Matcha Swiss Roll is a fluffy sponge cake with a swirl of fresh matcha cream filling. Light, creamy, and mildly sweet, it‘s a delicious afternoon snack or post-dinner dessert to enjoy with coffee or tea. With its festive vibrant color from the green tea powder, this roll cake will be an instant favorite for any celebration, too.
Swiss 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, and custard cream, and sometimes include fruits like strawberries.
Just like any other dessert, 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.
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 is guaranteed not so sweet. If you enjoy not-so-sweet desserts, this one is for you.
2. Light and fluffy
The fluffiness and light texture of the sponge cake come from the egg whites that are beaten to stiff peaks, like in a chiffon cake recipe. Besides fresh whipped cream for the filling, there is no butter or oil added to 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: The Genoise Method (The whole eggs are combined with sugar and gently heated over simmering water, then whipped) or the 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 the 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 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 to 90º and repeat until combined.
3. Don’t overbake
Because it’s a thin cake, it’s best to avoid baking slowly; otherwise, the cake will be dry. Therefore, bake around 375ºF (190ºC) for 10-12 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 become 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 score on top of the cake before rolling so it’s easier to roll. Some don’t do either one but still make the beautiful roll. Again, it’s also up to you.
Delicious Matcha Whipped Cream Filling
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 a 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
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.
Other Delicious Matcha Recipes
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Matcha Swiss Roll (Roll Cake)
Video
Ingredients
- 4 large eggs (50 g each w/o shell)
- ¾ cup cake flour (weigh your flour or use the “fluff and sprinkle“ method and level it off; you can make homemade cake flour)
- ½ tsp baking powder
- 2 Tbsp matcha (green tea powder) (1 Tbsp matcha is 6 g)
- ½ cup sugar (divided)
- 3 Tbsp whole milk (microwave until warm to the touch)
For the Matcha Cream Filling
- ¾ cup heavy (whipping) cream (chilled)
- 1½ Tbsp sugar
- 2 tsp matcha (green tea powder)
Instructions
- Before You Start: Please note that this recipe requires 30 minutes of resting time and 2 hours of chilling time.
- Gather all the ingredients. I highly encourage you to weigh your ingredients using a kitchen scale for this recipe. Click on the “Metric“ button at the top of the recipe to convert the ingredient measurements to metric. If you‘re using a cup measurement, please follow the “fluff and sprinkle“ method: Fluff your flour with a spoon, sprinkle the flour into your measuring cup, and level it off. Otherwise, you may scoop more flour than you need.
- Preheat the oven to 375ºF (190ºC). For a convection oven, reduce the cooking temperature by 25ºF (15ºC). Line a 15- x 10-inch (38- x 25-cm) jelly roll pan with parchment paper.
- Separate 4 large eggs (50 g each w/o shell) into egg yolks in one bowl and egg whites in another. Keep the whites in the refrigerator and the egg yolks at room temperature.
To Make the Cake Batter
- Prepare a work surface with a sheet of parchment paper. To a fine-mesh sieve, add ¾ cup cake flour, ½ tsp baking powder, and 2 Tbsp matcha (green tea powder). Sift these dry ingredients onto the parchment paper.
- Use the parchment paper to transfer the dry ingredients to a bowl. Repeat sifting and transferring the dry ingredients two more times (for a total of three times). Set aside. Tip: Matcha is a very fine powder that’s difficult to blend into a batter without clumping. Sifting the dry ingredients three times ensures that the matcha and flour are well blended with no lumps and that air is incorporated into the mixture so it making it easier to blend into the batter.
- In a large bowl, add the egg yolks and break them with a hand whisk.
- Add half of the ½ cup sugar and whisk until the egg mixture doubles 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.
- Next, add the cold egg whites to a large, dry bowl. With an electric hand mixer (or stand mixer), beat the egg whites until foamy.
- Gradually add the remaining half of the sugar, one-third at a time, and beat until stiff peaks form and the egg whites are glossy.
- Using a hand whisk, gently fold about one-third of the egg whites into the egg yolk mixture until well incorporated.
- Then, add the egg yolk mixture back into the bowl with remaining the egg whites. Gently fold in the egg whites with a silicone spatula until just incorporated. Tip: Rotate the bowl a quarter turn counterclockwise while you scoop up and fold the mixture onto itself clockwise.
- Next, add the dry ingredients to the egg mixture. Using the silicone spatula, fold in gently until just incorporated. Do not overmix. Tip: Adding the dry ingredients last avoids overmixing, which results in a dense (not fluffy) sponge.
- Add 3 Tbsp whole milk (warmed) to the batter and fold it in until incorporated.
To Bake
- Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Spread the batter evenly using an offset spatula or silicone pastry scraper.
- Tap the jelly roll pan a few times on your working surface to remove any air pockets in the batter. Transfer the pan to the preheated oven and bake for 10–12 minutes, or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean and the top of cake springs back when touched. Tip: Do not overbake it or the cake will be too dry and break when you roll it.
- Remove the pan from the oven and drop the pan on your working surface once to prevent the cake from shrinking.
To Remove the Cake from the Pan
- While the pan is still hot, place a sheet of parchment paper across the surface of the cake. Place a baking sheet (or a cutting board) on top with the bottom of the pan against the paper.
- Wearing oven mitts, hold the two baking sheets together with the cake sandwiched in between and flip them over. Using a knife or spatula, lift the jelly roll pan to reveal the cake.
- Gently peel off the parchment paper attached to the cake. This side will be the exterior of the Swiss roll, so be gentle!
- Now, flip over the cake one more time: Place another “protective” sheet of parchment paper across the cake surface, then place a baking sheet on top with the bottom of the pan against the paper.
- Hold both baking sheets together and flip them over so the brown side of the cake is now facing up. Remove the top pan and parchment paper.
- Remove the bottom baking sheet and place the cake with its parchment paper on a work surface. Slicing at an angle, cut off ½ inch (1.3 cm) of the cake from one of the short ends. This will help stabilize the Swiss roll when rolled up.
- While it‘s still warm, roll the cake: Start at the other short end and use your hands to slowly roll up the cake together with its parchment paper, finishing at the angled end that you just sliced. Once the cake and paper are rolled up, transfer to a wire rack with the seam side down.
- Cover with a kitchen towel to keep it secure and let it cool completely until it reaches room temperature, about 30 minutes.
To Prepare the Matcha Cream Filling
- When the cake is completely cool, combine ¾ cup heavy (whipping) cream, 1½ Tbsp sugar, and 2 tsp matcha (green tea powder) in a large bowl.
- Beat with an electric hand mixer (or stand mixer) until firm and spreadable, so it won’t ooze out of the cake when you’re rolling it up.
To Assemble the Swiss Cake
- Transfer the Swiss roll to a flat surface and unroll the cake. It’s okay if the ends curl up a bit.
- Using an offset spatula, spread the matcha cream filling evenly over the cake, leaving a ½-inch (1.3 cm) border on all sides. Tip: Spread slightly less filling toward the last one-third of the cake, as the cream will pile up toward the end when rolling up.
- Carefully but tightly reroll the cake with the filling inside. End with the seam side on the bottom. Secure the cake by rolling it in the parchment paper and twisting it 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 (1.3 cm) of the cake on both ends to show off the beautiful swirls. Transfer it to your serving dish. Slice and serve.
To Store
- If you have leftovers, just rewrap the Swiss roll in plastic wrap and store in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
Is there a reason why the dry ingredients are sifted 3 times?
Hi Qil!
It is to be sure all the dry ingredients are mixed and sifted together.😉
Thank you for trying this recipe!
A couple things about the usage of papers in this process –
I didn’t line my jelly roll pan with parchment paper because I struggled for 10 minutes trying to fold and tweak stubborn paper to fit nicely into the pan to no avail. Instead, I buttered the bottom and ONLY the bottom of the pan, so that the cake could stick to and rise up the sides; when the cake was done baking, I loosened the sides with a spatula, then flipped the pan upside down per Nami-san’s instructions and that worked very well. However, it is VERY important to note that the paper onto which the cake is finally set on and is rolled up in is WAX paper, NOT PARCHMENT paper. I just learned this the hard way after the whole process was going very well until the final rolling with whipped cream, when the parchment paper clung to my cake like a baby opossum to its mother when trying to release the cake from it.
However, this is a simple thing to correct for my next attempt, and the texture and flavor are unbeatable! Call me crazy, but even the relatively small amount of sugar used in this recipe is a little more than I would care for. As it is though it goes phenomenally with a glass of delicious whole milk. Thanks for the great recipe!
Hi Sev,
Thank you very much for trying this recipe! We are happy to hear you enjoyed the texture and flavor of this Roll cake.
As for parchment paper, Nami uses one from Costco, and as you can see in her Youtube video, she did not have any problem using it. We are sorry to hear you had a hard time with your parchment paper. Currently, her favorite parchment paper is this one. https://amzn.to/35h8Hxx (you can get pre-cut also, a bit more expensive but convenient)
Thank you for sharing your cooking experience and tip with us! ☺️
Just made this but swapped out hojicha powder instead of matcha. It turned out so good, and I got rave reviews from friends/coworkers. So good in fact I made it with matcha the very next day! Thank you so much for this recipe. Hasn’t failed me yet 🙂
Hi Leslie,
Thank you so much for trying this recipe and for your kind feedback. Hojicha flavor sounds very yummy and we will have to try making it.😋
We’re so glad to hear you and your friends/coworkers enjoyed it too.
Thank you for sharing your cooking experience and tips with us!
Hi Nami, am interested in the matcha swiss roll recipe that you are sharing but i only manage to buy my pan size of 12’x14’ ( 30x35cm)…. can i still follow the ingredients measurement in your recipe? Cant wait to try your recipe. Thanks
Hi Julie! Hmmm I am not sure… this sponge cake in the jelly roll pan is pretty thin, so if your pan is bigger than mine, your sponge will be even thinner and I don’t recommend. Only if your pan is smaller, it should work fine. 🙂
Hi, I would like to adapt this recipe to make strawberry roll cake. Do I simply swap out the matcha powder and replace it with vanilla essence? I am intending to have white cream filling with bits of strawberry in it. Appreciate your reply!
Hi Joyce! Yes I’d use vanilla essence. You might want to add 12 grams of cake flour as you don’t add 2 Tbsp matcha (1 Tbsp matcha is 6 grams, yes it’s lighter than cake flour). 🙂
I made this with my friends and it worked perfectly!! It was so good and we planned to make it again soon. We arent experienced bakers so it took us a long time but it was definitely worth it in the end! Thank you : )
Hi Ebony! Thank you so much for trying this recipe and I’m so happy to hear you enjoyed it! Thank you so much for your kind feedback! 🙂
Hello! I wanted to make a cake with layers. Could this recipe work to make a layered cake?
Hi Rose! I think so, although I’ve never done it myself… Sorry, I wish I can tell you from my experience.
Hi Nami,
What a great recipe to try, but before I try it for the first time, I still wonder what exact size is the jelly roll pan you used in centimeters. As I can see on the internet, almost all of the jelly roll pans they sold were flexible (like rubber?) but yours looked like it’s made from metal. I wonder what kind and size of the pan should I use for this recipe, I also wonder if I don’t have large American eggs ( I live in Asia) and our eggs are pretty much smaller than the large ones, how should I increase the amount of eggs I use to make this wonderful Swiss roll cake. Also, what is the size of the parchment paper you used in the tutorial? I look forward to seeing you reply soon, thank you so much!
Hi Grace! I wrote the size in Step 1 of my instructions (as many people skip blog post and go straight to the recipe).
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.
American jelly roll pan is bigger than the Asian (Japanese) size. So if you have it slightly smaller, that still works too! As for eggs, mine is 50g each. How significantly different? It should work as I make Japanese recipes sometimes and my American large egg works too. 🙂
Hi Nami!
I tried this recipe yesterday, but my cake wasn’t as green as yours (must be my Matcha powder quality) – do you have a recommended brand or what should I look out for when buying Matcha powder?
Also, after pouring in the dry ingredients, it wasn’t as easy to incorporate as how it seems in your video. There were tiny lumps of flour all over. I might have over-done the mixing there because my cake came out on the dry side. It didn’t crack when rolling, just dry and not fluffy like how a Swiss Roll should be. How can I avoid those tiny lumps in the batter?
Does chilling the cake roll dry it out further? Because its only rolled in baking paper..
Hi Melanie! Thank you so much for trying this recipe! The color of matcha is the quality of matcha. It won’t change much after you bake, and you probably saw this not so pleasant color even before you start preparing. I get my matcha from a local Japanese grocery store, and I share the matcha I use in this post.
https://www.justonecookbook.com/green-tea-powder-matcha/
Now, if you ask me which matcha I like then I love Ippode: https://ippodotea.com/
Did you use a fine-mesh sieve to sift the flour? If you’re unsure, you can always sift 3 separate times, and each time you add in, mix before you add next sifted dry ingredients. Over-mixing creates gummy, chewy sponge cake, so you have to mix JUST ENOUGH to incorporate, not over mix. Drying also can be from the baking time as moisture evaporate. If this doesn’t solve, you can increase temperature and shorten the baking time too.
Not while chilling, unless you chill for a long time.
Hope this helps!
Hi! This looks so good! I have baked your earl grey chiffon cake which comes out pretty well. But may I know, why the steps for roll cake are slightly different from Chiffon where in chiffon we add the flour into the egg yolk mixture, while for roll cakes we add them together in the egg yolk+white mixture? What if I follow your chiffon cake steps to make roll cake? Hope you can enlighten me 😀
Hi Lee! I’ve seen two methods used for incorporating the dry ingredients for Roll Cake in Japan. Method 1: add dry ingredients at the end (this recipe). Method 2: Egg yolk mixture, dry ingredients, and meringue in that order (like chiffon cake). Method 3: Don’t separate eggs and mix with dry ingredients. You can use either method I think. All the results I’ve seen seem to yield a similar result (each one has their own reasons), trying to achieve the same texture and final look. 🙂
Can I use foil instead of parchment paper? Thanks
Hi Mary! Yes, you can use that or a tea towel. 🙂
Hi I have made this several times and it’s been wonderful. Sometimes the result comes out not as soft as I would have liked not sure why.
Overall, this is a great and simple recipe. I just realize there are two flips after taking it out of the oven. I’ve been just flipping once … Sigh
Hi Haily! Thank you so much for trying this recipe several times already! Hmm… do you think it’s possibly overmixing? Well, don’t worry about flipping, as long as it looks good and delicious. 🙂
I made this for my mom and she loved it!
Hi Stellar! I’m so happy to hear your mom enjoyed this recipe! Thanks so much for trying it and for your kind feedback. 🙂
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!
Hi Danielle! Thank you so much for trying this recipe! I’m so so happy to hear you liked this recipe! Yeah, Japanese sweets are not sweet, so it might be disappointing if you really love sweet desserts. 😅 Thanks for your feedback on the sponge thickness!
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:)
Hi Ines! Living in the US, I find Maeda-en matcha is easy to purchase from a Japanese grocery store and on Amazon (https://amzn.to/3hpSdHW) and I talked about here.
https://www.justonecookbook.com/green-tea-powder-matcha/
If you love matcha, this store is my favorite tea shop: https://ippodotea.com/