Introducing Vanilla Roll Cake with Peppermint Buttercream! This vanilla roll cake looks harder to make than it is, and the cake is so moist and fluffy, paired with the rich creamy peppermint buttercream, this cake will become a staple at your holiday parties!
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Equipment List
Below is a list of some things that you will need to pull off this killer cake.
- Gel Food Colouring: a staple. It lasts forever and because it's a gel it won't dilute whatever you are mixing it into.
- Jelly Roll Pan: You must use an 11x15 pan for this recipe. Using this size of pan will ensure that your cake turns out the perfect thickness to be rolled. Any larger and there won't be enough cake batter to cover the entire pan and any smaller, you will run the risk of the pan overflowing and having the chunkiest roll ever.
- PaperChef Parchment Paper: I have talked about my love for this parchment paper before, so of course I am going to recommend it to you again! But whatever you do, DO NOT USE WAX PAPER. It will melt in the oven and everything including the pan will be garbage.
- High Potency Flavoring: LorAnn Oils are the BEST. They are extremely high potency so you only need 1-2 drops to get explosive flavour!
- Slanted Cake Spatula: These spatulas come in handy all the time! Especially for spreading out cake batter when you are dealing with a rimmed baking sheet.
- Hand Mixer: This hand mixer is really affordable and an absolute kitchen essential in my books!
How To Make Vanilla Roll Cake
Line a 11x15 jelly roll pan with parchment paper and then generously brush the parchment paper with the softened butter. This will make the roll cake easy to remove from the paper after baking.
You will also need a clean tea towel to roll the cake up in once it is done baking.
The Dry
In a medium sized bowl, sift together flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Stir to combine and set aside.
It is always important to sift your dry ingredients, it completely eliminates those pesky clumps of flour that sometimes happen, and then you don't find until the cake is baked. Trust me, I have bitten into those clumps and they are not delicious. So sift your ingredients folks!
The Wet
In a large mixing bowl combine the sugar and eggs. Using a hand mixer or whisk, mix on high until the batter is thick and well combined. Add in the vanilla yogurt, sour cream, vanilla extract and mix again just to combine.
Add in dry ingredients and mix on medium speed for 2 minutes until no clumps remain and batter is very well combined. In fact you shouldn't see any clumps at all, as long as you sifted the dry ingredients!
The Stripes
The stripes are a totally optional step. If you would rather a simple vanilla roll cake, just skip on ahead.
If you're here for the stripes- I feel you!
So, to make the red stripes, reserve 1 cup of prepared batter. Add in gel food coloring color of choice and stir well to make sure the color is fully distributed.
Place the tinted batter into a small zip top bag or a disposable piping bag. Do not cut the bag open yet. This batter is very runny and will run out of the piping bag easily.
The Process
Pour the prepared cake batter into the prepared jelly roll pan, and using a slanted spatula, spread it out so it fully covers the entire pan.
Now, if you are adding the stripes, cut a small portion off the end of the piping bag. Be warned that as soon as you cut it open the batter will run out. So seal the end and hold it upwards before cutting off the tip. Staring at one corner, pipe diagonal lines down the batter.
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Bake the cake for 13 minutes or until it springs back when lightly touched.
The Flip
You have to work fast once the cake has baked, so pre read the directions so you know what to expect.
Get your tea towel and ¼ cup of powdered sugar ready. Immediately after the cake has finished baking sprinkle ¼ of powdered sugar over the top of the cake and cover it with the tea towel.
Now, cover the tea towel with an upside down large wire cooling rack. Using oven mitts (because the pan will still be hot!) grasp the pan and wire rack tightly and flip the entire thing over.
Now, the jelly roll pan will be on top and upside down on your wire cooling rack. Remove the jelly roll pan, and carefully peel off and dispose of the parchment paper. Starting at the short end, roll the entire cake up with the tea towel.
Let the rolled cake cool on a wire cooling rack for at least 45 minutes or until it is cold to the touch. If your cake is too warm it will melt the peppermint buttercream.
The Peppermint Buttercream
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or in a large bowl with a hand mixer, add the cream cheese and butter. Beat on high for 2 minutes and scrape down the sides of the bowl. 1 cup at a time add the confectioners sugar. Beat on high for 2 minutes between each addition, and scrape down the sides of the bowl in between additions.
When all of the sugar is added, scrape down the sides of the bowl and add the milk, vanilla extract, and one or two drops of peppermint extract. Beat on medium-high for 1 minute to incorporate.
Finishing The Vanilla Roll Cake
Once your cake is completely cooled carefully open it up and unroll it. Using a spatula spread out all of the peppermint buttercream so the top of the cake is completely covered.
Starting at the same end that you initially rolled the cake up from in the beginning, roll the cake up again. It doesn't have to be super tight, you don't want the buttercream to squeeze out.
Note- move slowly for this step, the cake might want to stick to the tea towel, but if you move slowly you can get it rolled up with no rips!
Using the remaining ¼ cup of powdered sugar, coat the outside of the roll and then tightly wrap the roll with plastic wrap. Chill the cake in the refrigerator for a minimum of 4 hours, but overnight is best.
After the cake has chilled remove the plastic wrap and transfer the cake to a cutting board. Using a sharp knife cut the cake into slices and serve. Top with more powdered sugar if desired.
Ok, so I know that seems like a pretty hefty process, but I promise it is easier than it looks, and you'll be a pro in no time!
More Cake Recipes
This cake is a part of our 12 Days of Christmas Series - Season 1. Check out Day 6: Christmas Crack Cookies! 🎄
If you made this Vanilla Roll Cake with Peppermint Buttercream or any other recipe on my website, please leave a 🌟 star rating, a 💬 comment and share it on Pinterest, Instagram and Facebook!
📖 Recipe
Vanilla Roll Cake with Peppermint Buttercream
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Print Recipe Pin RecipeIngredients
Vanilla Roll Cake
- 1 cup All Purpose Flour
- ½ teaspoon Baking Soda
- ½ teaspoon Baking Powder
- ¼ teaspoon Kosher Salt
- 1 ¼ cup Granulated Sugar
- 4 Eggs
- ⅓ cup Vanilla Yogurt
- ⅓ cup Sour Cream
- 1 teaspoon Pure Vanilla Extract
- ½ cup Powdered Sugar divided
- 1 Tablespoon Butter softened
Peppermint Buttercream
- 4 oz Cream Cheese room temperature
- ½ cup Butter softened
- 4 cups Powdered Sugar
- 1 ½ Tablespoons Milk
- ¼ teaspoon Pure Vanilla Extract
- High potency Peppermint Extract
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375°F and line a 11x15 jelly roll pan with parchment paper. Generously brush the parchment paper with the softened butter and set aside. You will also need a clean tea towel to roll the cake up in once it is done baking.
Vanilla Roll Cake
- In a medium sized bowl, sift together flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Stir to combine and set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl combine the sugar and eggs. Using a hand mixer or whisk, mix on high until the batter is thick and well combined.
- Add in the vanilla yogurt, sour cream, vanilla extract and mix again just to combine.
- Add in dry ingredients and mix on medium speed for 2 minutes until no clumps remain and batter is very well combined.
- Optional step- to make the red stripes on the cake, reserve 1 cup of batter. Add in coloring of choice, stir well to make sure the color is fully distributed, place in a small zip top bag or a disposable piping bag. Do not cut the bag open yet. This batter is very runny and will run out of the piping bag easily. If you are not wanting the stripes skip this step and skip step 8.
- Pour the cake batter into the prepared jelly roll pan, and using a slanted spatula, spread it out so it fully covers the entire pan.
- Now, if you are adding the stripes, cut a small portion off the end of the piping bag. Be warned that as soon as you cut it open the batter will run out. So seal the end and hold it upwards before cutting off the tip. Staring at one corner, pipe diagonal lines down the batter. (see picture)
- Bake the cake for 13 minutes or until it springs back when lightly touched.
- Once the cake has baked get your tea towel and ¼ cup of powdered sugar ready.
- Immediately after the cake has baked sprinkle ¼ of powdered sugar over the top, cover it with the tea towel, and then cover the tea towel with a large wire cooling rack. Using oven mitts (because the pan will still be hot!) grasp the pan and wire rack tightly and flip the entire thing over.
- Now the jelly roll pan will be upside down on top of your wire cooling rack. Remove the jelly roll pan, and carefully peel off and dispose of the parchment paper. Starting at the short end, roll the entire cake up with the tea towel (see picture)
- Let the rolled cake cool on a wire cooling rack for at least 45 minutes or until it is cold to the touch. If your cake is too warm it will melt the peppermint buttercream.
Peppermint Buttercream
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or in a large bowl with a hand mixer, add the cream cheese and butter. Beat on high for 2 minutes and scrape down the sides of the bowl.
- 1 cup at a time add the confectioners sugar. Beat on high for 2 minutes between each addition, and scrape down the sides of the bowl in between additions.
- When all of the sugar is added, scrape down the sides of the bowl and add the milk, vanilla extract, and one or two drops of peppermint extract. Beat on medium-high for 1 minute to incorporate.
- Once your cake is completely cooled carefully open it up and unroll it.
- Using a spatula spread out all of the peppermint buttercream so the top of the cake is completely covered.
- Starting at the same end that you initially rolled the cake up from in the beginning, roll the cake up again. It doesn't have to be super tight, you don't want the buttercream to squeeze out. Note- move slowly for this step, the cake might want to stick to the tea towel, but if you move slowly you can get it rolled up with no rips!
- Using the remaining ¼ cup of powdered sugar, coat the outside of the roll and then tightly wrap the roll with plastic wrap. Chill the cake in the refrigerator for a minimum of 4 hours, but overnight is best.
- Then remove the plastic wrap and transfer the cake to a cutting board. Using a sharp knife cut the cake into slices and serve. Top with more powdered sugar if desired.
Save This Recipe! 💌
We'll email this post to you, so you can come back to it later!
Nutrition
The nutritional information provided is an estimate based on an online nutrition calculator and it will vary based on the ingredients that you use.
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