Gingerbread Cake Roll

Name: Gingerbread Cake Roll
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 10 min
Total time: 150 min
Ingredients: 1 cup flour; 1 teaspoon cornstarch; 1 teaspoon baking powder; ½ teaspoon baking soda; ¼ teaspoon salt; 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon; 1 ½ teaspoon ground ginger; ½ teaspoon nutmeg; ½ teaspoon allspice; 4 eggs (room temperature, seperated); ¼ cup molasses (not blackstrap); ½ cup brown sugar; ¼ cup granulated sugar; 12 ounces cream cheese; 6 Tablespoon unsalted butter; 1 ½ cups confectioners sugar; 1 teaspoon vanilla; ½ teaspoon cinnamon

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This Gingerbread Cake Roll is loaded with classic gingerbread cake, a sweet and tangy cream cheese frosting, and tons of holiday spirit. It’s all rolled up into a log and sliced into classic cake roll slices.

slice of gingerbread cake roll on a plate.

If you love holiday cake, then get ready for a major treat. Our gingerbread cake roll is a taste of the holidays in every bite. And the best part is that it’s so much easier to make than you might think. Give it a try!

❤️ Why You’ll Love This Recipe
🛒Ingredients
🔪 How to Make Gingerbread Cake Roll
- Step 2: Combine the Wet Cake Ingredients
📝Variations
🥄 Equipment
🥫 Storage
💭 Tips
⁉️ FAQ
🍽 More Recipes
🧾Recipe Card

whole gingerbread cake roll with one slice cut off.

❤️ Why You’ll Love This Recipe

It uses simple ingredients.
It’s a recipe that’s much easier to make than you think.
It’s full of classic holiday flavor.

🛒Ingredients

bowls of eggs, cream cheese, vanilla, sugar, cinnamon, molasses, seasonings, salt, brown sugar, flour, powdered sugar, butter, and vanilla extract.

You’ll only need some basic baking ingredients to make this recipe, and you can probably find most of them in your kitchen right now. Anything you don’t have is readily available at your local grocery store in just one quick trip.

All the ingredients you need for the recipe are right here, but you’ll find the exact amounts in the recipe card at the end of the post.

For the Cake

Flour
Cornstarch
Baking powder
Baking soda
Salt
Ground cinnamon
Ground ginger
Nutmeg
Allspice
Eggs – room temperature, separated
Molasses (NOT blackstrap)
Brown sugar
Granulated sugar

For the Frosting

Cream cheese
Unsalted butter
Confectioners sugar
Vanilla
Cinnamon

🔪 How to Make Gingerbread Cake Roll

Making this cake roll might seem complicated, but it’s really not. Even rolling the cake is fairly easy to do!

Step 1: Prep

Set the oven rack to the upper middle position and preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Then, line a 10×15 jelly roll pan with parchment paper, spray it with cooking spray, and add a light dusting of flour. Leave 2 to 4 inches of parchment paper overhang on the short sides of the sheet.

eggs, sugar, and molasses in a large mixing bowl.

Step 2: Combine the Wet Cake Ingredients

Combine the sugar, brown sugar, molasses, and eggs in a stand mixer.

dry ingredients being added to wet ingredients in a mixing bowl.

Step 3: Add the Dry Ingredients

Add the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and allspice, and mix until combined.

Step 4: Bake

Pour the batter into the prepared pan, smoothing the batter into the corners. Then, bake for 10 minutes.

warm cake being rolled in parchment paper.

Step 5: Roll

Spray the overhanging parchment paper with nonstick spray and fold it over the end of the cake. Then, while the cake is hot, roll it up, beginning at the end with the parchment paper folded over.

Step 6: Cool

Cool the rolled cake on a cooking rack until completely cooled.

Step 7: Make the Filling

Combine the butter, cream cheese, vanilla, and cinnamon in a stand mixer. Then, beat in the powdered sugar until smooth and creamy.

frosting added to a gingerbread cake, and it's being rolled on parchment paper.

Step 8: Fill the Cake

Unroll the cooled cake and spread the frosting over the entire cake. Then, roll it back up, removing the parchment paper as you roll. Dust with confectioners sugar and slice to serve.

📝Variations

Do you want to change up this recipe and make it your own? Here are some ways that you can do that!

You can use buttercream frosting in place of cream cheese frosting if you prefer.
You can use a clean tea towel instead of parchment paper to roll up the cake.

If you think this cake roll looks good, then you’re going to love this carrot cake roll.

🥄 Equipment

Measuring cups and spoons
Jelly roll pan
Stand mixer
Parchment paper or tea towel

bite of gingerbread cake roll on a fork held in the air.

🥫 Storage

Refrigerate this cake for up to 7 days in an air-tight, freezer-safe container. For longer storage, you can freeze the cake for up to 3 months wrapped in a double layer of plastic wrap and a layer of foil.

💭 Tips

It’s important to leave 2 to 4 extra inches of parchment paper on the short ends of the jelly roll pan to make rolling the cake easier.
It’s vital to roll the cake while it’s hot to keep it from cracking while rolling it up.
Be sure the cream cheese if fully softened for the best frosting texture.

⁉️ FAQ

Do you have questions about this recipe? Here are the answers to the most commonly asked questions.

What is a cake roll?

A cake roll is a dessert made with a thin cake that’s topped with frosting, and then rolled up into a log.

Where does Swiss cake roll come from?

Although these cakes are called Swiss rolls, they’re actually from central Europe and are believed to have originated in Austria or Slovenia.

How hard is it to roll up a cake roll?

It’s not hard to roll a cake roll at all IF the cake is still nice and warm. The warm cake is quite pliable and won’t crack or break as long as you roll it up carefully.

🍽 More Recipes

Do you enjoy gingerbread? Then try these delicious recipes:

🧾Recipe Card

Want to make this recipe? Print the recipe card below, or pin this recipe, so you can find it later.