Chocolate Strawberry Cake Roll

One of the most popular recipes on my site is this red velvet cake roll. Month after month, it comes up in my top three most visited pages. So, I thought to myself this week, why not try to whip up  another cake roll to break the internet?

Cue this chocolate covered, strawberry cream filled cake roll.
As a swiss roll fanatic myself, I was super excited for how this would turn out. I think I may have attempted a chocolate cake roll sometime in the past, but I wasn't successful and sort of swept the idea under the rug.
This time around, I turned to Sally from Sally's Baking Addiction for her cake baking expertise and found this incredible chocolate cake base recipe for the roll. It is super decadent but fluffy at the same time and most importantly, it did not crack. As Sally says, it's super important NOT to overbake the cake because that is what will keep it from being as pliable in the rolling process.
As for the inside of the roll, I prepared a whipped strawberry cream cheese frosting to die for. Honestly, freeze-dried strawberries are just the absolute best at giving you that deep strawberry flavor and realistic color. I use them in everything. You could also substitute freeze-dried raspberries in the frosting, or maybe even a mix of both?

If this all isn't sounding mouthwatering enough, I covered the roll in a rich chocolate ganache and oh my goodness, heaven on a plate. You will need to wait for the cake to firm up in the fridge before digging in and then you can have it. And yes, I sure did need to donate this cake roll to my neighbors because I would have ate it all.

Chocolate Strawberry Cake Roll

Ingredients:

4 large eggs, separated into yolks and whites
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup dark brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon espresso powder
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

For the strawberry cream cheese filling:
1 cup powdered sugar, divided
1 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup freeze dried strawberries, ground into a fine powder
8 oz. cream cheese, room temperature
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

For the chocolate ganache:
1/2 cup heavy cream
4 oz. semisweet chocolate chips
1 teaspoon corn syrup

Directions:

Line a 12x17 baking sheet with parchment paper, then spray with non-stick cooking spray. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

In a medium-sized bowl, using an electric hand mixer, beat egg whites with 1/3 cup granulated sugar until stiff peaks form. It will take about 4-5 minutes.

In another medium-sized bowl, using an electric hand mixer, beat together egg yolks with 1/3 cup dark brown sugar and vanilla extract until mixture is well-combined and pale yellow in color.

Sift together dry ingredients into a large bowl. Add melted butter and egg yolk mixture, and beat with electric hand mixer until everything is incorporated.

Using a rubber spatula, fold in about 1/3 of the egg whites into the batter(it will be thick at first). Then, carefully fold in the remaining egg whites, making sure not to deflate the batter.

Pour batter into prepared baking sheet and spread evenly. Bake in preheated oven for 10 minutes, or until the surface of the cake springs back lightly when touched.

Before removing the cake from the oven, you need to prepare a piece of parchment paper to invert the cake onto. Place a large piece of parchment paper on your counter or any flat surface and sprinkle cocoa powder on top. Immediately upon removing cake from oven, invert the cake onto the parchment paper.

Carefully remove the parchment paper that was underneath the cake. Then, slowly roll the cake and parchment paper together. Set the rolled cake aside for a few hours to cool down.

To prepare filling, whip heavy cream and 1/4 cup powdered sugar until stiff peaks form. Set aside.

Place cream cheese, freeze dried strawberry powder, vanilla extract and 3/4 cup of powdered sugar in a medium-sized bowl. Using an electric hand mixer, beat together on medium-speed until all ingredients are well-combined. Gently fold in whipped cream.

When cake is completely cooled, unroll carefully and spread filling evenly across surface of cake. Roll the cake back up, this time without the parchment paper. Place cake on a wire rack, then place the rack on a baking sheet.

Prepare chocolate ganache by first placing chocolate chips and corn syrup in a glass measuring cup. Heat the heavy cream in a small saucepan until simmering, then pour over chocolate chips. Using a small spatula, stir together cream and chocolate chips and melted and smooth.

Pour ganache evenly over the cake roll. The baking sheet underneath the wire rack will catch any drips.

Refrigerate cake roll for a minimum of 3 hours before slicing and serving. Store any remaining cake in an airtight container in the refrigerator.