This Gluten Free Chocolate Swiss Roll will impress even the most staunch gluten-free skeptics! It’s made with a light chocolate sponge cake rolled and filled with a silky mascarpone whipped cream and covered in a decedent dark chocolate ganache.
How to Make This Gluten Free Chocolate Swiss Roll Cake
Altogether this recipe breaks down into three main parts:
- Cake prep
- Sift and whisk the dry ingredients in one bowl, then beat the eggs and sugar followed by the oil & vanilla. Gently fold the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients to create a light, airy batter.
- Bake, roll & cool
- Flip the freshly baked cake onto a clean towel then roll into a tight log before setting aside to cool.
- Fill & decorate
- After the cake has fully cooled, carefully unroll the cake and frost with mascarpone whipped cream. Roll it back up into shape. Enjoy as it or make it extra decadent by finishing with a simple chocolate ganache poured over top.
Cake Batter Prep
- Sift &whisk: cocoa powder, gluten free all purpose flour, baking powder, xanthan gum and salt then set aside.
- Beat eggs & sugar: Mix the eggs until frothy then slowly pour the sugar into the bowl. Increase to a high speed and mix about 3-5 minutes until thick, pale & fluffy.
- Add oil & vanilla: With the running on a medium speed, add the vanilla extract and oil. Mix about a minute or so until well combined.
- Beat until thick & fluffy: Mix on a high speed for a few minutes until the mixture it thick, pale and fluffy.
- Add oil & vanilla: With the motor running on a medium speed, drizzle the oil and vanilla into the egg mixture.
- Add the flour mixture: Sift the dry ingredients (again) into the bowl with the egg mixture.
- Fold together: Use a rubber spatula to gently fold everything together the batter is thick, smooth and free of streaks and lumps.
Bake Then Dust with Cocoa
- Bake: Spread the batter out into a lined and greased 9×13-inch baking sheet. Make sure it’s rimmed! Bake for 10-12 minutes until the cake is cooked through. If you gently poke the top, the cake should spring back up.
- Dust with cocoa powder: Transfer the cake to a wire rack then immediately sift cocoa powder evenly over the surface of the cake. This helps keep the cake from sticking to the towel later.
Why dust with cocoa after baking?
Covering the cake surface in a layer of cocoa powder helps prevent the cake from sticking to itself or the towel as it cools making it easier to un-roll later without tearing.
Covering the cake instead of the towel means you get the cocoa exactly where you need it without using too much.
Roll & Cool
- Flip & dust: While the cake is still hot, flip the cake over onto a clean towel. Remove the parchment paper then dust again with cocoa powder.
- Roll the cake: Roll from one short end of the cake to the other. Use the towel to help you roll the cake into a log.
- Cool: Place the rolled up cake on a wire rack and set aside at room temperature until fully cooled.
↳Tip! Roll In A Clean Tea Towel (Not Paper!)
Tea towels stretch and move with the cake while parchment paper does not. If you try to roll a tight cake log in baking paper there is a good chance the paper will tug on the cake to the point of breaking.
Fill & Decorate
- Unroll: Slowly and gently unroll the cake after it’s fully cooled.
- Frost: Spread the whipped cream frosting evenly over the top.
- Re-roll: Re-roll the cake back into shape starting with the curled end.
- Finish: Make sure to finish rolling with the long seam facing down. Wrap up tightly in plastic wrap then place in the fridge to chill and firm up until you’re ready to add the ganache.
Make the Ganache
Tips for making ganache:
- Use heavy cream or whipping cream.
- The higher the fat, the better. Whole milk, half & half and most dairy free milks (full-fat coconut milk from a can, excepted) have too much water which can cause the ganache to split.
- Chocolate bars melt easier than chocolate chips.
- Regular chocolate chips have stabilizers to keep them from melting too easily so they can be used to bake in cookies and things like that. They can melt, but I recommend you chop them up into smaller pieces first.
- Use semi-sweet, bitter-sweet or dark chocolate.
- Aim for about 50%-80% cacao. The higher the cacao the darker the chocolate flavor. Dark chocolate ganache will be thicker and set faster than a semi-sweet chocolate ganache.
- Don’t let any water touch your ganache!
- Though water ganache is a thing (something I just learned!), water exposure to a traditional ganache like this will break your ganache making it grainy and dull. Make sure to keep any random drops of water from falling into the chocolate bowl and away from extra humid places in your kitchen (like the kettle).
Final Tips & Things to Keep in Mind
- Roll the cake while it’s warm.
- Warm cakes are a bit more flexible which means you can flip and roll it without breaking as easily.
- Roll the cake in a towel – not baking paper.
- Tea towels stretch and move with the cake while parchment paper does not. If you try to roll a tight cake log in baking paper there is a good chance the paper will tug on the cake to the point of breaking.
- Dust generously with cocoa powder.
- Covering the cake surface in a layer of cocoa powder helps prevent the cake from sticking to itself or the towel as it cools making it easier to un-roll later without tearing.
- Chill before slicing.
- If time allows, rest your cake in the fridge for a bit so that it firms up a bit (about 30-60 minutes) making it easier to slice.
More Delicious Gluten Free Cake Recipes
- Gluten Free Swiss Roll With Strawberries & Cream
- Gluten Free Pumpkin Roll & Whipped Cream Cheese Frosting
- Gluten Free Chocolate Cake
- Gluten Free Victoria Sponge Cake Recipe
- Gluten Free Carrot Cake
- Gluten Free Lemon Cake With Blueberry Filling
Enjoy!
Let me know if you try this Gluten Free Chocolate Swiss Roll Cake recipe! Leave a comment and review with your thoughts. I always appreciate the feedback and serving suggestions that you come up with!
Yield: 9-inch log cake
Gluten Free Chocolate Swiss Roll Cake
No Ratings
Prep Time
30 minutes
Cook Time
12 minutes
Additional Time
2 hours
Total Time
2 hours 42 minutes
Gluten Free Chocolate Swiss Roll with a tender chocolate cake, an airy mascarpone filling and a rich dark chocolate ganache on top.
Ingredients
- ½ cup gluten free all purpose flour blend (70g)
- 3 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder + more for dusting and rolling (21g)
- 1 1½ tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp xanthan gum
- ½ tsp salt
- 4 large eggs
- ¾ cup white granulated sugar (150g)
- ¼ cup vegetable oil (55g)
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Filling
- ¾ cup cold mascarpone cheese (180g)
- ½ cup white sugar (100g)
- 1 tsp vanilla extract (5ml)
- ¾ cup cold heavy cream [whipping cream in the UK] (180ml)
Ganache
- 4 oz semi-sweet or dark chocolate bars, finely chopped
- ½ cup heavy cream or heavy whipped cream (120ml)
Need help converting to weights? Check out my cups to grams Conversion Guide.
Instructions
Cake
- Oven Prep: Preheat the oven to 350°C (175°C). Lightly grease and line a 9 X 13-inch (22x33cm) jelly roll pan. Lightly grease the parchment paper as well. Set aside.
- Dry Ingredients: In a medium mixing bowl, sift then whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, salt and xanthan gum. Set aside.
- Eggs & Sugar: Add the eggs to a separate large mixing bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer. Using a handheld electric mixer or stand mixer with the whisk attachment, beat on a medium-high speed for about 2 minutes until the eggs are a lighter yellow and frothy. With the mixer still running, gradually pour the sugar into the bowl in a steady stream. Continue to beat the eggs and sugar together on high, about 3-5 minutes until the mixture is pale, fluffy, glossy and has tripled in volume. When you lift up the beaters/whisk the batter should fall back into the bowl in folds and stay visible on top of the batter for a few seconds before it disappears.
- Oil & Vanilla: With the mixer running again on a medium speed, add the vanilla extract then slowly add the oil, pouring in a small & steady stream until fully incorporated.
- Combine: Sift about half of the combined flour mixture into wet ingredients. Use a large rubber spatula to gently fold the dry ingredients into the whipped egg mixture until mostly combined then sift in the remaining dry ingredients. Continue folding until fully combined and no pockets of flour or streaks remain. Make sure to scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl to ensure everything gets properly combined.
- Bake: Pour batter onto the prepared pan and spread out in an even layer. Bake in the middle of the oven for 10-12 minutes or until the cake springs back up when you gently poke it. While the cake bakes, lay a clean kitchen towel flat on the counter.
- Dust & Flip: Transfer the cake to a wire rack and immediately sift an even layer of cocoa powder over the top of the cake then flip the cake over onto the towel. Peel off the baking paper then dust the top with a light layer of cocoa powder.
- Roll: Start with the short edge of the cake and gently roll up with the towel into a tight log. Do this ASAP while the cake is still warm. Place on the wire rack and let the cake cool completely in the towel at room temperature until fully cooled.
Filling & Assembly
- Filling: Add cheese and sugar to a large bowl. Beat on high 1-2 minutes until thick and creamy. With the mixer on a medium-low speed, slowly add the vanilla & heavy cream. Once added, increase to a high speed and beat another 1-2 minutes until stiff peaks form. Time may vary depending on temperature. If you gently shake the bowl, the frosting shouldn't move much.
- Frost: Carefully unroll the cake (after it's fully cooled). Spread filling evenly on top. Gently and slowly roll the cake back up into a tight log, without the towel. Cover and refrigerate until you're ready to add the ganache.
- Ganache: Add the chopped chocolate to a small, heat-safe bowl. Warm the cream in a small pot on the stove until it just barely starts to simmer. Turn off the heat then pour the cream over the chocolate. Let the bowl sit for about a minute, then stir together until the chocolate has fully melted. Let cool a few minutes until it's warm, but not too hot then pour over the cake until covered.
- Finish: Top with chocolate shavings if desired then transfer to the fridge and chill for at least 30-60 minutes before slicing and serving.
Notes
- Leftovers: Cover in plastic wrap or keep in an airtight container in the fridge up to 3 days.
- Make sure you flip and roll the sponge while still warm and use a tea towel to roll - not parchment paper.
This website provides approximate nutrition information for convenience and as a courtesy only. Nutrition data is gathered primarily from the USDA Food Composition Database, whenever available, or otherwise other online calculators.
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