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This melt-in-your-mouth fluffy and moist Blackberry Lemon Cake Roll (a.k.a. Swiss Roll) is easier than you think! The cake batter has just 4 ingredients and the whipped blackberry frosting is ridiculously simple to make.
This cake only looks like it took forever but really it has simple ingredients, comes together quickly and is definitely a show-stopping cake! Take a bite of this Blackberry Lemon Cake Roll and you’ll have no words, only sound effects…. mmm…
Watch the Blackberry Lemon Cake Roll Video:
The combination of blackberries and lemon just makes my mouth water. P.S. You can make this cake roll a day in advance, cover and refrigerate and it will be just as good the next day. Hooray for make-ahead desserts!
That topping looks so lovely but it’s the easiest part of the cake!!
Tools You Will Need (affiliate):
Flour Sifter or fine mesh sieve
18×13 (half sheet) rimmed baking sheet
parchment paper to line baking sheet
clean tea towel or linen towel
flexible spatula
High powered stand mixer*
Piping Bag and Large Open Star Wilton 1M Tip
*If using a good electric hand mixer instead of a stand mixer, add 2 min to eggs/sugar mixing time.
The Ingredients are surprisingly really simple but the results are awesome!
⬇️Print-Friendly Blackberry Lemon Cake Roll Recipe:
Blackberry Lemon Cake Roll (VIDEO)
Ingredients
Sponge Cake Ingredients:
- 5 large eggs, room temp
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
For the Lemon Syrup:
- 1/4 cup warm water
- 1 Tbsp granulated sugar
- 4 Tbsp fresh lemon juice, from 1 med/large lemon
For the Blackberry Frosting:
- 8 oz cream cheese, softened
- 8 Tbsp 113 grams unsalted butter, softened
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 6 oz blackberries, chopped (reserving 6 whole berries to garnish)
Optional Garnish:
- 3/4 cup heavy whipping cream, chilled
- 1 Tbsp powdered sugar
- 2 lemon slices, cut into triangles
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350˚F. Line the bottom of an 18x13 baking sheet with parchment paper (do not grease).
- Add 5 eggs to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with whisk attachment and beat on high speed 1 min, or until foamy. Gradually add sugar and beat on high 7 min. It will be thick, fluffy and tripled in volume**
- Whisk together flour and baking powder and sift into egg batter one third at a time, folding to incorporate between each addition and scraping from the bottom to catch hidden flour pockets. Stop mixing when you no longer see streaks of flour.
- Transfer to lined baking sheet and bake right away at 350˚F for 13-15 min (mine took 15 min) or until top is golden. Remove from oven and right away run a thin edged spatula or knife around edges of your cake to loosen from the pan. While cake is hot***, invert cake face down onto a clean, dry linen towel, remove parchment paper then roll cake into the towel. Let cool to room temp (30 min - 1hr) in a draft free room.
- Meanwhile, combine all ingredients for lemon syrup (water, sugar, lemon juice), stir to dissolve sugar and set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine 8 oz softened cream cheese, 8 Tbsp softened butter and 1 cup powdered sugar. Beat together starting on low speed to incorporate sugar, then turn the mixer up to high speed for 2-3 min or until whipped, white and fluffy, scraping down the bowl as needed. Add coarsely chopped blackberries and stir into cream with mixer on low, just until incorporated.
- Carefully Unroll cake and loosen from the towel. Brush the top evenly with your lemon syrup. Put dollops of blackberry frosting over the surface and spread evenly. Roll the cake tightly in the same direction you rolled it the first time. Slice off the edges if desired and dust generously with powdered sugar.
- For the topping, beat together 3/4 cup heavy cream with 1 Tbsp powdered sugar for 2 min on high speed until fluffy and spreadable. Transfer to a large piping bag with a large open star tip and pipe 6 flowers over the top, placing a fresh blackberry and lemon triangle into the center of each one.
Notes
***To prevent cracks in cake roll, it should be rolled in the linen towel right after it comes out of the oven.
If you make this recipe, I’d love to see pics of your creations on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter! Hashtag them #natashaskitchen
This sponge cake base in this blackberry lemon cake roll is amazing! It takes on moisture really well and won’t get soggy for several days. Hungry for More? Check out all of my many cake recipes using this easy European sponge cake base.
Ready, Set,… Bake!! Enjoy this my friends! 🙂
Natasha Kravchuk
Hi! I'm Natasha Kravchuk. Here you'll find delicious, trusted recipes with easy step-by-step photos and videos. 
Looks delicious! I’m definitely going to try it. Thanks for all your scrumptious recipes!!
Hello Natasha! I have made this cake a few times before and it’s always a huge hit. I would like to make it again but with gluten free flour. I’m new to gluten free baking. Would I be able to substitute regular flour for gluten free?
Hi Ashley! I’m so glad you’re loving this recipe. I have not tested this with GF flour to advise. I don’t have any experience with GF baking. I looked through the comments but I don’t see any feedback from any other viewer regarding using GF. If you experiment, let us know how it turns out.
YUM!!!!
I’m guessing you should cover a keep leftovers, if there are any😁 , in the fridge.
Leftovers are almost impossible with this cake, I’m so glad you loved it, Ruby! Yes, cover and refrigerate and it will be just as good the next day.
Hi Natasha!
Do you think this cake roll can be made a couple days in advance and refrigerated?
Thanks in advance!
Depends how many days in advance. I usually freeze just the sponge portion for up to 3 months (I actually have one in the freezer right now, rolled into a log into a sheet of parchment paper). I haven’t tried freezing this assembled but I do think it would work well. I would wait to add the powdered sugar, whipped cream topping and fresh blackberries/lemon until the day you are serving. I hope that helps
That does help! So wait for it to cool then put in freezer wrapped in plastic wrap, in a log as you mentioned? Does it thaw okay and not get mushy?
That’s right. Although, like I said, I haven’t tried it assembled, but cakes are frozen all the time so it’s work a test. I hope you love it.
Taste amazing. Being a amateur I struggled to get it into a roll.
Can you add different extracts to the cake , extracts such as vanilla or almond? And how much extract, 1 teaspoon? I would like to use the cake as base for several different fillings. Also if I bake the cake today should I fill it tomorrow before serving? If yes should the rolled cake be refrigerated overnight?
Hi Jo. Yes, you can experiment with different extract flavors. I think 1 tsp would be a good start. Yes, the roll cake should be refrigerated once filled.
This looks delicious. Could I use fresh blue berries in this instead of blackberries?
Hi Mary, I won’t be able to advise unless I personally test it. It will be an experiment for you if you give that a try! But I saw one of our readers shared that they used blueberries and loved it.
Can I use this recipe to make a round cake (birthday cake)? If so, what measurements do I need?
Hi Basia! You can use my Blackberry cake recipe instead.
I will try that. Thanks:)
Your recipes are great by the way👍
I am a horrible baker and followed directions to the letter and IT WAS AWESOME!! So so yummy. (oh except I used Blueberries)
That’s just awesome! Thank you for sharing your wonderful review, Sindy! I’m so glad you loved it!
Hey Natasha! I love to make this cake every once and a while, so it’s pretty good, but the reason I’m giving this 3 stars is because first of all, the cake was sticking to the towel and even broke a little, and second of all, the lemon syrup did nothing. I followed the recipe exactly and there was no lemon taste. I wish this recipe could have a lemon cake with blackberry frosting instead. Was still delicious without lemon though!
Hi Gigi! This can be due to humidity or moisture in your area or kitchen causing a wet and sticky top.You can use powder sugar your on your towel before putting the cake onto it! This will prevent it from sticking. Also, if you’d like to add more lemon flavor, you can add lemon extract to the batter (just be careful not to over mix the batter). I hope you try again and have better results!
My sister made this roll for Christmas and it’s the best dessert I’ve tried in a long time! I love how refreshingly moist and not overtly sweet the cake is. 100% going to make this myself!
Love it and great to hear that you enjoyed it!
Hi! I really want to make this, but I live in a condo and the oven is small, I can’t fit a baking a sheet bigger than 9×13. If I use that, do I need to do anything different?
Hi Sharmeen! Because this is a roll cake, it would be difficult to roll it if you made it any smaller than the suggested size pan. You will need to adjust the recipe to fit your pan and likely bake it for less time.
I made mine with strawberries, and it’s our favorite desert so far!!!!
Thank you so much for all you recipes and videos!
My family enjoys everything I made followed your recipes!
That’s just awesome! Thank you for sharing your wonderful comment, Jelena!
Just made this today. I followed the instructions to a T, made sure to whip eggs/sugar for 7 minutes until tripled in size, bake until golden, roll while hot, etc. I used a clean/dry linen towel to roll, I use this towel for other rolls as well, and it stuck so badly! I was super disappointed. I couldn’t even salvage it. I ended up trying a bit just to see how it tasted and the taste was phenomenal!! But looked horrible after a half for it had stuck to the towel. Some got stuck on the parchment as well while turning it out onto the towel (yes I used parchment, I don’t ever buy wax paper). Have been reading the comments and it looks like a lot of people have had this issue. Oh well 🤷🏼♀️
Hi Sarah! Just made this recipe as well! All you have to do is heavily powder sugar your towel before putting the cake onto it! It will prevent it from sticking! Hope you try again and have better luck!
Thank you so much for sharing that with us.
Immediately after removing the cake sprinkle the top with confectioner’s sugar. It may help to prevent stacking to towel.
Hi Natasha I made the cake roll today and it is delicious BUT, it turned out to be a trifle😂😂, after getting the roll to room temp I unrolled and it stuck to the towel, maybe it should have cooled a little before rolling or maybe a linen towel, not sure but it was fun, and the trifle is very good.
Thought you would get a chuckle out of this, any ideas on what happened would be appreciated.
Thanks for all your wonderful recipes.
Fondly,
Betsy
Hi Betsy, usually I like to roll the cake right away while it’s hot. If you haven’t already, it might help to watch the video tutorial to see what our process was in rolling the cake. Another trick that I’ve been employing lately is to dust the linen with powdered sugar before rolling and that also seems to help.