The Best Tiramisu cake roll

This is hands down the Best Tiramisu cake roll that you will ever make! My Tiramisu cake roll recipes consists of a super fluffy Japanese style sponge cake, that is easy to roll without breaking it. The sponge is drizzled with rich espresso, then rolled up with an airy, light whipped mascarpone cream filling. Finally, generous dust of cocoa powder and a super easy, yet decorative whipped mascarpone piping added on top making it the ultimate, elegant Tiramisu cake roll!

The fluffy sponge cake I am using is a Japanese style sponge that has a perfectly airy, light texture yet easy to roll. I have been absolutely obsessed with Japanese style baking since my Japan trip. They tend to use some of my favourite ingredients, and beside the texture of the desserts there are way more fluffier than the versions you might have seen in Europe or US. Whether it's cheesecake, chiffon cake or roll cake, everything looks perfectly airy, tender, moist.

Italy with its landscape, history, culture and food is the other love of mine! I adore everything about it, been there 10+ times and beside gelato, tiramisu is another dessert I absolutely have to try every single time when I am there.

So I thought why not combine the two?

If you are a tiramisu lover, this is seriously a must try recipe and with the help of my baking tutorial I will walk you through on the process step by step! Let´s get started!

Jump to:

• What is exactly tiramisu?
• My Top 5 Baking Tips for home bakers
• Ingredients for the cake roll
• For the whipped mascarpone filling
• 4 Baking tips regarding the TECHNIQUE of making this tiramisu cake roll recipe
• Other Tiramisu recipes for you to try
• Tiramisu cake roll

What is exactly tiramisu?

Now if you just landed on Earth and never tried tiramisu before you might wonder what is this fuss about!

Tiramisu appears to have been invented in the 1960s or 1970s, but where and when exactly is unclear. What a time to be alive! In short, tiramisu is a coffee-flavoured creamy Italian dessert that is served cold. It is made of ladyfingers (savoiardi) dipped in coffee, layered with a whipped mixture of eggs, sugar, and mascarpone cheese, flavoured with cocoa. It is origined from among Italian regions of Veneto but nowadays widely popular across the entire world. Make sure you also check my ultimate tiramisu recipe.

My Top 5 Baking Tips for home bakers

1. Read the recipe carefully including my tips and recommendations on how to avoid and fix typical issues during baking this tiramisu cake roll
2. Avoid using substitutes and changing the recipe unless you are aware of how to fully reformulate the recipe in order to keep the balance in texture as well as flavour. Reducing sugar, replacing egg, using milk instead of cream, using poor quality mascarpone will have an impact on your tiramisu cake roll
3. For consistent, happy baking experience always measure your ingredients with the help of a Digital scale. Cup measurement is provided as an indicative figure only and might be used for less complex and large batch recipes however it is not an appropriate method if you want consistent results
4. Did you know that most home ovens can significantly under or oven run? Also, oven temperature hugely drops when opening the oven door therefore it is recommended to always pre-heat the oven above the required baking temperature.
5. Temperature is so important when it comes to baking and accurate oven temperature is key, can make or break any recipe. Make sure you invest into an inexpensive Digital oven thermometer to avoid under baked, burnt, sad looking desserts

Ingredients for the cake roll

1. Egg: The white part is the base of the meringue which is the heart of this Tiramisu cake roll. Make sure you use room-temperature egg whites which are absolutely free from any sort of fat (e.g. egg yolk). If you get some egg yolk into the egg white, start again, believe me, you can’t make a successful meringue with that batch unfortunately and the sponge for this Tiramisu cake roll might just collapse
2. Superfine Sugar: You should use superfine sugar which has smaller crystals than regular granulated sugar therefore dissolves quickly while beating up the egg white into meringue. If you can’t find superfine sugar in your local supermarket, pulse regular white sugar in food processor until the sugar crystals get smaller. However make sure you don’t make powder sugar out of it. If want to learn about the different types of sugar and how to use them in baking, please read my article in here
3. Milk: Room temperature whole milk is the best. The sponge is not difficult but still delicate, avoid using milk substitutes unless you are aware of how to reformulate the recipe
4. Oil: I use vegetable oil in this recipe, it keeps the sponge moist and soft even straight out of the fridge
5. Pastry flour and corn starch: The Tiramisu cake roll recipe calls for a mixture of fine texture pastry flour as well as corn starch for the fluffiest results. If you want to be a Pro when it comes to deciding what type of flour to use in your baking, please read my article in here
6. Cream of tartar: It helps stabilize whipped egg whites and prevents sugar from crystallising. If you are an experienced baker and perfectly know how to make meringue perhaps you can leave it out.
7. Strong espresso: What do I mean on that? A small cup of strong, freshly brewed espresso style coffee for that lovely tiramisu flavour

🛒 You’ll find detailed measurements for all Ingredients in the printable version of the Recipe Card at the bottom of this post

For the whipped mascarpone filling

1. No Eggs: Traditional tiramisu recipe calls for raw egg which I decided to skip this time for two reasons; 1. I know some people are concerned about raw egg 2. The cream for this Tiramisu cake roll needs to be firmer than traditional tiramisu cream since it is the sponge has to be rolled up, therefore I stick to mascarpone and cream only. They together provide a perfectly light, pipeable frosting with firm enough texture to fill this Tiramisu cake roll
2. Mascarpone: Very rich Italian cream cheese, exceptionally smooth and easily to spread or whip. The flavor is milky and slightly sweet.  Use full fat version only
3. Heavy cream: Also known as whipping cream has a fat content between 36% and 40%, in my recipes I use 36% . Use it very cold and do not substitute with vegetable based "whipping cream"
4. Unsweetened Cocoa Powder: There is a cocoa powder finish on this Tiramisu cake roll that reminds of the traditional tiramisu. Always use unsweetened, 100% cocoa powder in baking. I use dutch-process cocoa powder, it has a lovely dark colour and it is lower in acidity.

🛒 You’ll find detailed measurements for all Ingredients in the printable version of the Recipe Card at the bottom of this post

4 Baking tips regarding the TECHNIQUE of making this tiramisu cake roll recipe

1. How to make fluffy cake roll that does not break

You might have seen several cake roll recipes on the Internet and even in baking books that are sadly very fragile and easily break while rolling up... most recipes fail to explain how to avoid this mistake. Some might say; it is fine, I will just hide it with cream or dust with icing sugar, but I say no way! We can do better!

I have a choux pastry based cake roll recipe that is super elastic, check the recipe in here. It is wonderful and works with any kind of cake roll, but this time, for making the Tiramisu cake roll, I would like to teach you how to make fluffy Japanese style sponge cake, that is thicker, even softer and super delicious.

• The process starts with measure all the ingredients with the help of a Digital scale, and prepare all the tools ahead eg. Rubber spatula
• For this recipe it is extremely important to sift the flour to avoid lumps and with that unnecessary foldings to fix it
• Prepare your baking pan. Make sure you use parchment in the baking pan, it's also a good idea to oil the pan slightly first so that the parchment will easily stick to it. I am using a 20x25cm (8x10 inches) baking pan
• Pre-heat your oven 170 C / 338°F , make sure you use a Digital oven thermometer
• Start with beating egg yolk and sugar, make sure you beat it all over until the sugar dissolves and the mixture is nice and fluffy. When you take a small amount of egg yolk and sugar mixture between your fingers it should be smooth and not grainy
• Mix other wet ingredients; milk and oil into the egg yolk just until combined
• Fold in sifted flour and strarch, just until combined
• Continue with the meringue. While making the meringue sugar needs to be added to the egg white very slowly, one teaspoon at a time while the Stand mixer is on otherwise it might get crystallised and you have to start the whole process all over again
• The meringue is ready when it reaches stiff, shiny peaks but do not over whip it as it can form lumps while folding with the rest of the ingredients
• After the meringue reached the right consistency, it's important to fold it with the rest of the ingredients VERY carefully with the help of a Rubber spatula
• Regarding the folding, I suggest to fold ⅓ of the meringue into the egg yolk flour mixture to loosen it up. Once incorporated, fold the rest of the meringue in very gently with a rubber spatula. The batter should stay very airy, cloud like texture before it goes into the oven
• While pouring the batter into the baking pan try to avoid breaking the batter, it should stay in one piece almost like one big cloud in the sky. Smooth the top with the help of an Offset spatula
• Make sure you do not over bake the sponge, mine was done in 25 minutes. Over baking would mean making it too dry that will result in cracks while rolling
• Once baked you will have to roll it up while it is still warm with a tea towel in between the roll, that is one of the secrets to avoid cracks on the cake roll. I like to dust the tea towel with some powder sugar so it the sponge definitely won´t stick to it
• Let it come to room temp in this rolled up way in the tea towel

2. How to make whipped mascarpone frosting for this tiramisu cake roll

In line with the well known beloved tiramisu flavours I am using my favourite whipped mascarpone frosting to fill this Tiramisu cake roll. Whipped mascarpone is made of heavy cream, mascarpone and a small amount of icing sugar whipped until fluffy, pipeable consistency. It is a super creamy and delicious filling, and most importantly not overly sweet!

Using the right ingredients on the right temperature is extremely important while making cupcake frosting.

1. mascarpone has to be full fat version (41%+) 2. heave creamy needs to be very cold (pop it into the freezer for a few minutes before using it) and again, full fat version so anywhere between 36-40% 3. icing sugar has to be sifted to avoid lumps 4. do not over whip the mixture

Basically you will have to whip the mixture with an electric hand mixer for a minute or two until it reaches a creamy, fluffy consistency then stop. It won´t get more stiff after this point, in fact if you over beat it, it will get only runnier then it will break. I don´t use my standmixer to whip this mascarpone frosting since it is really easy to over whip it.

Leave the whipped mascarpone cream in the fridge for at least an hour or two to further set before attempting to fill and cover the sponge cake. In case the cream is too soft, the rolling part will be a mess. The ingredients stated will provide the right consistency (it is creamy yet firm) however remember to cool it first in the fridge.

3. How to assemble the Tiramisu cake roll

Assembling the cake roll is a very quick and easy process if you have done the previous steps, namely the sponge cake and whipped mascarpone frosting well.

• Make sure that both the sponge and the filling is cool. Do not attempt to fill the sponge cake while it is still hot
• Gently unroll the cake roll, drizzle with strong espresso all over it
• When drizzling with coffee, use a generous amount to achieve that lovely tiramisu flavour, however monitor how the sponge soaks the coffee in and do not make it overly wet
• Spread an even layer of cream on the sponge with an Offset spatula. Make sure the cream is cool enough to hold its shape so when rolled, it will stay more or less stable. Leave some cream left to frost the outside at later stage
• Carefully roll up the cake from the short edge using the kitchen towel to help push the cake roll
• Tightly wrap the cake roll into a plastic wrap and place into the fridge for min 4 h to set

You might feel tempted to continue with the decoration and cut the Tiramisu cake roll straight away, but very likely that it will be too soft at this point, that makes it difficult to cut a nice slice. I suggest to wait a few hours until it properly sets in the fridge, and enjoy the Tiramisu cake roll a few hours later. Please do not place the cake roll into the freezer as mascarpone does not freeze well.

4. Tiramisu cake roll decoration suggestion

Decoration can really take your cake roll to the next level! I just love how easy it is to make this cocoa powder and piping decoration yet it looks super elegant and very much like a traditional tiramisu.

• After the cake roll sets in the fridge for 4 h, unwrap it and spread some more mascarpone whipped cream on the top, then smooth it with an Offset spatula
• Continue with generously dusting with cocoa powder. Make sure to use unsweetened Dutched processed dark cocoa powder. Since the shape is a roll, you will need to gently turn the roll right and left to be able to dust the side as well
• To finish, move the remaining whipped mascarpone into a piping bag fitted with Wilton petal nozzle tip
• Apply the pattern you see below on the picture and finish the decoration with some coffee beans
• Finally, cut the edges of the cake roll before serving

Other Tiramisu recipes for you to try