Light chocolate sponge with whipped cream cheese and strawberry filling!

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Trade your Valentine’s day chocolate-covered strawberries for this delightful chocolate and strawberry swiss cake roll. The cake is a light, airy chocolate sponge that takes just 10 minutes to bake, and the filling is fluffy, creamy, and full of fresh strawberries. I combine whipped cream with cream cheese for a depth of flavor, and adding the strawberries makes every bite fresh. It’s perfect for a new Valentine’s day tradition or any special occasion.
Why it’s the perfect dessert
Soft, moist, chocolatey cake
Creamy vanilla filling
Tangy cream cheese
Fresh strawberries
Fudgy chocolate ganache
The perfect combination of chocolate cake, vanilla cream, fresh strawberries, and chocolate ganache!

Everything you need
The Cake
- Eggs -separated
- Granulated sugar
- Vegetable oil -light olive oil or your favorite light vegetable oil
- Pure vanilla extract
- Instant coffee -espresso powder
- Salt
The Dry Ingredients
- All-purpose flour
- Baking powder -this ensures the cake rises
- Unsweetened cocoa powder -if your cocoa powder is sweetened, your cake may be too sweet.
The Syrup
- Sugar
- Water
- Vanilla extract -good quality for the best flavor
Ganache Topping
- Heavy whipping cream
- Semi-sweet chocolate -baking chocolate works best, so the ganache is thick
- Instant coffee powder
- Vegetable oil -light flavored oil
Filling
- Fresh strawberries -diced, plus 2-3 more for garnish
- Cream cheese -softened to room temperature
- Pure vanilla extract
- Confectioner’s sugar -divided
- Heavy whipping cream

How to make Chocolate and Strawberry Swiss Cake Roll
Bake the cake
- Preheat the oven to 350 °F, 180 °C.
- Line a half-sheet baking pan with parchment paper.
- Spray the paper with baking spray.
- In the bowl of a tabletop mixer with the whisk attachment, add the egg whites and beat until frothy.
- Add half of the sugar and beat on high speed until a stiff meringue is formed.
- Transfer the meringue to a large mixing bowl.
- Add the egg yolks, remaining sugar, oil, vanilla, coffee, and salt to the mixer and beat on high speed until thick and pale.
- Whisk the dry ingredients together in a bowl.
- Add the dry ingredients to the yolk mixture and beat on low speed until incorporated.
- Then, add a third of the meringue to the mixture and beat until incorporated.
- Transfer the mixture into the bowl with the meringue and gently fold it together until there aren’t any white steaks left.
- Spread the batter into the prepared pan with parchment.
- Bake for 10 minutes, being sure to avoid over-baking, or the cake will be dry.
Prep the cake
- Run a knife around the edges of the cake to release it from the pan.
- Dust the top of the cake with confectioners sugar and place a piece of parchment paper on top.
- Place another pan over the cake, and while wearing oven mitts, carefully flip the hot pans over.
- Carefully remove the parchment that the cake was baked on and discard it.
- Dust the back of the cake with confectioners sugar and roll it up with the parchment that was placed on top of it when it came out of the oven.
- Set aside to cool completely.
**Baker’s tip!** Do not freeze the cake before filling it in hopes of assembling the roll later. The cake will be too dry and fall apart when you try to assemble the roll.
Boil the Syrup
- Combine the sugar and water and cook over medium heat until it comes to a boil and the sugar dissolves.
- Remove from heat and add vanilla.
- Set aside to cool.
Chocolate Ganache
- Heat the cream until scalding hot.
- Place the chocolate, coffee, and oil in a bowl and pour the hot cream on top, whisking together until smooth and shiny.
- Set aside.
Make the Filling
- Beat the cream, vanilla, and half of the sugar until thick and the consistency of whipped cream.
- Transfer it to a bowl.
- Add the cream cheese, remaining sugar, and another teaspoon of vanilla to a bowl and beat until smooth.
- Then, add two-thirds of the whipped cream to the cream cheese mixture and beat until incorporated and fluffy.
- Transfer the remaining whipped cream to a pastry bag fitted with a large open star tip.
- Right before assembling the cake, place the diced strawberries in a bowl and toss them to coat in a tablespoon of sugar. Doing this step right before keeps the strawberries from releasing any juices.
Assemble the swiss roll
- Carefully unroll the cake.
- Brush with simple syrup and spread the filling on top of the cake.
- Sprinkle the strawberries on top of the filling.
- Carefully roll the cake back up tightly.
- Brush the top and sides of the cake with simple syrup.
- Place the roll in the freezer and chill for at least an hour.
Decorate the Cake Roll
- Slice a half-inch piece off of the front and back end of the cake roll.
- Spread the ganache over the top and sides of the cake.
- Decorate the top of the cake roll with whipped cream rosettes and place a strawberry slice into the center of each rosette.

Make Ahead Freezer Instructions
You can freeze sponge cakes once they are filled! This swiss cake roll will keep fresh in the freezer for up to a month. All you have to do is bake the cake, fill it, and roll it up. Then, brush the roll with syrup and set it in the freezer for at least an hour or until firm. Carefully wrap the cake with plastic and store it in the freezer. Transfer to the refrigerator to thaw the night before your dinner party. Then, decorate with ganache, cream rosettes, and berries before serving.

Serving
This swiss roll cake is just beautiful. It looks and tastes better than anything you’ll get at a bakery because of all the fresh ingredients. If you have another favorite berry paired with chocolate, just swap the strawberries out. Raspberries, blueberries, and blackberries would all be delicious. I can’t wait for you to try this, and if you prefer vanilla over chocolate, try my vanilla swiss roll! Kali Orexi!
More Cake Recipes:

Chocolate & Strawberry Swiss Cake Roll
Ingredients
The Cake:
- 4 eggs, separated
- 1/2 cup (127g) granulated sugar
- 1/4 cup vegetable oil
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon instant coffee or espresso powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
The Dry Ingredients:
- 1/2 cup (65-70g) all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/3 cup (40g) unsweetened cocoa powder
For the Syrup:
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1/2 cup water
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
For the Ganache Topping:
- 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
- 4 ounces semi-sweet chocolate
- 1/4 teaspoon instant coffee powder
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
For the Filling:
- 9-10 fresh strawberries, diced, plus 2-3 more for garnish
- 8 ounces (226g) cream cheese, softened
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 cup confectioner's sugar, divided
- 1 and 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 350 °F, 180 °C.
Line a half-sheet baking pan with parchment paper. Spray the paper with baking spray.
In the bowl of a tabletop mixer with the whisk attachment, add the egg whites and beat until frothy. Add half of the sugar and beat on high speed until a stiff meringue is formed.
Transfer the meringue to a large mixing bowl.
Add the egg yolks, remaining sugar, oil, vanilla, coffee, and salt to the mixer and beat on high speed until thick and pale.
Combine the dry ingredients in a bowl and whisk them together. Add the dry ingredients to the yolk mixture and beat on low speed until incorporated.
Add a third of the meringue to the mixture and beat until incorporated.
Transfer the mixture into the bowl with the meringues and gently fold it together until there aren't any white steaks left.
Spread the batter into the prepared pan.
Bake for 10 minutes. Do not over-bake or the cake will be dry.
Run a knife around the edges of the cake to release it from the pan. Dust the top of the cake with cofectioner's sugar and place a piece of parchment paper on top. Place another pan over the cake and carefully flip the pans over. Wear oven mitts because the pan will still be hot.
Carefully remove the parchment that the cake was baked on and discard it. Dust the back of the cake with confectioner's sugar and roll it up with the parchment taht was placed on top of it when it came out of the oven.
Set aside to cool completely.
Make the Syrup: combine the sugar and water and cook over medium heat until it comes to a boil and the sugar dissolves. Remove from heat and add vanilla. Set aside to cool.
Make the Chocolate Ganache: Heat the cream until scalding hot. Place the chocolate, coffee, and oil in a bowl and pour the hot cream on top. Whisk together until smooth and shiny. Set aside.
Make the Filling:
Beat the cream, vanilla, and half of the sugar until thick and the consistency of whipped cream. Transfer it to a bowl.
Add the cream cheese, remaining sugar and anothe teaspoon of vanill to a bowl and beat until smooth. Add two thirds of the whipped cream to the cream cheese mixture and beat until incorporated and fluffy.
Transfer the remaining whipped cream to a pastry bag that has beed fitted with a large open star tip.
Palce the diced strawberries in a bowl and sprinkle a tablespoon of sugar on top. Toss to coat. Do this step right before assembling the cake so that the strawberries do not release their juices.
Carefully unroll the cake. Brush with simple syrup and spread all of the filling on top of the cake. Sprinkle the strawberries on top of the filling.
Carefully roll the cake back up tightly.
Brush the top and sides of the cake with simple syrup.
Place the roll in the freezer and allow it to chill for at least an hour.
Note: At this point once the cake has chilled it may be wrapped with plastic wrap and stored in the freezer for up to 2 months.
Decorate the Cake Roll:
Slice a half -inch piece off of the front and back end of the cake roll.
Spread the ganache over the top and sides of the cake.
Decorate the top of the cake roll with whipped cream rosettes. Place a strawberry slice into the center of each rosette.
Serve! Kali Orexi!
Notes
Make Ahead Freezer Instructions: Assemble the cake, fill it, and roll it up. Brush with syrup and set in the freezer for at least an hour or until firm. Carefully wrap the cake with plastic and store in the freezer. The cake roll will keep fresh for up to 2 months. Decorate with ganache, cream rosettes, and berries before serving.
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