Coffee Cake Roll With Stabilized Kahlúa Whipped Cream

The fluffiest coffee cake roll baked with a Japanese chiffon cake base. Filled with a unique Kahlúa coffee liqueur infused whipped cream. Perfect for the coffee lover in your life.

Jump to:

• Caffeinated Gifts are the Best
• Why You'll Love This Coffee Cake Roll
• How to Prepare Ingredients & Substitutions
• Tips For Baking a Great Cake Roll
• Step By Step
• How to Make Swiss Cake Roll Look Neat and Round
• How To Make Cake Rolls in Different Flavors
• Recipe

Caffeinated Gifts are the Best

The development of this coffee cake roll recipe came about after many reader's requests to adapt the popular fluffy chocolate cake roll and vanilla cake roll with coffee. I finally found the catalyst to do so when a girlfriend's birthday came around and I wanted to gift her a cake. She had her hands full with mommy duties and I thought a nice caffeinated treat would really brighten her day and indeed she said it was just what she needed. I hope you enjoy it too!

XOXO,
Mimi

Why You'll Love This Coffee Cake Roll

• Based on the other cakes in my tried tested and true Swiss cake roll collection.
• Uses a Japanese-style chiffon cake as base so it's super fluffy and airy.
• Both the cake and cream are infused with coffee making it extra flavorful.
• Coffee cream is infused with Kahlúa coffee liqueur for extra depth of flavor.
• Coffee cream is stabilized, preventing the roll from sagging and makes it sturdy for piping.

How to Prepare Ingredients & Substitutions

Dry Ingredients

• Cake flour - a low protein flour which will help make this cake softer than if using AP flour. It usually has a protein content between 6-8% while pastry flour, also a lower protein flour, has a protein content between 8-9%. Grocery stores usually sell a combination of cake and pastry flour at 7-9% protein. It can be substituted with all-purpose flour but the cake will be a little tougher than if using cake flour.
• Instant coffee powder - I chose to use a medium-roast instant coffee powder instead of espresso powder because it's easy to find at every grocery store. Espresso powder is more concentrated and can be substituted with half the amount the recipe calls for.
• Baking powder - it acts as a leavening agent in case there is any weaknesses in the meringue. It can be skipped if you don't have any and you're careful with the meringue preparation.
• Sea salt - use half the amount if using table salt.

Wet Ingredients

• Whole fat milk
• Vegetable oil - neutral tasting canola, grapeseed, avocado oils are all good choices.
• Granulated sugar - this first set of sugar is added into the wet ingredients to help add moisture.
• Egg yolks
• Vanilla extract - rounds out all the flavors in the cake.

Meringue

• Egg whites - from large eggs. Egg whites whip better at room temperature so keep it out on the counter for about half hour before whipping.
• Cream of tartar - is an acid that helps to stabilize the meringue. It can be substituted with double the amount of lemon juice or vinegar.
• Granulated sugar

Coffee Whipped Cream

• Heavy cream - is a cream with a minimum milk fat content of 36% and above. Whipping cream has milk fat content of 30-35%. Even with just a small percentage change, heavy cream yields a more stable whipped cream and is preferable in this recipe due to the addition of coffee and Kahlúa.
• Kahlúa - can be replaced with another coffee liqueur like Baileys. It can be skipped as well.
• Instant Coffee Powder
• Unflavored gelatin powder - when added to the cream, it creates a super stable whipped cream that will prevent the cake from sagging.

Tips For Baking a Great Cake Roll

• A strong and healthy meringue (whipped egg whites with sugar) is needed to act as one of the leavening agents in this cake. Egg whites should be whipped in a clean and dry non-plastic bowl since plastic tends to trap oil. Egg whites don't whip well in the presence of oil and water. To further remove oils, use a paper towel and wipe down the mixing bowl with lemon or vinegar before you start.
• Carefully separate the egg whites and yolks when the eggs are cold. Make sure no yolks are present in the egg whites. An egg separator can come in handy.
• Bring the egg whites to a stiff peak. This is characterized by egg whites that have a beak that points upwards (instead of slumped over) when the whisk is pulled out.
• Once the liquid is introduced to the flour, do not over mix. This will produce more gluten, making the cake less tender.
• Use a gentle folding movement with a spatula to incorporate the meringue into the wet flour mixture. Do not stir, this will prevent the air in the meringue from deflating.
• After pouring the batter into the cake tray, rap it a few times on the counter to get rid of large air pockets, this will make the design show on a smoother surface.
• Chill the bowl, beaters and whipped cream for optimal whipping volume. They should all be be very cold. Whipping in a stainless steel bowl placed on top of a bed of ice will help keep things nice and cool on a hot day.
• Gelatin is added to the whipped cream to help stabilize it. Many recipes do not include this step but I prefer it when using whipped cream in a cake roll. It prevents the cream from deflating so the roll stays rounder and looks nicer. You can leave this step out if you plan on serving the cake immediately. If you need further guidance on stabilizing the cream, please read my post on How to Stabilize Whipped Cream with Gelatin.
• Add more cream along the short edge of the cake which is to be rolled first. This will prevent the cake from cracking due to large gaps in between the folds. These angled spatulas will come in handy for even frosting any time of cake. Instead of putting your hands directly onto the cake, use the parchment paper to push the cake onto itself as you roll.
• Fold gently and do not worry too much about rolling the cake very tightly. As long as the cream is spread out evenly (with a bit more along the short edge as per above), the amount of cream in this recipe will allow the sheet cake to hold up without cracking due to large gaps.
• If you find rolling the cake and stabilizing the whipped cream is too time-consuming, try this easy Japanese Peach Cake in a Cup, it has the same great chiffon base but doesn't require rolling or whipped cream stabilization and can be baked in a pan of any size.

Step By Step

Mix the Batter

Line a 8 X 12" rectangular cake pan with parchment paper. Preheat oven to 325 F. In a small bowl, combine all the "wet" ingredients together with a whisk and set aside (this includes first portion of sugar).

In a large mixing bowl, sift in dry mix. Stir to combine. Create a well in the center. Inside it, add all the "wet" ingredients. Combine until just incorporated, do not over mix as it will result in a tough cake. Set aside.

Make the Meringue

In a clean and dry, non-plastic mixing bowl, whip egg whites on slow speed until frothy, add cream of tartar. Increase speed to medium, once the whites become opaque and bubble size have tightened up, add the second portion of sugar a little bit at a time.

Increase speed to med-high, whip until stiff peaks. You've now made a meringue. Gently fold ⅓ of the meringue into the coffee-flour mixture to get it moving. Once incorporated, fold in the rest of the meringue. Do not stir. Use batter immediately. 

Bake and First Roll for Muscle Memory

Pour batter into lined cake pan from one spot, spread out the batter evenly with an angled spatula. Tap the pan on the counter to release large air pockets. Bake for 10-12 min. at 325 F until a skewer pulls out clean and cake springs back in the center. Let cool in pan for 5 min.

Place cooling rack over cake pan. Flip cake over onto the rack, gently remove paper. The side facing up will eventually become the top of the cake roll. Let it sit on cooling rack for 5 min. Place a new piece of parchment paper on top of the cake. Flip the cake over and start rolling, allowing the parchment paper to be in between the folds. This will prevent the cake from sticking to itself. It's important to roll the cake before it cools completely, otherwise, it will crack while rolling.

Let it cool in this wrapped condition while making the Kahlúa Coffee Whipped Cream.

Prepare Cream and Gelatin for Kahlúa Whipped Cream

In a mixing bowl, add cream, instant coffee powder and Kahlúa. Add coffee to taste, up to 2 tsp. Stir gently until coffee is dissolved. Place in the fridge to chill for a minimum of 2 hours. It's important for these ingredients to be completely chilled before whipping. Place beaters in fridge to chill, it will help the cream whip more efficiently.

Once the coffee cream is completely chilled, place water in a heatproof cup and sprinkle gelatin on top to bloom. Wait 5 minutes. Place cup in a small sauce pan filled with simmering water. Once gelatin becomes liquid, take it out of the water. Let cool on the counter.

Start Whipping

Immediately start whipping the coffee cream mixture on medium speed. Once the bubbles have decreased in size and the mixture is gaining volume, add the sugar.

Whip until the beater starts leaving tracks inside the cream, pour the cooled gelatin into the bowl slowly and steadily. Aim for the area in between the whisk and the bowl while continuing to whip. Increase speed to medium-high. Stop beating once the cream turns stiff. Do not over whip. Use cream to assemble the cooled cake immediately.

Assemble and Roll

Gently unwrap rolled cake and spread an even layer of coffee cream on it. Reserve ⅕ of the cream for decorating the top. Carefully roll up the cake from the short edge using the parchment paper to help push the cake onto itself.

Wrap with plastic wrap or a new piece of parchment paper and place in refrigerator to set before cutting. Unwrap assembled cake. If desired, pipe swirls of coffee cream onto the top of the cake and decorate with chocolate or sprinkles. Before serving, cut off sides for a cleaner presentation. Coffee cake roll can be kept in the fridge in an air tight container for 2-3 days.

How to Make Swiss Cake Roll Look Neat and Round

To prevent the cake roll from sagging, stabilization of the cream filling is key. After that, employing an extra rolling technique with plastic wrap will further guide the cake towards a round shape. After assembling the cake with the Kahlúa coffee cream, wrap the assembled cake in plastic wrap. Once it's secured inside the first piece of plastic, place it on a new piece of plastic and start wrapping it again while gently rolling it away from you, making sure you are creating a log shape at the same time. Just use gentle pressure, we don't want to squish the fluffy cake base! Allow the assembled cake to firm up in the fridge for several hours before serving. Doing the above steps will give you a beautiful round cake log at home.

How To Make Cake Rolls in Different Flavors

To make the cake roll in different flavors, powders, extracts and infusion-method can be utilized in either the cake base or the filling. Dry powders can be added into the cake base with the dry mix (e.g. matcha cake roll, gingerbread cake roll) and liquid extracts, flavored milk or fruit/vegetable purees can be added into the wet mix (cotton candy cake roll, Earl Grey tea cake roll, pumpkin spice cake roll and Tokyo Banana cake roll).

Extracts can be added into the cream filling during the whipping process. The flavors can also be infused into the cream by letting the flavored ingredients to soak inside the cream before using it for whipping. Just make sure not to use ingredients with high acidity as it will cause the cream to curdle.

You can even try mixing and matching different flavored cake bases with different cream fillings. For example, this coffee cake roll recipe can be used to make a mocha cake roll by using the coffee cake base with the chocolate filling in my recipe for super fluffy chocolate cake roll. Other flavors you may like to play around with include: fresh cream strawberry cake roll, matcha green tea cake roll, carrot cake roll. Once you've got your flavors down, you might wan to bring the appearance of your cake roll up a notch. Try making beautiful patterns on the cake roll with these tutorials: fancy pattern cake roll, Christmas silent night cake roll, gingerbread man printed roll, bear cheesecake roll and tiger cat pattern cake roll.