Chocolate Swiss Roll

If the cake calisthenics required by most Swiss roll cake recipes gives you roiling anxiety, this chocolate Swiss roll recipe is for you. If you’ve never even dreamed you could make a roll cake, this recipe is for you too. If you’re simply a lover of soft, tender cake filled with plush cream, this recipe is definitely for you.

The base is a simple chocolate sponge cake that gets robust dark chocolate flavor (and a deep mahogany color) from Dutch-process cocoa powder. Natural unsweetened cocoa will work, but the resulting dessert will look more pallid. But note: For a light, fluffy sponge, using cake flour is nonnegotiable. (Substituting all-purpose flour would yield a much denser, more brittle crumb.) The real genius of this recipe, however, is the high ratio of eggs: They keep the thin layer of chocolate cake soft and flexible, even when cold, so that you don’t have to (1) swaddle the cake in a kitchen towel, (2) roll it, (3) unroll it, and (4) reroll it. (Phew! I’m tired just writing that). Instead, you’ll simply let the cake cool in the pan, flip it out, swipe on a whipped cream filling, and roll it up.

Pay special attention to the size of your baking sheet: A classic jelly roll pan measures about 15x10"; this recipe was developed using a standard half-sheet pan (18x13") so that you won’t need to go out and buy specialty cookware. Baking it in the smaller pan would yield a cake that’s too thick to roll.

The whipped cream filling stays luxuriously soft but stable for days thanks to instant vanilla pudding mix. Make sure to buy instant, not the cook-and-serve sort. You can flavor the cream with the finely grated zest of an orange or lemon; a healthy splash (about 3 Tbsp.) of any sweet liqueur, such as Frangelico, Kahlúa, Irish cream, or Cointreau; or up to ¼ cup freeze-dried fruit powder (banana! strawberry! raspberry!).

For the simplest finish, dust the top of the cake with powdered sugar. But if you want to turn your chocolate Swiss roll cake into a Christmas Yule log (complete with chocolate buttercream), follow the step-by-step instructions in this recipe.