Red Velvet Cake Roll

A tender red velvet cake meets a luxurious white chocolate raspberry buttercream filling in this decadent roll cake recipe! This Red Velvet Cake Roll is beautiful for any occasion, from holidays to casual weeknight dinners!  

Let’s talk cake! Holiday cake recipes are what I live for and today’s recipe is a true Christmas miracle. Y’all, this cake would even make the Grinch’s heart grow a couple more sizes! 

This Red Velvet Cake Roll is light and tender but doesn’t fall apart when you roll it into a log. It’s a showstopping, flavorful dessert made in less than an hour! With each bite you’re transported to a Winter wonderland. Well, only if that wonderland includes moist red velvet cake and fluffy cream cheese frosting of course! 

Perks and Highlights for a Red Velvet Cake Roll

Cuisine Inspiration: Southern with a Twist

Primary Cooking Method: Baking

Dietary Info: Vegetarian, Gluten Options Available

Key Flavor: Sweet, Tangy, and Berry-licious

Skill Level: Intermediate

What’s a Cake Roll?

A Swiss Roll, jelly roll, roll cake, cream roll, roulade, or Swiss log is a type of rolled sponge cake filled with whipped cream, jam, jelly, or icing. Sliced thin, each piece of cake is light, tender, and flavorful. If you’ve ever had one of Lil Debbie’s chocolate Swiss roll cakes, you know just how good one of these cakes can be! 

Ingredients

• Powdered Sugar: Not just for sweetening, but for dusting magic onto every slice. It’s the snowfall on your red velvet mountain, baby!
• Cake Flour: The secret behind the most tender, delicate crumb you’ve ever tasted. Sifted, to make your cake light as air and smooth as jazz.
• Unsweetened Cocoa Powder: Because a hint of chocolatey depth is what takes a red velvet from good to “can’t stop, won’t stop” levels of delicious.
• Baking Powder & Salt: The unsung heroes. One brings the rise; the other, the balance. They’re the rhythm section in our cake roll band.
• Buttermilk, Vinegar, & Vanilla Extract: The trinity of tang, twang, and a touch of aromatic sweetness. They’re the background vocalists hitting those harmonies.
• Eggs & Granulated Sugar: Room temp eggs for smooth mixin’, and sugar for that sweet lovin’—they’re the lead singers here!
• Vegetable Oil: Keeps everything moist and rich. Think of it as the stage lights—without it, everything’s less dazzling.
• Red Food Coloring: The showstopper! Turning your cake roll from a log into a ruby-red masterpiece.
• Fresh Raspberries: Little bursts of tangy joy, they’re the pop of color and flavor in your buttercream symphony.
• White Chocolate & Cream Cheese: Luxurious, creamy, and with a melt-in-your-mouth goodness, this duo is like having VIP passes to the best dessert concert of your life.
• Unsalted Butter & More Powdered Sugar: Because what’s a buttercream without BUTTER, and the powdered sugar to hold the high notes?
• Pinch of Salt: Just a pinch, enough to make all the other flavors stand at attention.

Dark, decadent, and flavorful, red velvet cake is truly made for royalty. Every moist bite is better than the last! Today’s recipe features a classic red velvet sponge; it’s the perfect base for a delicate and delectable filling. 

When it came to the filling for this recipe, I knew I wanted something a little different. I needed an icing that would cut through the richness of red velvet, while still offering its own unique touch. 

So, what else was I to do but add an extra layer of chocolate? White chocolate is creamy and sweet on its own but add in a bit of cream cheese and you’ve got a tangy, luscious buttercream. 

To add the final touch, I incorporated some raspberry puree. Tart and fruity, raspberries add a delightful brightness to this recipe, as well as a gorgeous color. Put it all together and you’ve got a smooth, decadent frosting ready to rock and roll! 

Tips

• Make sure you use the correct sized pan. A 10×15 jelly roll pan is necessary for this recipe. This ensures that the cake is the perfect thickness, which prevents breaking or cracking while rolling. 
• Do not overbake the cake! This will result in a cracked and chewy cake. I’d start checking for doneness after about 10 minutes. 
• Make the frosting while the cake bakes, then refrigerate it as the cake cools. This will give the filling time to firm up before spreading. 
• Be patient! Don’t rush through the process of rolling, you’ll want a tight and neat result. 
• If the cake cracks a little, don’t worry, it’s fixable. Once the filling is added and you roll the cake back, it’ll sort of “glue” back together. 
• Any additional imperfections can be covered with a sprinkle of powdered sugar or cocoa powder! 

Can This Cake Be Refrigerated and Frozen?

Yes! This cake can be stored in the fridge, if wrapped tightly, for up to 3 days. To keep your cake as fresh as possible, I’d recommend using 2 layers of plastic wrap. 

If you’d like to freeze a prepared cake roll, wrap it in plastic wrap and add an extra layer of heavy duty foil or place it in a zip top freezer bag. Your cake will freeze for 2-3 months. Thaw in the fridge overnight before slicing and serving. 

Best Red Velvet Recipes

Let the good times roll! After you’ve made this delicious cake, go ahead and stir up more of GBC’s most ravishing red velvet recipes: 

• Red Velvet Lava Cake
• Red Velvet Marble Cake
• Red Velvet Bundt Cake
• Blue Velvet Cake
• Red Velvet Ice Cream
• Red Velvet Cake with Blackberry Cream Cheese Frosting