolate cake roll are mint chocolate chip and cherry chocolate chip ice cream. I also have a fun Malted Milk Ball Ice Cream Cake Roll for Easter and a Chocolate Peppermint Ice Cream Cake Roll perfect for the winter holidays.

If you’re a chocoholic like me, then you’ll love these other popular chocolate cake recipes to make all year long:

• Cool down on a hot summer day with my dreamy Cherry Chocolate Chip Ice Cream Cake Roll – it’s the perfect blend of fresh cherries and rich chocolate that’ll make your taste buds dance!
• After one bite of this Malted Milk Ball Ice Cream Cake Roll, you’ll be transported straight back to your favorite childhood memories of malted milkshakes and summer nights.
• When the holidays roll around, nothing brings more joy than watching faces light up as I serve my signature Chocolate Peppermint Ice Cream Cake Roll, with its perfect swirls of mint and dark chocolate.

More Ice Cream Cake Dessert Recipes to Consider

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The Easiest Chocolate Swiss Cake Roll (With Ice Cream Filling)

Remember the swiss cake roll from your childhood lunchbox? This homemade version takes that nostalgic treat to a whole new level, with a light chocolate sponge cake wrapped around a cloud-like vanilla ice cream filling.

Prep Time10 minutes mins

Cook Time12 minutes mins

Additional Time1 hour hr

Total Time1 hour hr 22 minutes mins

Servings: 6 -8 Servings

Calories: 360kcal

Author: Melissa Griffiths

Cook ModePrevent your screen from going to sleep

Equipment

• Cuisinart HM-90BCS Power Advantage Plus 9-Speed Handheld Mixer with Storage Case, Brushed Chrome
• OXO Good Grips 3-Piece Stainless-Steel Mixing Bowl Set, White
• OXO Good Grips Cooling Rack

Ingredients 

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CAKE

• ½ cup cake flour not self-rising
• ⅓ cup unsweetened cocoa powder*
• ¾ teaspoon baking powder
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 5 large eggs at room temperature
• ¾ cup granulated sugar divided
• 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract

FILLING

• 1 container 1 ½ quarts ice cream, softened

GLAZE

• ½ cup heavy cream
• 6 ounces semisweet chocolate chopped*
• ¼ cup corn syrup
• 1 ½ teaspoon s vanilla extract

Instructions

• Heat oven to 375ºF. Spray a 15 ½ x 10 ½ x 1-inch jelly-roll pan with cooking spray, line with parchment or wax paper and spray the paper with additional spray.
• In a small bowl, combine cake flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt.
• Separate the egg whites and yolks into 2 separate large bowls.
• Beat the whites on medium-high speed until foamy. Gradually beat ½ cup of sugar into the whites. Continue to beat on high speed just until stiff (but not dry) peaks form. (I used my KitchenAid to beat the whites and my hand mixer to beat the yolks.)
• Beat the yolks with the remaining ¼ cup sugar and vanilla extract until thickened, about 3 minutes. 
• Continue mixing on low speed as you gradually add in the flour mixture until blended. 
• Stir ¼ of the beaten egg whites into the batter to lighten. Fold in the remaining whites, mixing as little as possible, until no more streaks remain in the batter. 
• Transfer the batter to the prepared pan and smooth the top with a spatula.
• Bake for 12 – 14 minutes, or until the top springs back when gently pressed. Let cool in the cake pan for 2 minutes on a wire rack.
• Dust a clean towel with confectioners’ sugar; loosen the edges of the cake from the pan with a knife and invert the cake onto the towel. Remove the pan and carefully peel off the parchment. 
• Starting from the short end, roll the cake up in the towel. Place the roll seam side down on wire rack and cool completely.
• FILLINGWhile the cake is cooling, put ice cream on the counter to soften. When the ice cream is softened, unroll the cooled cake and spread evenly with ice cream.
• Roll the cake up. Wrap tightly in parchment, then in foil and freeze, seam side down, overnight until firm.
• GLAZEIn a small saucepan, heat the cream, chocolate, and corn syrup over low heat until chocolate is melted and glaze is shiny and smooth, 1 to 2 minutes. Stir in the vanilla. Cool to room temperature.
• Unwrap the cake and trim the ends. Place the cake on a wire rack over a tray or waxed paper. Pour the glaze along top of cake roll, spreading with a spatula to cover the sides. Freeze the cake uncovered until the glaze is firm, about an hour.

Video

Notes

• The sugar-to-flour ratio in Swiss roll cake batter is notably higher than regular cakes, which creates that distinctive elastic texture that allows for successful rolling.
• The addition of a small amount of neutral oil (about 2-3 t ablespoons) to the batter helps prevent the cake from becoming brittle when cooled, improving its rollability.
• The steam created during cooling while rolled in the towel is actually crucial to the cake’s texture – it helps create that soft, pliable structure that prevents cracking during the second roll.
• Most failed Swiss rolls can be easily repurposed into delicious trifles – simply cube the cracked cake and layer it with the filling and some fresh fruit.

Nutrition

Serving: 1g | Calories: 360kcal | Carbohydrates: 50g | Protein: 7g | Fat: 16g | Saturated Fat: 9g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 6g | Cholesterol: 137mg | Sodium: 171mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 39g