Fluffy sponge cake rolled up with fresh matcha cream in the middle, this Matcha Swiss Roll will be an instant favorite this holiday season!
Swill Rolls, or Roll Cakes (ロールケーキ) which we call in Japan, are a type of sponge cake filled with whipped cream, buttercream, custard cream, and sometimes include fruits like strawberries.
Just like any other desserts, we do have Matcha Swiss Roll (抹茶ロールケーキ) and it’s always a popular choice in Japan. If you have a soft spot for anything matcha (green tea), I am pretty sure you’re going to be as obsessed with this cake as I am.
Watch How To Make Matcha Roll Cake
Watch “Matcha Swiss Roll” Video on YouTube
What Differentiate Japanese Roll Cake from Swiss Roll
1. Not-so-sweet
When it comes to Asian sweets, you have to know one more expression to complement the dessert, and that is “oh, this dessert is not so sweet.” What it really means is the sweetness is just right.
Swiss rolls are of western origin, but I want to emphasize that the Asian version of Swiss rolls are guaranteed not so sweet. If you enjoy not-so-sweet desserts, this one is for you.
2. Light & Fluffy
The fluffiness and light texture of the sponge cake come from the egg whites that are beaten till stiff peaks, like a chiffon cake recipe. Besides fresh whipped cream for the filling, there is no butter or oil added in the recipe. I know this makes us all feel less guilty about eating more than one slice!
3. Unique Flavors
Classic Japanese roll cakes are very similar to western Swiss rolls. You can find flavors such as vanilla, cocoa, chocolate, tiramisu, coffee, strawberry, lemon, raspberry, and so on. Japanese (and some other Asian) varieties include matcha, black sesame, chestnut, purin (crème caramel), and interesting flavors like almond jelly, and mitarashi dango (see below).
Endless choices of roll cakes! (image source)
5 Tips to Remember When Making Matcha Swiss Roll
1. Egg yolks at room temp & egg whites in the fridge
You can make the sponge cake two ways: Genoise method (The whole eggs are combined with sugar and gently heated over simmering water, then whipped) or Biscuit (bees-kwee) method (the whites and yolks are whipped separately and then folded back together). The Genoise method creates a more moist texture but Biscuit creates a lighter texture.
I chose the Biscuit method this time. When you separate the eggs, keep egg yolks at room temperature and egg whites in the fridge. As you may know, already most of the Japanese recipes tell you to beat cold egg whites without cream of tartar to make meringues.
2. Remember to “fold in”
Folding is a very gentle way of mixing additional ingredients into a batter to prevent entrapped air from escaping. The way to do this is to first run the spatula (or whisk) around the side, then along the base of the bowl. Now fold the mixture over onto itself. Rotate the bowl 90º and repeat until combined.
3. Don’t over bake
Because it’s a thin cake, it’s best to avoid baking slowly; otherwise the cake will be dry. Therefore, bake around 375 ºF (190 ºC) for 12-13 minutes, until the sponge springs back. The bottom of the cake pan will become the surface of the cake, so we’ll make sure it doesn’t get burnt on the bottom.
4. Remove the parchment paper immediately
You will need to remove the cake immediately from the pan after baking, in order to prevent the cake from drying. But, what do you do with the parchment paper?
There is a whole discussion on when to remove parchment paper – right after baking OR after cooling down. I remove it while it’s warm and it comes off beautifully. I don’t like the parchment paper becomes too moist while cooling down, but it’s up to you. I think either way works.
5. Pre-roll the cake while warm
It’s easier to roll up the cake when it’s still warm and flexible, so I roll up the cake first and let it cool down. The cake has muscle memory so it’s easier to roll up again with fillings. Some people don’t pre-roll, but scores on top of the cake before rolling so it’s easier to roll. Some don’t do either one but still makes the beautiful roll. Again, it’s also up to you.
Delicious Matcha Whipped Cream Filling for Matcha Swiss Roll
Some matcha roll cakes include anko, sweet red bean paste, inside the whipped cream filling. The red bean gives some texture to the soft sponge and creamy whipped cream. Even though I love sweet red bean paste, I prefer keeping it out of my cake to keep the fluffy texture in my mouth. When I brought this matcha roll cake to my friend’s house, she served the cake with red bean ice cream and it was wonderful!
For the whipped cream filling, I like mine to enhance more matcha flavor, so I included matcha powder in my whipped cream, but that’s optional. Simple white-color whipped cream will give nice contrast to the matcha cake, and it looks pretty and delicious too!
If you visit Japan, you will find them all over the country – from fancy versions at bakeries and pastry shops, to more affordable ones at grocery stores or convenience stores. But don’t be fooled by the “grocery store” or “convenience store” label. The quality is still reasonably good.
Roll cakes sold at a convenience store (image source)
I feel this rolled-up cake has a lot more casual look than a classic round cake, yet it’s still elegant enough that you can bring it to a potluck or serve it at your dinner party to wow your guests. For more matcha dessert recipes, click here.
I hope this Matcha Swiss Roll recipe will inspire you to try making it at home. You will need to apply a few techniques but it’s really not as difficult as you may think.
Similar Recipes:
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- 4 large eggs (separated)
- ¾ cup cake flour (90 g; If you're using a cup measurement, please follow this method to measure. Otherwise, the amount of flour tends to be more than you need. 1 cup should be 120 g. You can make your Homemade Cake Flour.)
- ½ tsp baking powder
- 2 Tbsp matcha (green tea powder)
- ½ cup sugar (100 g; separated)
- 2 Tbsp whole milk (microwave until warm to the touch)
- ¾ cup heavy (whipping) cream (180 ml; chilled)
- 1 ½ Tbsp sugar
- 2 tsp matcha (green tea powder)
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Gather all the ingredients. Preheat a (conventional) oven to 375 ºF (190 ºC). Line a 15” x 10” (38 cm x 25 cm) jelly roll pan with parchment paper.
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Separate the egg yolks and whites into two bowls. Keep the egg whites in the refrigerator, and the egg yolk at room temperature.
- Using a fine mesh sieve, sift the cake flour, baking powder, and matcha powder over a sheet of parchment paper.
- Transfer the dry ingredients into the bowl, set the sieve over the parchment paper and sift 2 more times (total 3 times).
- In a large bowl, add the egg yolks and break them.
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Add half of the sugar (¼ cup) and whisk until the egg mixture becomes double in volume. When you lift the whisk into the air with some of the mixture on it, the mixture should fall back into the bowl in ribbons, which slowly disappear back into the mixture
- Add the cold egg whites into a large bowl. With an electric hand mixer (or stand mixer), beat the egg whites until foamy.
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Gradually add the remaining sugar (¼ cup) over three separate times and beat until stiff peaks form and egg whites are glossy.
- Gently whisk in ⅓ of the egg whites to the egg yolk mixture until incorporated in the batter.
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Then add the mixture back into the egg whites. Gently fold in egg whites with a silicone spatula. Tip: Rotate the bowl counterclockwise while you scoop up and fold in the mixture clockwise.
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Add the dry ingredients. Using the silicone spatula, fold in gently until just incorporated. Tip: Adding dry ingredients last prevents from mixing too much (over-mixing the batter will result in dense, not fluffy sponge cake).
- Add the warm milk and fold in until incorporated.
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Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Spread the batter evenly with silicone pastry scraper.
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Tap the jelly roll pan a few times on your working surface to remove the air bubble inside the batter. Bake for 10-12 minutes, or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean and top of cake springs back when touched. Make sure not to over bake or the cake will be too dry and break when you roll.
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Remove the pan from the oven and drop the pan on your working space once to prevent the cake from shrinkage.
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While the pan is still hot, place a sheet of parchment paper and a baking sheet (or a cutting board) on top.
- Wearing the oven mitts, flip the baking sheets together (with the cake sandwiched in between). Using a knife or spatula, lift the jelly roll pan to reveal the cake.
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Gently remove the parchment paper attached to the cake. This side will be the exterior of the Swiss roll, so be gentle!
- Place another “protective” sheet of parchment paper and baking sheet on top.
- Hold both baking sheets and flip the cake over so that brown side is facing up. Remove the parchment paper.
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Remove the baking sheet and place the cake on the working surface. Diagonally slice off ¼ inch (1 cm) one side of the cake (shorter end). This will help stabilize the Swiss roll when rolled up.
- While the cake is still warm, use your hands to slowly roll the cake on the parchment paper. Once the cake is rolled up, transfer to a wire rack.
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Cover with kitchen towel and let it cool completely (until it reaches room temperature, about 30 minutes).
- When the cake is completely cool, combine the heavy cream, sugar, and matcha powder in a large bowl.
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Beat until firm and spreadable, so it won’t ooze out of the cake when you’re rolling it up.
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Transfer the swiss roll to a flat surface and unroll the cake. It’s okay if the ends curl up a bit.
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Using an offset spatula, spread the matcha cream mixture evenly over the cake, leaving a ½-inch border on all sides. A little tip: Spread slightly less amount of filling toward the last ⅓ of cake as the cream will pile up toward the end when rolling up.
- Carefully but tightly re-roll the cake. The seam side should be on the bottom. Once you roll up the cake, secure the roll by twisting the parchment paper at both ends (like a candy wrapper). Refrigerate for at least 2 hours to firm up the cream.
- Remove and unwrap the Swiss roll. Slice off about ½ inch of the cake on both ends (to show off beautiful swirls). Transfer it to your serving dish. Slice and serve.
- If you have leftovers, just re-wrap the swiss roll in a plastic wrap and store in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
The recipe was adapted from this Japanese cookbook. All images and content on this site are copyright protected. Please do not use my images without my permission. If you’d like to share this recipe on your site, please re-write the recipe and link to this post as the original source. Thank you.
very very special recipe for christmas day… the matcha where I have is too bitter and so I use it in buns .. maybe because it’s a little inexpensive. can I do this sweet with chocolate or lemon..? can you tell me some idea ??? thank you. the best wishes for you and your family.
Hi Chris! Do you mean you want to make chocolate / lemon swiss roll? Sure! I haven’t tried it, but it should be very delicious! I can imagine the taste! Thank you for your well wishes, I hope you have a happy holiday with your family. 🙂 xo
Hi! this looks perfect for a family Christmas potluck…I don’t have a jelly pan, will a standard half sheet cookie sheet work? Also, how far in advance could this be made? looking forward to trying your recipe!! 🙂
Hi Vicky! Jelly roll cake is 15” x 10” (38 cm x 25 cm) while half sheet is 18″ x 13″ so it’s slightly bigger. You will need more batter so your roll won’t end up with thin sponge. At first I was going to make it with half sheet, but the outcome is so much better with a jelly roll cake pan (this sheet is specifically for this type of cake…).
See the size difference: http://www.finecooking.com/article/jelly-roll-pan-vs-sheet-pan
Thank you, I got a jelly roll pan to try this out!
I’m also wondering how far in advance can I make this cake?
Hi Vicky! Wonderful! You can wrap the swiss roll in a plastic wrap and store in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
My daughter is into Matcha at the moment, so addicted to it. I bet when she see this post she will ask me to it at home 🙂
Hi..how come the cake turned out not soft but like its a bit hard? Maybe the batter is not enough? Also the whipcream I think I overbeat them because at first it was a pale green the one in your pictures and then after thay it turnes dark green. Can you also help me to edit the recipe like with 6 eggs? Or should I just double it?
Hi Maria! Do you think it’s possibly over mixing the batter? Just like any other recipes, over mixing the batter can result in tough texture. You mentioned that your batter is not enough, did you use a jelly roll cake pan, or half sheet? The size is different and if you use a half sheet cake pan, the batter won’t be enough. If the powdered matcha wasn’t fully mixed in the whipped cream, the color gets darker as matcha starts to incorporate into the whipped cream (slightly green/white to entirely green color). So that should be okay. About over-beating the heavy cream… make sure it’s stiff but not over stiff (that separates each other). It should be glossy and smooth. I am not a huge fan of calculating the ingredients to adjust the recipe, so I usually go for doubling method, but it’s up to you… Some recipes are hard to divide eggs etc.
I did everything right. I used the jelly roll pan. When I make it again I will double careful to mix it. I followed your video tutorial as well. I dont know if I can post the pic here. So that you can see it.
Hi Maria! You can send me pictures via email or share the photo with me on Instagram (use #justonecookbook) or FB (post to JOC page). I’ll take a look. 🙂
I just posted it on your fb page . Thank you Nami-san
Thanks, just in case I don’t get the notification from facebook, you can always email me so I won’t miss your response. 🙂
I was making this and I forgot to put the milk 🙁 i dont know what’s the result. Its baking while typing this
Hi Maria! Oops… Hopefully it stays moist. My only concern is when you roll the sponge. Please be gentle as yours is less moist….
You don’t need any oil or butter for the cake?
Hi Weini! Not with this recipe. The soft spongy texture is relying on the big volume of eggs. It’s common for roll cake recipes. 🙂
Hi Nami! I noticed you said that egg whites should be cold. However, I was always taught that room-temperature egg whites whip faster and are able to reach the maximum volume. According to What’s Cooking America, you should “bring egg whites to room temperature to ensure volume when beating (as warmer eggs whip faster than cold eggs). Egg whites right out of the refrigerator will not whip well.” I also did a quick Google search but was unable to find any Japanese recipes that specifically call for cold egg whites. Was this a mistake? Or is there another reason for using cold egg whites?
Hi Alexis! Yeah I am aware of the difference in methods. I was actually surprised to find the American method is different when I came here. In Japan, we chill the egg whites till almost start to freeze (yes, that cold) and don’t use creme of tartar to make meringue. If you check Japanese baking recipes (in Japanese), 99% recipes (Just in case some people use American method…) do this chilling method. I always thought we follow some European method as our baking is heavily influenced by European more than American. I found the same method before, and I believe the recipe was in grams, so I assume it was somewhere in Europe. It’s funny you mentioned, as I follow a lot of Japanese YouTubers and they get the same question from American followers. 🙂 In general, we never use creme of tartar but hold the egg whites very well. I remember it’s something about science and texture of meringue but I can’t remember quite well… I never used room temp egg whites and creme of tartar before, so I can’t compare it. Hope I answered to your questions. 🙂
Thanks! I made this cake a few days ago actually and it was so pretty and delicious. The whole family loved it and I will definitely be making it again!
Hi Alexis! Glad to hear you enjoy the cake! Thank you for your feedback. 🙂 I hope CHILLED egg whites worked just as well as room temp whites + cream of tartar. 🙂
I followed your insruction but my roll came out brown on both sides. How can I get it to come out green like yours?
Hi Kay! If what you describe is not from burning, then it’s simply the quality of matcha powder you used. Although my matcha powder is not the finest quality (that would be SUPER expensive), it is pretty decent even for drinking. If you look at the matcha powder, you see it has bright green color. A lot of matcha that you can purchase online labeled as “matcha” but it is often very low grade (hence it’s cheaper) and it has yellow-green dull color to start. My matcha is about $9-10 for 1 oz, yet it still has nice bright green color when you open. If you keep matcha for more than a month, it gets oxidized and become yellow-green/brown as well. So you must use it within 3 weeks or less. Hope this helps!
Hi, how do I alter the flour proportion if I want to make a chocolate swiss roll instead of matcha?
Hi Shayenne! I had not made with chocolate (cacao powder) before, but usually when you make with cacao powder, you subtract the dry ingredient flour. But if I were you, I would definitely test adjusting the amount slowly as it’s not always 1:1. Hope this helps!
I always over whip my whipping cream
Any tips to share?
Hi Amanda! As I don’t consider myself as a baker, I understand the difficulty in making whipped cream. It’s practice though, when you make a lot, you kind of understand when to stop. Are you using a stand mixer? After purchasing my hand-held mixer, I realized that it’s easier to control the consistency because the hand-held mixer is weaker and takes time to get to the final stage. I can stop and observe the whipped cream consistency. If you are using a stand mixer, it’s more powerful, so before you get too lose to the final stage, remove the bowl from the stand mixer and whip with your hand whisk. You can control much easier (I do this method with my Strawberry Shortcake recipe: https://www.justonecookbook.com/japanese-strawberry-shortcake/). Hope this helps!
I don’t know why my cake is not soft enough. I tired twice, still has the same problem. I doubt if u over mix the egg yolk? When pouring the dry ingredients ( matcha powder & flours….), the batter is a bit dry. I added additional milk, but still turned out to be a dry cake. My egg size are large, but it looks like your are extra large. The egg yolk batter volume is a bit less than the one u showed. Hope u can provide more tips on this.
Hi Echo! Thanks so much for trying this recipe! Hmm… do you think it’s possible that the actual oven temperature is higher than mine or the heat source is closer than mine? I use (American) large eggs, which is roughly 50g (47-52 g). Maybe add slightly more moisture to the batter and reduce the temperature or baking time a little bit. Or lower the rack if it’s too close to the heating element.
I hope it’ll work out. I’m sorry you have tried twice already and didn’t come out well yet.
what’s the trick to get the cake more fluffy? tried twice making this but not as fluffy as i wanted it to be!!!
Hi Stephanie! Hm, I could think of a few… 1) Do NOT over mix the batter toward the end, 2) make sure to use whole milk (fat) and maybe increase 1/2 tbsp increment, 3) beat until even more fluffy at step 4, and 4) increase baking powder a bit. Hope that helps… 🙂
Hi there,
I found the flour + matcha mix difficult to incorporate into the batter without my carefully whipped stiff egg whites deflating. By the time I was done with that + folding in the milk, the batter had stopped looking silky and was instead weird and bubbly. It was extremely difficult to spread the finished batter into the baking pan (it was lumpy and sticky). My resulting cake cracked when I rolled it – not sure if it’s due to slight over baking or the batter being too deflated after mixing the flour, or both.
Is it ok to fold in the flour mixture into the egg yolk batter after it reaches the ribbon stage instead? To avoid this from happening again. Thank you!
Hi Cake face! I actually tried it both ways as I make my chiffon cake in order of mixing in dry ingredients first before adding egg whites (https://www.justonecookbook.com/green-tea-chiffon-cake/).
The result was similar, but if you look out for swiss roll recipes out there, majority of swiss roll recipes require dry ingredients to be added at final step. I think it’s due to avoid over-mixing which result in drier and dense mixture. You’re supposed to mix just enough to incorporate.
The crack can be due to overbaking, or heat source being too close, or oven temperature (it’s good to know hot spots in the oven and see if your oven temp is exactly same as what it says – often it’s not).
Hope that helps…
Hmm, I think 190 degrees C is too hot for a roll cake recipe – most recipes range from 160-180 maximum. Perhaps that’s why mine turned out dry. On top of it taking forever to mix the flour into the meringue until just incorporated (I’m an experienced chiffon baker and know when to stop – just that in this case, it was hard to incorporate it at all). Anyway, thanks for your response!
If you look at American Swiss Roll recipes, probably 80% of recipes that I know is 375 ºF (190 ºC). Do you think it’s because the oven size is bigger than other country’s (like Japan)? I’m assuming you’re not from here since you mentioned most of recipes you know it’s 160-180C. Thank you for your feedback, I learn a lot from talking to my readers. I really appreciated!
I made this today with a slightly different mixing steps. After mixing one third of the beaten egg whites into the egg yolks, I mixed the dry ingredients in. I use a hand whisk and mixed evenly without worrying about deflating the mixture. After that fold in remaining meringue in 2 times. Next time I would bake at 180’c as it slightly cracked when I rolled.. Even though I took the cake out after 10mins at 190c..
Hi Zes! Thanks so much for trying this recipe! Yeah if it cracks, the sponge may have overcooked a little bit. I would do the same, reduce the temp to 180 or take out from the oven earlier at 190C. Each oven is different, so you might need to adjust a little. Plus oven temperature inside the oven may not be the same temperature as the temperature that oven indicates.
I just made this! It is now chilling in the fridge. I used Republic of Tea’s Matcha powder which is pretty good quality but in a way I wish it had an even healthier verdant green color. However I tasted a tiny bit of the batter and it was great. The best Matcha powder I have found in my local supermarkets is Ito-en’s Matcha Love tea, in the natural foods section.
One big tip: if you can, freeze the bowl you will use to whip the egg whites, and/ or keep the egg whites in the freezer for the ~8 minutes you aren’t using them. This will make it thicken so much faster, the same way that heavy whipping cream thickens faster the colder it is.
I think I may have left the cake in the oven about 45 seconds too long (I timed it out to about 12.5 minutes in the end. I need to be more courageous with taking things out at the specified time). As a result the outermost part of the cake split/flaked a little when I rolled it but it’s not a big deal. It was a lot of fun to make, and thank you so much for sharing this delightful recipe!
I will try to remember to share a pic with you once it is ready in a couple hours!
Hi Severin! Thank you for trying this recipe! I’ve seen theRepublic of Tea Matcha powder but you’re right, it’s missing the vibrant green color (which is one of the factors for better matcha quality).
Thank you for your tip! I am actually so happy to hear that you also use cold egg whites!!! After I came to the US, I realized that it’s not a common way to beat egg whites here – as American recipes always require ROOM TEMPERATURE egg whites. In Japan, we always put the egg whites in fridge/freezer until you’re ready to whip. But anyway, thank you for your tip on freezing for <8 minutes!
I hope you enjoyed the cake. 🙂 xo
Hi Nami, may I know why is my matcha swissroll tasted dense and little dry and the whipped cream doesn’t look as moist. Could I have over mixed cake mixture as well as cream too?
Best regards
Doris (Singapore)
Hi Doris! Thank you for trying this recipe! A few possible reasons.
1) over-mixing – first reason to think when your cake end up with dense texture
2) dry – maybe oven temperature was too high (different oven size, how close to your heat source, hot spots inside the oven)
3) whipped cream not moist – I’m not sure what you mean by moist, but it sound like you over-whipped (it separates and looks broken) as it doesn’t look silky.
Hope that helps!
I made it today for my little girl who is crazy about Matcha. It was pretty fluff enough. Delicious and less sweeter than western cake. Thank you. Nami.
Hi Jean! Your little girl is so lucky. 🙂 Thank you for trying my recipe and I’m glad it came out okay! Yes, western cakes are considered a bit too sweet for the Japanese’s taste. Thank you for your kind feedback. xo
Hi Nami,
I tried this recipe 2 times with 2 different brands of matcha but after have baked,the cake didn’t have a beautiful green as yours even though my oven was at 160°c with circular hot air (i baked it only 10min). The cake had a green brown color ????????????…what’s the problem Nami? Thanks for your answer
Hi Thao! I’m most certain that it’s due to the quality of matcha. High quality matcha has vivid beautiful green color like you see here (https://www.justonecookbook.com/pantry_items/green-tea-powder-matcha/). When your matcha is not this green to begin with, the final result won’t be beautiful green. Try to find better quality matcha to make it. Don’t buy a big bag. Matcha needs to be used within 3-4 weeks otherwise it will be oxide and the color will turn to yellow greenish color. Hope this helps!
One of my favorite japanese dessert beside my lovely japanese cheesecake!!! ????????????
Hi Ajeng! Awww I’m happy to hear you like this recipe! 🙂
Hello nami, I was planning to make this dessert since I finally found a place where they sell you matcha, however I wanted to ask, how can I know that a matcha tea is of quality? The store offers it: “It is a tea of ceremonial grade, it is made with a variety of tea plant called Gokou, which makes a matcha more creamy than normal.
You can see the good quality because when prepared it has very little bitter taste” Is this true? Because other matcha tea from “culinary use” announces to be more bitter and astringent
Thanks for your help
Hi Ruth! Well, you can only tell matcha quality by 1) looking at it and 2) tasting it. If you buy at a tea shop in Japan, you can see inside the can so you can see which grade you are buying. In general, ceremonial grade is super expensive but much better quality – beautiful color and matcha is more sweet. Culinary use is okay especially for baking, as you add sugar. But one brand of culinary grade is far different from another brand. So you have to give it a try and test. 🙂
thanks for your answer!!!!
The truth I have to admit that I have very little knowledge about tea, so I wanted to ask: in the link below appears a picture of ceremonial tea sold where I live, in my opinion is very yellow, what do you think?
Also, the more refined the tea, the less sugar you would have to use in this recipe?
http://www.kyusuteas.com/te-verde/matcha-gokou-obubu
Hi Ruth! Ahhh this package uses Japanese BUT it’s very strange Japanese sentences. I don’t think it’s made in Japan. I’m sorry…. and I agree, it’s not high quality (as this company may claim). It is far from beautiful matcha color. I feel bad matcha is getting popular but not the right matcha is distributed. 🙁
Look at this link. Even the low quality, the color should be like this:
http://shop.ippodo-tea.co.jp/kyoto/shopf/goods/index.html?ggcd=133624&cid=matcha
This looks amazing! I have to make a Japanese food for my geography class, and this will work perfectly! Do you know how much this serves?? I’m trying to decide whether or not to Double the recipe.
Hi Ellie! I am so sorry for my late response. For the class, you will probably need to make two at least. You can cut thin or cut into rounds and cut in half… It’s harder to cut into thin rounds. The dimension is mentioned in the recipe. 🙂
Great! Thanks!
Can I substitute the heavy cream with Greek yogurt as the filling for a healthier version?
Thank you.
Hi Mel! Hmmm I haven’t tried, but yogurt has water content and you don’t want it to come out and cake gets soggy… Maybe partially?
Okay… tqsm Nami.. will give that a try… Cheers!
Hi Nami, this looks absolutely delish! Is it possible to make this as a 20cm layered round cake instead of swiss roll?
Hi Lisa! Hmmm… Honestly I am not sure as I’ve never done it something like this… Sorry I really wish I could tell you or give advice…
Hi nami!
I find the measurements confusing.. the recipe says 90g but the video say 110g for the flour.. which one did you follow? Thank you!
Hi Zarie! I’ve updated all my cake flour recipes to have a standard 120 g per cup. So please use 3/4 cup or 90 g. We can’t update the video so I always encourage my readers to check the recipe on the website. 🙂 Thank you!
Thank you for posting these wonderful recipes, some of them have become my to-go breakfast/deserts~ I tried to make these matcha swiss rolls today and mine completely cracked lol, also I think my sponge turned out a little dry. Do you have any suggestions to roll a perfect roll?
Hi Wendy! Thank you for using my recipes! Hmm, my first thought is you may overbake the cake. Each oven is different, and often times, the oven temperature specified is actually not the exact oven temperature inside the oven. I always recommend to find hot spots and exact oven temperature by placing the thermometer inside the oven to check. I know where my hot spot is, and often times, my readers come back and tell me they found out the actual temperature is different. Also, the size of oven is different from me. So find the best cooking time based on how your oven works. For the first time, try checking the doneness a few minutes earlier and stay around in the kitchen to make sure you don’t over-bake. Hope this helps!
Hi! I want to try this recipe out however I don’t have any sugar at home. Will it be fine if I substitute it with honey? If ever how much honey should I use? I am also going to only use one egg so how should I edit the proportion so it can come out with the good texture? Also can I just use more baking power since I don’t have cake flour or cornstarch at home and I am just using plain flour.
Hi Barbie! I can’t tell you how it would work as I’ve never made it with honey and more baking powder with plain flour.
Baking is science, and unless you really know what each ingredient does… Sugar is necessary in this recipe to make meringue and I don’t know how you could make it with honey. It’s not just the taste (sweetness) you need to consider, you also have to think about what sugar does to make the egg whites turn into meringue, etc.
That said, you can change however you like, but I can’t recommend much to your request as I have never tried. Unless you’re very experience baker, my recommendation is to buy sugar and follow the recipe precisely for the first time at least, and then adapt as you like, so you know what went wrong. If you change everything at once, you don’t know what’s causing the problem. Hope this helps! 🙂
This is perfect – well structured instructions, great tips, such a nicely balanced recipe! I followed exactly as instructed – roll looks the same and tasts great! Liking food with matcha is a matter of acquired taste, but this one will definitely become a favorite!
Thank you so much for putting the effort!
Hi Shantal! Thank you so much for your kind feedback. I’m so happy yours came out well too! Thank you for writing!
Just made this with lemon instead of macha. Great cake! I added gelatin so the icing can last longer in hot weather. Hope it works.
Hi Sheena! Thank you for trying this recipe! I’m so happy to hear yours came out well! Thank you for your kind feedback. Lemon flavor sounds lovely, I love citrus flavor in sweets. 🙂
This recipe looks too yummy!
Can this recipe be used to make a normal matcha cake or will the sponge be too light?
Thank you!
Hi Sherlynn! Although I haven’t tried making it in a cake pan, I think you can do that. 🙂
Hi! this is a very cool recipe that I am going to try out. I do have one question, have you ever tried a “No bake” method? – as in cooking in a pressure cooker or any other stove appliances?
Any idea on how long it may take to cook a sponge cake like that?
My oven is busted and will take awhile to get it fixed so if you have any suggestions for alternative cooking methods, that’ll be great! Thank you ~ ^^
Hi Shriya! I’ve never made this cake with a pressure cooker or stovetop, but I do have a stovetop steamed cake recipe. https://www.justonecookbook.com/steamed-cake/ (and matcha version too). It might be a lot easier to make that steamed cake than making into a swiss roll without an oven. 🙂
Kon’nichiwa, Nami-san! I’m a huge matcha fan since I ate matcha KitKat in Japan years ago. So definitely I would try making this roll! Unfortunately the roll came out a bit chewy. I try not to over-mix the batter but folding didn’t seem to mix the ingredients well-enough so I think the over-folding may have caused the roll to be chewy. How do you incorporate the ingredients better without over-folding? Also, it took me quite a while to achieve the stiff white peaks of the egg whites so I may have over-mixed that too. Would this cause a chewy roll as well? Arigatogozaimashita! 🙂
Hi Renee! Thank you so much for trying this recipe! First thing first, I really hope that you used gram measurement (I always do for my baking recipes) because people tend to put way too much flour when it’s measured with a cup (see this post: https://www.justonecookbook.com/how-to-measure-flour/). One possible reason can be due to putting too much flour.
Next, when you fold, you try to “cut” the batter (without hesitation), or that’s the motion you want to take, while you rotate the bowl.
And stiff peaks – handheld mixer like the one I used in this recipe takes much longer time than a stand mixer (but easier to stop and check the condition). Make sure your bowl and utensils are not wet or oily because that will not make good meringue and sometimes it won’t give you stiff peaks. So you have to be very careful with equipment for moisture/oil.
Hmmm… also how about the oven? Is it accurate temperature inside the oven? It’s always good to check hot spots and actual temperature inside (not always “true” temperature) so you don’t overbake your cake.
Hope these tips are helpful. I’ve made hard sponge before myself… Hopefully, you can figure out the cause. 🙂
Hi Nami,
Thanks a lot for the amazing recipe! It is very delicious and very easy to make. I love it very much.
Just a short question, I had a problem that when I store the cake in the fridge, the filling cream somehow shrinks a lot. Do you any tips to prevent this from happening?
Thank you.
Hi Melissa! Thank you for your kind words and feedback. I’m so happy to hear you enjoyed it. 🙂 About the cream… professional pastry chef would add gelatine in the cream so the next day the cream stays firm in the swiss roll. It’s natural for the whipped cream to look “loose” (sloppy? I don’t know how to describe it…) next day. 🙂
Thank you Nami! I’ll give it a try next time 🙂
Hi Nami! How much gelatine would you recommend to be added in this case? Thank you 🙂
Hi Xan! I’ve never tried that before, so I’m not too sure. 🙁
Thanks for this recipe. My Hubby and kids love it. I made two sets of your recipe. 1st the Match Green Tea and the othe is the mocha flavor. Thank you again Nami.
Hi Asianswagmom! Thank you so much for trying this recipe! I’m so happy to hear your family enjoyed it. WOW 2 sets!!!!!! You’re an amazing baker! Thank you for your kind feedback. xoxo
I was concerning the same as one of the reviewer (Weini) did of whether to include any oil. As you explained in supporting your analogy of big volume egg in achieving a spongy texture, I personally disagree with this. Given the amount of flour as compare to a lot of fluff or spongy, I don’t consider the amount of 4 eggs is a big volume. I followed your recipe extracly even with doubt and it turned out the egg yolk batter was very very very dry . I have to add a whole lot more of milk and it still doesn’t mix well and I ended up having to sift the batter. Clearly, there is fault to this recipe which I will make another attempt unless with the addition of oil.
Hi Aun! This recipe was adapted from this cookbook: https://www.amazon.co.jp/dp/B00DI8TNXG/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_U_X5CICbER26MMA
It does not include any oil. From what you wrote (using whole a lot more of milk), I am wondering if you use a kitchen scale to measure the flour. Maybe that’s the only difference we may have? Scooping the flour with a measuring cup can compact flour and it’s not an accurate amount (I made a video of this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=4&v=3HMZ5Dt-Qag). I’ve seen a lot of JOC readers’ Matcha Swiss Rolls over the holidays on social media and they look pretty good. I tested this recipe many times before filming the recipe. But I understand that our ovens are different, we have different ingredients, and it’s possible that we just can’t produce the same result sometimes. I’m truly sorry yours didn’t come out well.
Just maded it, the swiss roll is so delicious! We all loved it. Do you have any more swissroll or sponge cake recipe that’s light and fluffy? Eg chocolate one?
. n64
I currently don’t have it on the site… you can replace matcha with cocoa powder too. 🙂
Hi Lisa! I’m so happy to hear your swiss roll came out well and thanks so much for trying this recipe and for your kind feedback. You can replace matcha with cocoa powder and a bit of vanilla extract. 🙂
Delicious! I’ve made this cake a few times already, and it’s always a big hit! Thank you, thank you
Hi Victoria! I’m so happy to hear that. Thank you so much for your kind feedback! xoxo
Thank you for all your detailed recipes and detailed but short videos! They are extremely helpful. The sweetness of this was absolutely perfect! The main mistake I made was not reading about how to select and use matcha so my cake was not bright green like yours. I made several other mistakes but thanks to your instructions, I understand where I went wrong. But it tasted great! I’m going to make it again with fresh matcha.
Hi Cindy! Thank you, I’m glad my instructions were helpful. Yeah, the quality of matcha is quite important in any matcha recipes for the color and taste. So many companies sell matcha online for really inexpensive (to attract customers) but they can’t be that cheap. And never buy a big bag. 🙂 Hope next batch will be a better one! Thank you again for your kind feedback. xoxo
Hi Nami,
I love your matcha Swiss roll but I’ve tried a few times but the sponge turned out to be quite dried. Can I use sponge flour instead of cake flour?
Hi May! I’d probably reduce the oven temperature or cut the baking time shorter. I think it’s overcooked. I’m not sure what’s the sponge flour, but if that works better for you, sure! I don’t know what the sponge flour is (in Japan or US). 🙂
I made this Matcha Swiss Roll for a little party and it went down a treat! Thank you for this lovely recepie and it is so easy to make. I shall certainly make it again.
As an aspiring Culinary student. I honestly really enjoyed this recipe the two times I made it. I’m ready for round 3 (Both times it messed up where my fault the second time it came out nicely and the filling but I didn’t roll it into shape right away and it cracked but I may have over cooked it as well I think. still the flavor was wonderful and my family enjoyed them. Definitely recommending your Recipes.
Hi Stephen! Thank you so much for trying this recipe 2 times! I’m glad you enjoyed it. Hope the next one will go smoothly! 🙂
Hi, I’m making this the night before, for an event. When it says leave it in for up to 2 hours after applying the filling, can i leave it in overnight? And how are left overs stored?
Amazing recipe, by the way! Absolutely beautiful.
Hi Timme! Yes, overnight will be good. Once you take it out, it’s hard (from being cold in the fridge). It’s easier to cut when it’s hard, but when you eat, it’s nice to soften a bit… but should be enjoyed slightly chilled. 🙂
Hi! This looks so fluffy and delicious. Would love to try it as a coffee swiss roll as well. Since this recipe uses 2 Tblspoons of matcha powder, wondering what measurement of coffee liquid (granules dissolved in water) I could use as flavoring? Would you have any idea of that substitution? Thank you for all your amazing recipes. My family is always looking forward to dishes I make from them!
Hi Daru! I haven’t tried the coffee version. Make sure when you swap, the liquid and dry ingredients ratio won’t change. Can you use coffee instead of milk and see how it goes? Without testing, I’m not sure how it would go… If you give it a try, let us know how it goes! 🙂
Hi I hv been baking using this recipe twice and follow exactly the steps but I’m not sure how come my cake turned out to b dry? If it’s due to over mix, how do I know if I over mix?
Hi Melissa! Thank you so much for trying this recipe! Hmm… how about decreasing the oven temp a little bit, taking out from the oven a few minutes earlier (only if it’s done cooking), or adding more liquid? If you overmix, the sponge gets tough, but since it’s dry, maybe you can finish cooking earlier or add more moisture… Hope this tip helps… 🙂
Hi Nami!
Ive been wanting to prepare this for my family’s christmas dinner but since we are going to a cabin in the north this year I would need to prepare it about a week in advance.
Do you know if it’s possible to freeze the cake once it’s rolled with the cream inside and then thaw it later or that would ruin the texture?
Hi Marie! Yes, you can definitely do that. 🙂 Have a wonderful Christmas in a cabin and I hope you enjoy the roll cake. 🙂
Hi! I’d like to make the original version of this without matcha. Can I just leave out the matcha in the cake and fresh cream or will that affect the end result. Thinking if I need to substitute it with anything such as vanilla extract? Thanks!
Hi Agnes! Yeah I’d add vanilla extract for sure. 🙂
Hello! Sorry to ride on this but when should i add the vanilla essence if i intend to skip the matcha? Thanks!
Love your recipe and the level of detail you include! Thanks for sharing with us!! Is it possible to substitute the whole milk for soy milk? (lactose intolerant so I usually only have soy milk on hand)
Hi Priscilla! Yes, that will work. I hope you enjoy the recipe! 🙂
Matcha roll cake tasted great, but it cracked and fell to pieces when I tried to roll it.
Hi TF! Thank you for trying this recipe. Maybe next time, take out the cake slightly earlier, which might help. 🙂 Thank you for your feedback!
Hi! I was just wondering if it is possible to make a normal cake (i.e. in a 9 inch cake pan) with this Green Tea Swiss Roll Recipe. The roll cake that your have made seems amazing! Thank you.
Hi Sabrina! I think it’s possible? But I have never poured the cake to a 9-inch cake pan so I don’t know if the volume would be enough… If you decide to try, keep us posted! I’m curious! 🙂
Dear Nami,
After taking on board your comments on the choc chiffon, I managed to improve on the appearance of my cake. It still had surface cracks, not that deep though. I took some photos, but unsure how to send them across.
Yesterday. I baked my first matcha cake roll. It was a bit dry, had no cracks whatsoever, rather good.
Hence today, I picked up my courage to do the 2nd. However, it did crack when I iced it whilst still slightly warm. Not willing to settle for a cracked roll, I baked my 3rd. It was rather good – moist, no cracks. I waited until it was properly cool, much longer than 30 mins as suggested. Very pleased, thank you for your most detailed step by step instructions.
Next time, I might experiment with rolling it when it has cooled down a bit, but still slightly warm to touch, and “workable”. You mentioned that this didnt change the outcome for you.
Question for you — why have you not used the chiffon cake format or method to bake the for the sponge in your matcha cake roll. As in there is no oil used in cake roll for one and sequence of mixing ingredients is different. In cake roll, dry ingredients at the end whilst in chiffon, flour is added to yolks. Could the chiffon formula be applied here to the cake roll, seeing the chiffon has an even fluffier texture?
My oven was set at 180C all the while. 190C is too hot – my humble opinion.
Btw, loved your Shioyaki salmon recipe and your Almond cookies, both a success!
The sophisticated cheese souffle looked a bit embarrassing to shiw anyonne . Will try again.
Thanks
Chin x
Hi Chin! Thank you for your feedback! First of all, thank you so much for trying this recipe (3 times!). It reminded me of my tasting stage of this recipe (and my family said no more swiss roll for a while. LOL. I hope you have someone kind to enjoy your cake!). Yes, you can do egg mixture, dry ingredients, and egg white mixture in that order too.
190C (375F) is pretty standard for the swiss roll, but everyone’s oven is different (size, how it heats etc), so it’s hard to say. We all have to learn to adjust our oven by experimenting with it.
I’m glad to hear you enjoy my other recipes. Thank you so much for your kind feedback.
Hi,
My baking tray is 37 x 27cm, what percentage should I increase the batter by?
Thanks,
Hi Charlie! I’m not very good at adjusting the recipe for a different size pan (except for my chiffon cake recipes, where I made the calculation). I think your tray is close enough? Sorry I wish I could help….
Hi Nami, thank you for spending the time to document every step of your baking.. must not have been easy. I tried this recipe yst and although the color is not as nice as yours( I used Itoen matcha ), I had no issues with the rolling and it was moist and delicious. One problem tho, my roll had very hideous “holes” . They were not big air pockets, on the contrary, they were even and small but bigger than chiffon cake air pockets and I believe contributed to making my Swiss roll extremely fluffy since there were so many air pockets. They are just not very pleasant looking 🙁 what did I do to make the air pockets so much bigger than normal?
Joelle
Hello Joelle! I’m glad to hear you had no issue with rolling and the cake came out moist!
Regarding your tiny bubbles/holes… 1) tap the pan a few times before putting in the oven to remove the air pockets. 2) While I was researching the reason, I saw the advice that says to switch to low speed after making meringue. So you use high speed to make the meringue, but when it’s almost done, slow down and whisk everything in a slow/medium speed. High speed creates small bubbles so you will switch to slower to make bigger bubbles instead. Maybe that might help?
Hi! thanks for sharing your recipe. I just want to ask if its possible to use matcha chocolate bar instead of matcha powder? what should I do if its possible. Thank you
Hi Luchie! I’m not too sure. If you adjust the recipe, you may be able to use it?! But you can’t swap the powder and bar din this recipe. You will need 100% matcha powder. 🙂
Hi! I tried this today but the cake turned out dry. :'( I only put it in the oven for 12 mins, not even 13. I also removed it from the pan right away. The only thing I changed was using 1% milk instead of whole milk and using greased aluminum foil instead of parchment paper for lining. Other than that, I followed the recipe exactly. Do you know what might have happened or how I could get this right next time? I loved the light matcha cream though!
Thanks 🙂
Hi Emily! Looking at my video (https://youtu.be/27ol1zZJyPQ?t=257) how much drier yours was? Do you think 12 mins was even too long? My oven is pretty big, and maybe your sponge cake doesn’t even need to be in the oven for that long (since it’s thin sponge). It’s hard to know but you may really want to test your actual baking time by inserting a skier / touching the surface of the cake (until it bounces back). I’d like to make my recipe with whole milk, but it should not make a big difference… Aluminum foil probably conducts heat more than parchment paper, but I am not sure if that could be the reason. I recommend cutting down the baking time or spray the water on the sponge cake (with a mister) if that helps. Oh, and you’re not using a convection oven right (fan)? I mentioned in my FAQ page but I only use the regular conventional oven (no fan) for all my recipes (even though my oven has it). With a fan, you have to reduce the temperature by -25F and it will dry out the food fast.
Thanks for your reply! No, I didn’t use convection bake. I’m thinking I’ll likely have to decrease the baking time then. Looking at your video again, mine was a little bit golden too on the edge. I guess all ovens are a little different 🙂 Thanks for all your help!
Wishing you the best, Emily! 🙂
Hi! I wanted to incorporate red bean into the filling- how much do I add and how do I add it?
Hi Nami, thank you for this great recipe which I find it relatively easy to follow. I actually followed it to a T but mine turned out to be not as soft and fluffy as yours…. not sure what went wrong? Which step is the most important to Ensure it being soft and fluffy?
Hi Nami-san, thank you for the good recommendation, Match Swiss roll. My family loves it a lot!
Seeking advise:
Does your Matcha Swiss roll meant to be slightly rougher and less fluffy than traditional vanilla Swiss roll which is usually softer and fluffy? From the photo, it seem the roll should be rougher. Otherwise, it might be due to my poor folding-in skill even though following your instruction and making tips.
When folding in the mixture, can we ‘cut through’ the egg yolk and egg white white in slow motion?
Stay safe!
Hi Eileen! Thank you for trying this recipe! Maybe trying baking less time? 🙂
Hi Cara! My first thought is if it was over-baked? A bit too long? Try to take out 1-2 minutes earlier to see the difference. Each oven is slightly different, so we need to adjust the baking time. Was the spongecake too close to the heat source?
would love to try this recipe but i don’t have any green tea powder. Can I just take out the green tea powder and bake it as a plain whipped cream swiss roll?? Do I need to change anything else?
Thank you!
Hi Jacky! Sure, that should work. 🙂
Thank you Nami! I tried it and it came out good but doesn’t look that great because I had a hard time rolling it, it broke ☹️
Hi Jacky! Did you roll it while it’s warm and flexible? It will break if it’s cooled down already. Do you think it was over-baked? This is very crucial when to take it out (it’s thin cake, so it’s easily ovebake). And I’m not using a convection (fan) mode, it’s a regular convention. If you’re using a convection oven, you must reduce the oven by 25 ºF.
Hi nami. Yes I rolled it while warm but I think I over baked it a little bit. It’s a little dry… I will try again one minute less next time 🙂 thank you!
Check the doneness with a skewer – if the skewer comes out clean, you can remove from the oven. It could be done a few minutes earlier too. 🙂
I’ll definitely try taking out few minutes early next time. 👍Do you think we can also use cocoa powder instead of green tea powder.? Do you think we need to adjust the recipe or keep everything the same? Thank you!!! 😀
Hi Jacky! I feel like someone commented here or emailed me that it worked well with just swapping with cocoa powder… I haven’t tried it myself so please give it a try to test. 🙂
Hi Nami! Would using 2% milk instead of whole milk still work? Thanks!
Hi Ava! It should work. 🙂
because i want to make for my mother. does halving the amount of sugar affect the dryness of the cake?
i’m sure it’s cuz i overmixed it the first time. i will try again
but i was wondering if decreasing the sugar amount affects the cake consistency
Hi Windy! I’m afraid so. Sugar turns into moisture in the cake and you have to be very careful cutting down. I haven’t tried cutting down so I can’t say how much you can actually cut down. Try by gradually decreasing while you don’t change anything else in the recipe. 🙂
Hello! For the cake, can I make it a day in advance then put the whipped cream on the next day? Would it last 3 days after I make the cake or put on the whipped cream? Thanks!
Also, if we don’t finish the cake, would freezing ruin anything?
Hi Angelina! Since we use fresh whipped cream, I recommend consuming sooner or freeze the leftover. You can make ahead all the way as you have to roll up the sponge cake on the same day you bake. 🙂
I made this cake and it turned out dry like others have mentioned. I’ve compared other Swiss roll recipes and noticed this one doesn’t use oil but the others do as well you fold the flour in last while others mix the egg with flour before combining it with the whites. Also in your video you used 110g cake flour but written down you put 90g-102g cake flour which is pretty confusing.
Hi Win! Thanks for trying this recipe! This recipe was based on this cookbook I mentioned in my Note section and it does not use any oil. As for the cake flour, I included the various cake flour weight to give the range. But it can be confusing. So I have updated my recipes that use cake flour to be 1 cup = 120 g. So this recipe will be ¾ cup cake flour (90 g). Thank you for your feedback.
Hi Nami, will this cake stay moist and soft after being refrigerated? Thanks!
Hi Regina! It should be okay for a day. My family finish eating the cake within 24 hours or so so I am not too sure after that… Make sure it is covered/wrapped well though.
Hi can I use a normal baking sheet instead of a jelly roll tray? 🙂
Hi Kris! The sizes are different (https://www.epicurious.com/expert-advice/difference-between-half-sheet-quarter-sheet-pans-cookie-sheets-article)…so you will need to adjust based on your baking sheet. 🙂
Hi Nami! I have yet to try this recipe but I have a question. Can I use my 10x10x1 cake pan for this instead of the 10×15?
Hi! If I would like to make this Swiss roll, but in vanilla flavour + chopped fruits, what do I replace the matcha with? Or do I just omit the matcha powder? Thank you!
Hi Kay! I’ve never tried it so I can’t share from my experience… but definitely remove matcha and add vanilla extract for the “plain” flavor.
Hi Nami! I’m just about to get started on making these after a success with your chiffon cake recipes 🙂 Can I check, if I want to make it chocolate or just plain vanilla, do I just replace the matcha powder w cocoa powder for chocolate, and simply replace with flour and vanilla extract for vanilla flavour? Thank you! 🙂
I really like your recipe for the Matcha swiss roll. I am preparing to make this. May I ask what matcha brand you usually use for baking? And which products you use? Thank you very much:)
I tried this recipe and it came out SO amazing! It was moist and delicate, not too sweet at all, totally suited my tastes. It’s what someone would buy at an authentic bakery in Japan — the sweetness doesn’t overpower the matcha, it’s just the right amount. The matcha cream is the perfect sweetness and flavor as well, I found myself licking it off of my fingers after I put it on the cake itself. Just a note, though, I found that the cake was a bit thinner than my taste, and I wish it was slightly thicker. Overall phenomenal recipe and would try again!
I made this for my mom and she loved it!
Can I use cane or coconut sugar?
wow