Make a stunning Jelly Roll Cake for holidays or special occasions. Follow our simple rolling tips for a perfect, picture worthy dessert.

This rolled style of cake is the perfect Dessert for the holidays or another special occasion. The rolled shape gives it a beautiful appearance, so it’s the perfect table centerpiece, just like my Swiss Roll Cake or Lemon Cake Roll.

Sabrina’s Jelly Roll Recipe

Making this Jelly Roll Cake from scratch can seem quite challenging. However, it’s not too hard if you follow our kitchen tips and tricks. The actual cake recipe could not be easier. You only need a few basic ingredients to make the batter, and you can have them all combined in minutes. Then you’ll add the batter to the prepared baking sheet and cook it like a basic sheet cake. For the cake filling, I just used Strawberry Jam, and you’ll finish the roll with confectioners’ sugar.

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Ingredients

Strawberry Filling:

▢ 2 cups strawberry jam

To Finish:

▢ 1/2 cup powdered sugar

Instructions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Beat eggs in a mixing bowl for 3 minutes.
Add sugar gradually to eggs while mixing. Beat for an additional 2 minutes or until mixture becomes thick.
Mix in the 3 tablespoons water, 1 cup flour, baking powder, and salt.
Line a 15″ by 10″ baking pan with parchment paper and grease well.
Pour the batter into the pan and spread evenly.
Bake for 12-14 minutes, or until cake springs back when lightly touched.
While the cake is still warm, use the parchment paper to help roll the cake, and let cool in the roll shape.

To Fill Cake:

Unroll cake.
Spread strawberry jam evenly over cake to within 1″ of edges. Roll up again starting from the same short side.
Place seam side down on a serving platter.
Dust with powdered sugar.
Serve slices with sliced strawberries and whipped cream.

Nutrition

Chef’s Note

Honestly, the only tricky part is rolling the cake, but it’s way easier than it looks. The secret is to roll it while it’s still warm—just let it cool for a couple minutes, then use the greased parchment to help you roll it up. Warm cake is soft and flexible, so it won’t crack. Let it cool completely in that rolled shape, wrapped in parchment to keep it in place. When you unroll it to add the filling, it naturally wants to curl back up, so rerolling is a breeze. You can even set the cake and parchment on a clean kitchen towel and use the towel to help you roll.

Sabrina’s Jelly Roll Recipe
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Can this be made ahead of time?
How to Store
Variations
Related Recipes

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Can this be made ahead of time?

Yes! You can easily make a Jelly Roll Cake ahead of time, which makes it perfect for holidays and special occasions. Once the cake is baked, filled, and rolled, wrap it tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate it for up to two days. The chill time actually helps the spiral set, making the cake easier to slice and even more beautiful when served. For longer storage, you can freeze the finished roll and thaw it in the fridge before serving.

How to Store

Serve: Make sure to let the Jelly Roll completely chill and set before slicing and serving the recipe.
Store: If you’ve made this recipe in advance or want to store the leftover Cake for later, you can keep it covered in plastic wrap or tin foil at room temperature. The recipe can stay good for 2-3 days.
Freeze: If you want to freeze the cake roll, wrap it in waxed paper, followed by plastic wrap or foil. Then put the roll in a freezer bag and seal it. You can keep the recipe frozen for up to 6 months.

Variations

Jam Fillings: There are lots of different cake fillings that you can try, just by using a different type of jam to fill the Jelly Roll. Use an offset spatula to spread raspberry, blackberry, blueberry, mixed berry jam, or marmalade over the cake for an easy fruit filling.
Lemon Jelly Roll: Another delicious way to add fruit flavor to your cake roll is by spreading a layer of Lemon Curd on the filling. You can do a lemon curd filling on its own or add it along with the jam filling. To add more of the bold flavor of lemon to the cake, you can mix fresh lemon juice and lemon zest into the cake batter. Then add additional lemon zest on top of the cake along with the dusting of confectioners sugar.
Chocolate filling: To add rich chocolate flavor to the simple, airy sponge cake, you can spread Nutella over the cake for the filling. Then dust the cake with cocoa powder or chocolate shavings to finish the chocolatey version.
Cake flavors: You can also add different flavors to the actual cake batter. Use vanilla extract to make an airy vanilla cake. Or, add a teaspoon of almond extract for another simple ingredient that has a delicious flavor impact. For this version, you could also add chopped nuts to the filling to complement the almond cake batter.
Apple Cinnamon cake: You could also add warm spices like cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg to the cake batter. Then make an apple-cinnamon sugar filling. To make the cinnamon apple filling, add 3 cups of diced apples, 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon, 4 tablespoons sugar, and 4 tablespoons melted unsalted butter to a medium bowl. Depending on your preference, you can use white sugar or brown sugar to make the cinnamon sugar mixture. Mix the apple cinnamon sugar ingredients until well combined. Then spread over the cool cake. Roll cake and let it set before enjoying the Apple Cinnamon Sugar Jelly Roll.