A fluffy and moist Japanese cake roll filled with fresh strawberries and a not-too-sweet whipped cream that is stabilized with gelatin. The most heavenly dessert.
Jump to:
- Perfect Not-Too-Sweet Japanese Dessert
- Why You'll Love This Recipe
- Ingredients & Substitutions
- How to Prevent a Cake Roll From Sagging?
- Tips For the Fluffiest Chiffon Cake Roll
- Step-By-Step Strawberry Swiss Roll
- Step By Step - Stabilized Whipped Cream
- How To Make Different Flavored Rolls
- How to Use a Different Sized Pan
- How to Make This Cake a Birthday Cake
- Recipe
Perfect Not-Too-Sweet Japanese Dessert
A light and airy Japanese cake roll filled with strawberries is one of the most requested recipes I had in the last few months. After the success many of you had with my Japanese Chocolate Cake Roll recipe, many expressed the desire to bake a similarly soft and fluffy chiffon cake but in a vanilla flavor so it can be filled with whichever fruit your heart desired. It took a little while because I've been happily writing away over at indulgewithbibi (this month's topic: baby sleep training) but I'm happy to finally share this recipe for a delicious strawberry swiss roll that is made in the not-too-sweet Japanese style.
This strawberry cake roll is by far one of the easiest and most delicious desserts you can make in under an hour and a half from start to finish. I highly recommend you give it a try. And if you've made it and enjoyed it, I challenge you to bring the look of your cake roll up a notch by making fancy patterns on the cake roll with this Fancy Pattern Cake Roll recipe.
XOXO,
Mimi
Why You'll Love This Recipe
- Light & Fluffy - this strawberry cake roll uses a chiffon cake as the base so it's super light and airy.
- Flexible Cake Base - doesn't crack easily when rolled.
- Semi-sweet - made in the Asian dessert style, both the fresh cream filling and the cake base are mildly sweet.
- Pipeable Whipped Cream - unlike regular un-stabilized whipped cream, the stabilized whipped cream in this recipe is sturdy enough for use in cake rolls without drooping and for piping designs.
Ingredients & Substitutions
Japanese Chiffon Cake Base
- Cake Flour - cake flour is a low protein flour which will help make this cake lighter and softer than if using all purpose flour. You can also use "cake & pastry flour" which many stores sell, This is a blend of both flours with a lower protein than AP. It's ok to use AP flour if that is all you have.
- Baking soda + cream of tartar - it acts as a leavening agent in case there is any weaknesses in the meringue. It can be substituted as a group with 1 tsp. baking powder.
- Sea salt - use half the amount if using table salt.
- Granulated sugar - this first set of sugar is added into the wet ingredients to help add moisture and separate the grains.
- Neutral oil - canola, grapeseed, avocado are all good choices.
- Vanilla extract - rounds out all the flavors in the cake.
- Egg whites - fresh egg whites, large size. Preferably at room temperature.
- Granulated sugar - use only granulated sugar, powdered sugar does not work for whipping meringue.
- 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.
Stabilized Whipped Cream
- Granulated sugar - the sweetness level is moderate in this recipe, add an extra 1 teaspoon if you prefer a sweeter taste.
- Heavy cream 36% M.F. - has a milk fat content of at least 36%. It can be substituted with whipping cream (with minimum 30% milk fat) but heavy cream will produce an even more sturdy frosting. It needs to be completely chilled before whipping or else it won't whip up.
- Vanilla extract
- Gelatin powder, unflavored - the Knox brand was used in this recipe. It can usually be found in the baking aisle by the yeast.
- Fresh organic strawberries - this can be substituted with other fruits like mangoes or canned peaches.
How to Prevent a Cake Roll From Sagging?
This fresh strawberry cream cake roll is filled with a fresh whipped cream that is stabilized with gelatin. For cake rolls, I prefer taking some extra steps to stabilize the cream filling because whipped cream has a tendency to deflate after a while. It's completely possible to skip the stabilization part by whipping the cream with sugar and omitting the gelatin - which a lot of recipes do - but you might find that the cream gets a bit sloppy and the shape of the cake roll doesn't hold up as well, especially after a few hours.
For use as a cake topping, whipped cream can be conveniently stabilized with powdered sugar as seen in this recipe. However, for use as a filling, it's preferable to stabilize it with gelatin instead. It may sound intimidating but it's actually quite easy and the results are well worth the effort. If you need extra guidance and tips, here is a complete tutorial on How to Stabilize Whipped Cream with Gelatin.
Tips For the Fluffiest Chiffon Cake Roll
Unlike a sponge cake which uses no or little butter, the pillow-y soft chiffon cake base in this roll uses oil instead. The secret to this Asian bakery-style roll cake is its super fluffy cake base. Here are some tips:
- Use cake flour instead of AP flour.
- Always sift cake flour to prevent clumps.
- Gently incorporate the dry-mix and wet ingredients together until no lumps of flour can be seen. Do not over mix as it will result in a tough cake.
- For the meringue, use room temperature egg whites for better volume.
- Whip the egg whites in a clean non-plastic bowl free of oil and water.
- Gently fold the meringue into the cake batter, retaining the air that you've built into the meringue. Do not stir.
- Use parchment paper to line the cake pan and for rolling. It prevents sticking and tearing of the cake.
Step-By-Step Strawberry Swiss Roll
In a large mixing bowl, sift in cake flour, sugar, baking soda, cream of tartar and salt. Stir to combine. I like this type of strainer for sifting dry ingredients because it's quicker and provides better control. Create a well in the center. Inside it, add yolks, oil, vanilla extract and milk.
With a spatula, stir to combine until fully incorporated, do not over mix. Set this milk-flour mixture aside.
Next, Make the meringue in a clean and dry, non-plastic mixing bowl (ex. stainless steel mixing bowl or glass mixing bowl). This is crucial as meringues do not whip well in the presence of oil and water. Whip egg whites on slow speed until frothy, add cream of tartar. Whip until stiff peaks as shown in the photo above on the right. When the whisk is pulled out, the meringue does not droop on itself.
Gently fold the meringue into the cake flour batter until fully incorporated.
Dab a little bit of the batter onto the parchment paper and stick it to the pan to prevent the paper from tipping over into the cake batter. I used a darker colored pan here giving my cake a more golden finish. It turns out this 8 x 12 pan size in this color is a little hard to find, my pan was inherited but I was able to find this one on Amazon for you.
Pour batter into lined cake pan from one spot, spread out the batter evenly with an angled spatula. Rap the cake pan on the counter a few times to rid excess bubbles. Bake for 14-16 min. at 325 F. Let cool 5 min. in the pan before removing. Place cooling rack over cake pan.
Flip cake over onto the rack, remove pan. 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 piece of new parchment paper on top of the cake. Flip the cake over and start rolling. Let it cool in this wrapped condition while making the fresh cream.
Step By Step - Stabilized Whipped Cream
Refrigerate mixing bowl and beaters in the fridge for a minimum of 15 minutes. This will help cream whip better. Clean and pat dry strawberries. Remove the husk and cut into 1 cm sized pieces. Place water in 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.
Immediately start beating the cream and sugar in a stand mixer fitted with the chilled bowl. Whip on low speed and then increase to medium. Check on the gelatin. It should no longer be warm but still runny.
Once the beaters leave tracks in the cream, pour the gelatin into the bowl slowly and steadily. Aim for the area in between the whisk and the bowl. Stop beating once the cream turns stiff. Do not over whip. Use cream to assemble the cooled cake immediately.
Clean and pat dry strawberries, then cut into 1 cm sized pieces. Apply an even layer of cream to unrolled cake roll, spread strawberries evenly apart, then roll up. Wrap cake roll in plastic wrap and place in fridge to set before cutting. Cut off the sides before serving for a cleaner finish.
How To Make Different Flavored Rolls
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 (like cocoa, matcha etc.) can be added into the cake base with the dry mix like in these recipes: matcha cake roll and gingerbread cake roll.
On the other hand, liquid extracts can be added into the wet mix like in this cotton candy cake roll or vanilla flavored strawberry cake roll). For added flavor and natural coloring, fruit/vegetable purees can be added like in this pumpkin spice cake roll or carrot spice cake roll. Adding ingredients with more liquid composition will take more experimentation. If you want an easier method try the next method below.
Another way to add flavor is to simply add extracts into the cream filling during the whipping process. The flavors can also be infused into the cream by letting the flavored ingredients (like leave leaves) soak/steep inside the cream before using it for whipping (see Earl Grey Tea cake roll, instead of steeping the whipping cream, the leaves are steeped in the milk for the cake batter). 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 using these recipes to guide you: chocolate cake roll, matcha cake roll, coffee cake roll, and carrot cake roll.
Lastly, you can make beautiful pattern cake rolls using these recipes: fancy pattern cake roll, bear pattern cake roll, Christmas silent night cake roll and gingerbread man pattern cake roll.
How to Use a Different Sized Pan
You can bake this cake in a different sized pan but note that the quantity of ingredients are at an optimal amount for use with the current pan size resulting in a perfect thickness for rolling without cracking. This Sloppy Peach Cake in a cup recipe will teach you how to bake this cake in different sized pans. It has the same great taste but allows more room for error if you're not confident about rolling the cake base.
How to Make This Cake a Birthday Cake
I'm often asked if this cake can be made into a "birthday cake". I completely understand what this question means but a part of me also wants to say, "cake rolls can be birthday cakes too!" Kidding aside, this cake base is super soft and fluffy which makes it perfect for cake rolls but not as sturdy for a round birthday cake that requires stacking and extra cream. I've since worked on adapting this recipe for use as a "birthday cake". The adapted recipe is called: Asian Bakery Strawberry Chiffon Cake.
Recipe
Fresh Strawberry Cream Japanese Cake Roll
A fluffy and moist Japanese cake roll filled with fresh strawberries and a not-too-sweet whipped cream that is stabilized with gelatin. The most heavenly dessert.
Ingredients
Dry Mix for Japanese Style Chiffon Cake
- 45 grams cake flour*
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda*
- ½ teaspoon cream of tartar*
- ¼ teaspoon sea salt
Wet Mix for Japanese Style Chiffon Cake
- 25 grams granulated sugar
- 50 ml whole fat milk
- 3 egg yolks
- 40 ml neutral oil (e.g. canola, grapeseed, avocado)
- ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
Meringue for Japanese Style Chiffon Cake
- 4 egg whites
- 50 grams granulated sugar
- ¼ teaspoon cream of tartar*
Stabilized Fresh Cream
- 1 + ¼ teaspoons powdered gelatin
- 5 teaspoons water
- 1 ¼ cup whipping cream (33%)
- 1 tablespoon +¼ teaspoon granulated sugar
- 10 small fresh organic strawberries
Instructions
Japanese Style Chiffon Cake
- Line a 8 X 12" rectangular cake pan with parchment paper.
- Preheat oven to 325 F.
- In a large mixing bowl, sift in dry mix. Stir to combine.
- Create a well in the center. Inside it, add the wet mix.
- Stir to combine until fully incorporated, do not over mix. Set this milk-flour mixture aside.
- Now 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 decreased, add sugar a little bit at a time.
- Increase speed to med-high, whip until stiff peaks.* This is the meringue.
- Gently fold ⅓ of the meringue into the milk-flour mixture to get it moving. Once incorporated, fold in the rest of the meringue. Do not stir. Use batter immediately.
- Dab a bit of the batter onto the sides of the parchment paper to keep corners together. Dab a little more onto the paper and stick it to the pan to prevent the parchment paper from tipping over into the cake batter.
- 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 14-16 min. at 325 F until a skewer pulls out clean and cake springs back in the center.
- Let cool 5 min. in the pan before removing.
- 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 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. Refer to video in post on how to roll.
- Let it cool in this wrapped condition while making the fresh cream.
Stabilized Fresh Cream Instructions
- Refrigerate mixing bowl and beaters in the fridge for a minimum of 15 minutes. This will help cream whip better.
- Clean and pat dry strawberries. Remove the husk and cut into 1 cm sized pieces.
- Place water in 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.
- Immediately start beating the cream and sugar in a stand mixer fitted with the chilled bowl. Whip on low speed and then increase to medium.
- Check on the gelatin. It should no longer be warm but still runny.
- Once the beaters leave tracks in the cream, pour the gelatin into the bowl slowly and steadily. Aim for the area in between the whisk and the bowl.
- Stop beating once the cream turns stiff. Do not over whip.
- Use cream to assemble the cooled cake immediately.
Assembly
- Gently unwrap rolled cake and spread an even layer of cream on it.
- Lay strawberries evenly apart on cream.
- Carefully roll up the cake from the short edge using the parchment paper to help push the cake onto itself.
- Wrap with plastic wrap and place in refrigerator to set before cutting.
- Before serving, cut off sides for a cleaner presentation.
Notes
- Some ingredients are repeated, use them in the same order as outlined in instructions.
- Cake flour is a low protein flour which yields soft fluffy cakes. It is preferred but can be substituted with AP Flour.
- Baking soda and cream of tartar in the dry mix can be substituted as a group with 1 tsp. baking powder.
- Cream of tartar in the meringue helps stabilize it. It can be substituted with double the amount in lemon juice or vinegar.
- Stiff peaks in characterized by the egg whites having pointed peaks that point upwards without drooping when the whisk is pulled out.
Recommended Products
As an Amazon Associate and member of other affiliate programs, I earn from qualifying purchases.
-
Knox Original Unflavored Gelatine Dessert Mix (32 Packets)
-
Wilton Industries Perfect Results Mega Cooling Rack, Black
-
Rectangle Baking Pan
-
Vollrath 47934 4-Quart Economy Mixing Bowl, Stainless Steel
-
McCormick Gourmet All Natural Cream Of Tartar, 2.62 oz
-
PaperChef Culinary Parchment Multipurpose Non-Stick Paper, 205 sq ft
-
RYBACK Stainless Steel Egg White Yolk Filter Separator Cooking Tool Dishwasher Safe Chef Kitchen Gadget
-
Kitchenaid Handheld Mixer
Nutrition Information
Yield
8Serving Size
1Amount Per Serving Calories 269Total Fat 20gSaturated Fat 10gTrans Fat 1gUnsaturated Fat 9gCholesterol 112mgSodium 151mgCarbohydrates 18gFiber 0gSugar 13gProtein 5g
This information is provided as a courtesy and is an estimate only. This information comes from online calculators. Although indulgewithmimi.com attempts to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures are only estimates.
Note to reader: The format of this recipe was updated on May 17, 2023 to make it more concise. The method, and all ingredients and its quantities, remain the same as before.
Vanessa says
Looking forward to making this cake to drop off for my father-in-law. How long does this cake "last" in the fridge (and still taste nice and have a nice texture)?
-Vanessa
Mimi says
The first 2 days will be the best. I recommend serving it within the first 2 days of making. It will still taste good on days 3-4 but won't look as plump and fresh 🙂
XOXO,
Mimi
Jenna says
Hi Mimi, I want to make this cake roll in a couple of weeks for a birthday, but I was wondering how much cornstarch should I put in with the flour for the cake flour? Like, how many tablespoons/teaspoons should I use to substitute some cornstarch for some of the flour in order to make cake flour? Thanks a lot.
Mimi says
Hi Jenna,
If it were me, I would continue to use the AP current flour you are currently using. You can google how to sub some corn starch into AP flour to make cake flour if you like. However, this is still not truly cake flour and there is so little of the flour used in this recipe, I would skip the substitutions and use the AP as is to avoid any problems with the conversion.
XOXO,
Mimi
Julie says
Hi..
Can u clarify.. Is it BAKING SODA.. that is used and NOT BAKING POWDER?
Cheers
Mimi says
As per recipe, baking soda 🙂
XOXO,
Mimi
Ploy says
Hi, can I substitute whole milk for half and half? Also, cream of tartar is listed twice in the recipe. Do you add them at a different time or it’s just 1/2+1/4? Thanks!
Mimi says
I do not recommend half and half, it doesn't have enough fat content to whip to the sturdy consistency needed for this recipe. Some ingredients are duplicated, please use them in the order they are listed in the instructions.
XOXO,
Mimi
Annie says
Hi Mimi. I made this cake roll and it was delicious! So soft and fluffy and even the leftovers was still soft after being in the fridge. Do you have a recipe with this chiffon sponge for a layer cake on your blog? If not, can you please tell me how much I should double/triple the recipe to make a 6inch layer cake.
Many thanks!
Mimi says
Hi Annie,
I'm so happy to hear about your results. Here is a post on how I made this cake into a half 8" cake as my daughter's half birthday cake. Your cake is 6" and it will require that some of the eggs be split up not as a whole egg, an easy way to make the 6" cake is to double the recipe. You will have some leftovers though. Good luck!
XOXO, Mimi
Daphne says
I just made this cake for my family and they loved it.
I used vegetarian gelling powder that they sell in Australia and followed your instructions but it wouldn't become liquid. Eventually I just threw that clump of a mess away and added the gelling powder directing into the cream and sugar mixture.
I'm not sure if it's the baking paper but when I peeled mine off it left my 'skin' a bit patchy and doesn't look as evenly coloured as yours.
Overall this recipe worked out great and I'm sure to make it again in the future.
Mimi says
Hi Daphne,
I am using a dark colored pan so it does give the cake a more brownish color from the extra heat it is receiving. As for the skin being a bit patchy, if you let the cake cool just a bit more, it will come off more readily without grabbing the skin with it 🙂
XOXO,
Mimi
Daphne Pan says
Hi Mimi,
Thanks for your reply. How much longer would you recommend I cool it for? I don’t want to let to cool for too long otherwise it might make the rolling difficult.
Mimi says
I understand what you're saying. I would check on it every 4 or 5 minutes. As soon as it doesn't feel warm, then start rolling 🙂
XOXO,
Mimi
Zyrelyn Pantaleon says
Hi mimi! Thank you so much for sharing your recipe! Its taste wonderful! 🙂 im a doctor from the Philippines and i used cooking as a de-stressor 🙂 . Oh by the way my cake turns out a little too thin maybe i used the wrong pan 😂 i think i used a 10x12 inches pan. So, should i still use the 1.5x ? Thank you! Stay safe and God bless!
Mimi says
I'm so happy you gave it a try and liked it. If you're using a 10x12 pan, the recipe needs to be multiplied by 25%. however, it might become difficult to get certain ingredients to increase by 25%, i recommend making a dam to stop the cake from leaking over into the entire pan. Line the pan with paper as usual but roll up some aluminum foil to make make some "logs" which will stop the batter from filling over into the whole pan. XOXO, Mimi
Zyrelyn Pantaleon says
Thank you! I’ll give it a try! 🙂 stay safe!
Amber Sim says
Can I bake this in a regular cake pan as a regular layer cake? What would the differences in baking be?
Mimi says
Hi Amber,
hm.. I'm sorry, I don't quite understand your question. Can you please clarify? This cake is currently baked in a rectangular pan that is 8x12 in size. If your pan dimensions are different, you'll need to compensate for that by adjusting how much more/less ingredients you need. The time for baking will also need adjusting if the cake pan is smaller/larger if you continue to use the same amount of ingredients listed in the recipe.
XOXO,
Mimi
ronak mehta says
The cake looks perfect and fabulous to bake for a special day. Yes, its definitely the best strawberry Cake. Lovely!!
Mimi says
So happy to hear that! XOXO, Mimi
Ava says
what are the different measurements i would need for a 10" 15" pan? I tried making an aluminum pan but it was a big fail.
Thanks,
Ava
Mimi says
Hi Ava,
All the ingredients will need to be multiplied by 1.5X , the cooking time and temp will remain the same as it is a thin cake. Let me know how it goes 🙂
XOXO, Mimi
Fiona says
Hi, I’ve made this and also your chocolate chiffon swiss roll. While the chocolate one was a great success, I have difficulties achieving the same cake texture for this vanilla cake base. It turned out wet and sticky even though I did everything the same. I wonder if the proportions of ingredients are too “wet”, because I noticed it’s essentially the same amount of ingredients as the chocolate roll except the chocolate one has extra 5 tsp of cocoa powder - don’t we need to ensure the same amount of dry ingredients in this vanilla cake? Thank you.
Mimi says
Hi Fiona,
thank you for giving both recipes a try. For recipe testing and gift giving, I have made this recipe many times over and have not experienced the wetness. It's also a favorite recipe of many of my readers. But I can totally see why this might happen. When I first started baking, I don't know why I was always having trouble with my vanilla cakes being too gummy. Without seeing your process, I can't be sure where it went wrong but I am inclined to think that perhaps the cake has not fully baked through or to a lesser extent, the cake was not sufficiently cooled. You might want to bake it longer and let it cool on the rack just a tad longer. Xoxo, Mimi
Susy Ho says
Hi Mimi,
How do I prevent the chiffon skin from falling apart while rolling it?
Mimi says
Hi Susy,
I haven't personally experienced this issue, even after baking it many many times so I can't guide from experience. I do find the skin peels off more readily if the the parchment paper is ripped off right away while the cake is still hot. If you end up resolving this issue, please let all of us know so we can do better. XOXO, Mimi
Bon says
For the fresh cream, 1 & 1/4 cup of whipping cream refers to 294ml? 325F refers to 170 degree celcius?
Mimi says
Doing a quick search on google, the cream conversion is correct, 325 F is 163 C
XOXO,
Mimi
Dee says
Hi Mimi! Thank you for your recipe! I'm so excited to make it! Do you think I could use a 10x10 pan in comparison to the 8x12 pan you have?
Mimi says
Yes you can definitely use this pan. It is slightly larger than this one but not by much, so the ingredient quantity is not an issue. The square shape might be a little bit harder to roll since you have less "folds" to work with but it's doable. Alternatively, you can try making a makeshift pan with aluminum foil. You can google how to do this 🙂
XOXO,
mimi
Windy says
Hi Mimi,
this is the best recipe i tried. i made this for the first time and it turned out perfect. thank you.
Windy
Mimi says
That's so good to hear! I'm so happy that you tried it. There's a new matcha version out now. Give it a go when you have a chance. XOXO, Mimi