Raspberry Swiss Roll with step by step photos (2024)

This delicious Raspberry Swiss Roll makes for a perfect spring or summer dessert. An easy roll cake recipe combines a light lemon sponge with a layer of sweet raspberry jam and crème fraîche whipped cream. Delectable, to say the least!

This beautiful roll cake combines the simplicity of a classic genoise sponge with fresh, fruity raspberries and tangy crème fraîche whipped cream. The pairing of lemon and raspberries is a favourite of mine, and if you love it too, then you’ll be a fan of my Raspberry Lemonade Layer Cake and my Lemon Raspberry Baked Donuts.

Not long ago, I shared with you my Chocolate Swiss Roll and my Gingerbread Swiss Roll Cake, but with the days getting longer and warmer as we head into Spring, I wanted to bring you something lighter and fresher!

In this post, I’ll break down just how easy a swiss roll cake recipe really is. With step-by-step photos and detailed descriptions, you’ll succeed in the most beautiful roll ever! For more useful tips, read my How To Make A Swiss Roll Guide.

🌟 Why You'll Love This Recipe

1. Fresh, summery flavours. The light lemon sponge, sweet, raspberry jam and tangy crème fraîche are a match made in heaven.
2. Uses minimal ingredients. The list of ingredients needed is short and sweet. All of which are basic pantry or fridge staples.
3. Make ahead. This is a great option for an easy dessert that can be made ahead of time.
4. It feeds a crowd! Depending on how thinly you slice the roll-up cake, you can get 10 to 12 slices out of this one roll. Perfect for entertaining or enjoying over a couple of days.

🧾 Ingredients Needed

With only 7 basic ingredients needed for the simple lemon sponge and 4 ingredients for the filling- this cake is brilliant. I've made notes below regarding these ingredients that will help when making this recipe, plus any substitutions.

For the Sponge Cake

• Eggs - provide structure and, more importantly, moisture to the sponge. Make sure to whip them for the required time. I use large eggs at room temperature. Separate the egg yolks from the egg whites.
• Sugar - to sweeten the cake roll. I prefer to use caster sugar, but granulated will also work.
• Lemon zest - this is optional, but a little lemon goes a long way in creating a beautiful flavour profile. Substitute for orange zest if necessary.
• Vanilla extract - to add extra flavour.
• Plain flour - To provide structure. Weigh the flour so that you don’t add too much, which will cause a dry sponge that will crack. You can use self-raising flour but be sure to omit the baking powder.
• Baking powder - adds a little additional lift to the sponge.
• Salt - balances out the sweetness.

For the Crème Fraîche Whipped Cream

Crème fraîche, double cream and powdered icing sugar are whipped together to create this luscious filling. The crème fraîche adds the perfect tang to the cream and also stabilises it.

Extras

• Raspberry Jam - use your favourite, good-quality raspberry jam or conserve.
• Fresh raspberries and mint- optional extras to decorate your raspberry roll cake with, but I guarantee that with a dust of powdered icing sugar and a handful of fresh raspberries and some mint leaves, you’ll have a spectacularly beautiful roll on your hands!

Fillings

• Sweetened whipped cream (crème chantilly)
• Chocolate frosting
• Roasted strawberry frosting (as on my Almond Strawberry Cupcakes)
• Fruity jam or conserve
• Oreo whipped cream
• Caramel Swiss Meringue Buttercream (as on my Apple Cider Cupcakes)

Toppings

• Cocoa powder: Dust the chocolate sponge with cocoa powder keeping it plain and simple
• Chocolate Ganache: Cover in rich, smooth chocolate ganache for a decadent twist.
• Caster sugar: Roll the sponge in caster sugar. Sprinkle the tea towel with caster sugar instead of powdered icing sugar for a little crunch.

👩🏻‍🍳 How to Make a Swiss Roll

This raspberry Swiss roll cake is made up of two parts: the sponge and the filling. Each is simple to make. It's the technique of rolling the sponge that makes this dessert so eye-catching. I have plenty of process images so that this process can feel less intimidating to you- once you have the hang of it you'll love the process!

*Be sure to see the recipe card below for the full list of ingredients & instructions!*

Make the Lemon Sponge

STEP 1. Prepare your pan—grease the base and sides of your baking pan with butter and line them with parchment paper. The paper should overhang the side so that it’s easier to remove the sponge from the tray later on. Grease the parchment paper as I find this will help with peeling off the paper before rolling the sponge.

STEP 2. Whip egg whites. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, whisk the egg whites until soft peaks form (Images 1 & 2).

TIP:Whip the egg whites first so that you can use the same whisk in the next step without having to wash it up. I'm all about ease!

STEP 3. Whip the egg yolks, sugar and lemon zest. In a separate clean and dry bowl, add egg yolks, sugar, lemon zest and vanilla extract and whip for a good 4 minutes until pale and thick(Images 3 & 4). Set a timer! It always feels like quite a long time, but you need to whisk for long enough.

TIP:When you lift the whisk up, you should be able to see a trail of the mixture on the surface for a couple of seconds. This is called 'ribboning'.

STEP 4. Sift in dry ingredients and add the egg whites. This step is done in 2 parts.

• Sift in half the flour directly onto the egg yolk mixture in the bowl. Add in half the egg whites (Image 5). Using a rubber spatula, fold the mixture until the flour and egg whites are just incorporated (Image 6).
• Then, sift in the remaining flour, baking powder and salt and add the remaining egg whites (Image 7). Again, fold through until just a few flour streaks remain (Image 8). This will ensure that you don't overmix. Fold them in with a light touch to maintain all the trapped air. This is one of the reasons why the sponge is so light and airy.

This technique of adding the flour and egg whites at the same time may seem different to the regular method of folding in the flour then the egg whites. But after so much recipe testing, I found my method consistently yielded the most stable, light sponge that didn't crack when rolling.

STEP 5. Bake and cool.Pour the batter into the prepared panand move the batter to the edges with an offset spatula (Image 12). Smooth until level (Image 13). Tap the pan firmly on the counter top to release any air bubbles(Image 14).

Bake for 10 to 12 minutes until the centre springs back, the sponge has started to shrink away from the sides, and the sponge is golden brown and dry to touch(Image 15).

Set aside until the sponge is warm and not hot.Once the sponge is baked, remove the pan from the oven and set the tray on a wire rack for ten minutes until the sponge is warm but not hot. This is an important step - don't skip it or go over the ten minutes.

STEP 6. Prepare your tea towel. Whilst the sponge is baking, sift powdered icing sugar liberally onto a tea towel or sheet of parchment paper lain flat on a work surface. The powdered icing sugar needs to cover a slightly larger surface area than the pan the sponge is baking in (Image 7). (You can also use caster sugar.

Invert the sponge onto the tea towel. Once the sponge has baked, remove it from the oven and invert it immediately onto the icing sugar on the prepared tea towel (Image 8).

See Also

Two Ways To Make Vegan Condensed MilkMiddle Eastern Apricot Mousse With Nut Crumble Layers (Mish Mish)Karpatka Eclair Cake - Polish Carpathian Mountain Cream Cake31 Ways to Use Up a Bag of Cake Flour

STEP 7. Peel off the parchment paper. Use your fingertips to gently peel the parchment paper away from the sponge (Image 9).

Roll sponge up. Using your fingers, starting from the short end of the sponge rectangle, gently but firmly roll the warm sponge into the tea towel (Image 10). Set the cake roll aside with its seam side down to cool completely.

Make the Crème Fraîche Whipped Cream Filling

Whilst the cake roll is cooling, this is the perfect opportunity to make your crème fraîche whipped cream.

STEP 8. Add all the ingredients to your bowl. Whip the cream, crème fraîche and powdered icing sugar on low for 10 to 20 seconds. It thickens super quickly, so keep an eye on it! Refrigerate until needed (Images 11 & 12).

How to Roll a Swiss Roll

Once the lemon sponge has cooled down, it's time for the fun part- filling and re-rolling!

STEP 9. Unroll the sponge. Gently unroll the sponge from the tea towel or baking paper.

Cover with jam. Spoon the raspberry jam onto the sponge and smooth evenly, leaving a 2 cm (1-inch) gap around the edge (Image 13).

STEP 10. Top with crème fraîche whipped cream. Dollop cream filling onto the raspberry jam sponge and, using an offset spatula, smooth it out into an even layer (Image 14).

STEP 10. Roll time! Gently roll the sponge up again, trying not to squeeze out the filling too much. Use the tea towel to help you lift the sponge over itself (Image 15). (Don’t worry if the cream and jam squish out a little bit; we’ll be cutting off the ends later to neaten it up!

Wrap and refrigerate. Wrap the roll in a piece of parchment paper and then tightly in plastic wrap to hold its shape. Refrigerate for 1-2 hours for the filling to set (Image 16).

How to slice neatly

Before serving, slice the two ends to neaten the Swiss roll. There are two ways to do this effectively.

1. With a knife: Heat the knife's blade by running it under hot water, wiping it dry and slicing through. Heat and wipe the blade for every cut.
2. With dental floss: Cut a long piece of dental floss, and holding each end, manoeuvre it under the Swiss roll to where you want the cut. Bring the two ends up around the roll to crossover on the top and pull together to slice through the cake roll.

To decorate

Liberally dust the roll with powdered icing sugar for a simple raspberry cream roll.

If you’d like to add a little decoration, then top the Swiss roll with fresh raspberries and fresh mint leaves. You’ll feel like you’ve created something Delia would be proud of.

📋Recipe FAQs

❄️ Storage and Freezer Instructions

To store: The Swiss roll can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.

To freeze: An unfilled, rolled sponge can be wrapped in plastic wrap and then foil and frozen for up to 2 months. Thaw in the refrigerator overnight and allow to come to room temperature before filling and continuing with the recipe instructions.

🍓 More Fruity Dessert Recipes

Raspberry Swiss Roll Recipe

Homemade Raspberry Swiss Roll. Light lemon sponge layered with sweet raspberry jam and whipped crème fraîche cream, then rolled in a spiral. This is a simple yet elegant summertime treat.

Servings: 10 slices

Calories: 269kcal

All recipes are developed and tested in Metric grams. I strongly recommend that you bake using digital scales for a more accurate result. I have provided a conversion to US customary in the recipe but please note that I haven’t tested using this method.

Nutrition

Calories: 269kcal | Carbohydrates: 23g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 18g | Saturated Fat: 11g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 114mg | Sodium: 161mg | Potassium: 116mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 13g | Vitamin A: 639IU | Vitamin C: 4mg | Calcium: 88mg | Iron: 1mg