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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! 🙂
It turned out perfect, I used raspberries, I also put a few drops of lemon extract in the cream cheese filling, will make again. Thanks. Love your recipes.
You’re welcome, Maureen! I’m so glad you’re enjoying these recipes!
Thé cake turned out well, but the filling was an absolute no go. It tasted like straight cream cheese. No matter what I did to it, it would not change.
Hi Charlotte, make sure not to change any of the proportions in the recipe or cut down sugar or it can be overpowering. I haven’t sensed it tasting too much like cream cheese with these proportions. Also, make sure not to oversoften the cream cheese or butter or it won’t whip properly.
I’d give this recipe a 3/5. There were a few issues that I had with the cake that in my opinion would garner it a 3.
1. Although I followed all the steps the sponge cake wasn’t as soft as in your video, it was a bit harder to cut. However, this may be my fault as I ran into quite a few problems while making the cake. Additionally, I don’t know how you got it to be so evenly swirled in your photos without the cream spilling over.
2. The seeds of the blackberries kept getting stuck in my teeth. I understand that blackberries as a garnish are quite lovely. However, the seeds are not pleasant and take away from enjoying the cake. Of course this is in the essence of the fruit itself. Similar to pomegranates, blackberries are quite the seedy fruit.
3. The icing on top had no flavor at all. I speculate this is to off-set the sweet filling and sweet powdered sugar. However, I like icing that has even a small hint of flavor rather than no flavor at all. Therefore, I added a bit of vanilla extract to the icing.
On the positive side, the filling wasn’t overly sweet which was nice. Additionally, the sponge cake had a beautiful golden color.
I didn’t make this yet but i can’t wait to do it
I hope you love this recipe Esther!
delicious, I didn’t add the topping because its just me and my son. My filling isn’t as creamy as yours…but it is so good, I cant stop eating it
Thanks for sharing that with us!
I just made this delicious lemon blackberry cake roll.
The filling is unbelievable. I’m hoping it will slice easily.
My first attempt at a cake roll.
I’m so happy you enjoyed that. Thank you for sharing that with us!
Hi Natasha I love your recipes but I struggle with the cup measurements can you please advise me thank you x
Hi Lynette, this post on measuring should help with that.
Hi, Natasha!
I added chopped strawberries to the frosting and the cream curdled. What could be the reason? Both berries (blackberries and strawberries) are a bit sour so I think it is not the reason…
Hi Maria, I haven’t had that happen – I wonder if it was due to adding the strawberries. If it wasn’t curdled before adding the strawberries and curdled after then it was likely the strawberries.
Do you need to keep the roll refrugerated
Hi Sab, Yes, we keep this cake roll refrigerated. I have refrigerated it overnight and served the following day. It’s best enjoyed within a day but it will stay good in the fridge up to 3 days or depending on how fresh your berries are.
Wow, definitely should have heeded some of these reviews. This came out TERRIBLE. What a disappointment to find out Easter morning that your dessert will fail. I followed steps exactly, and consider myself a pretty experienced baker.
Hi Taylor, I’m sorry to hear that. If you can share more details about what happened, I will do my best to help troubleshoot.
I would like to make this recipe but I don’t have any cream cheese readily on hand. Would the filling work with whipped cream instead? Thanks!
Hi Irene, I think you could make that work, just be sure to beat it until it is whipped and spreadable. Whipped cream is more likely to soften with time so if using whipped cream as the frosting, keep in mind that it doesn’t keep as well overnight in the refrigerator.
I used whipped cream and it works perfect.
I have a question about the blackberry lemon cake roll. I tried making it but the cake cracked when i was rolling it on the towel and also the parchment paper was sticking to the cake that it took a bit longer taking it off from the cake. Id like to try making the cake again, any tips? Thanks
MCB
It helps to roll the cake right away while it was hot out of the oven. If you skip that step or wait too long, the cake doesn’t form the “muscle memory” to create the roll without cracking. I hope that helps for next time!
I made 2. The first one stuck to the parchment paper like you described, even though I removed it from the pan & paper immediately after removing from the oven. The 2nd one I sprayed the paper with non stick spray and it came off much easier and cake still rolled well without issues. Not sure why she recommends not greasing the paper
Hi can you tell me what the metric measurements for all ingredients are? It’s hard to convert American cups for UK metric measurements as different ingredients or converters give different answers. Thanks
Hi Gemma, We are currently working on adding metric measurements to all of our recipes but it is taking some time as we have to add them one at a time. Thank you so much for being patient! In the meantime, check out our post on measuring which should help
Hi Natasha! I made your lemon Blackberry cake roll and it did not turn out great. I beat the eggs by hand so with that said how long do I need to beat it? Is it still 7 minutes? The cake to me taste like egg. Thank you for your feedback. I really enjoyed the frosting though.
Hi Julianna, you definitely want to use an electric mixer for this or it would be very difficult to achieve the same whipped consistency that you need for the cake to rise properly and not have an eggy taste.
Thank you Natasha.
I was hoping this would turn out well for a dinner party. Unfortunately my cake did not rise at all, it’s quite flat. I followed your directions for beating the eggs for 7mins. I used stevia sugar instead which replaces 1 cup of regular sugar with 1/2 cup of stevia sugar. Could using less sugar have caused the cake not to rise?
Hi Marie, that is more than liekly the culprit. My best tip for that is to make sure you beat the eggs and sugar adequately since the cake relies on the volume of those two ingredients to rise.
I spent half a day trying to get it right, adjusted the temperature, adjusted time, made sure everything is room temperature and measured and whipped correctly, but every time the cake came out so sticky! I was not even able to peel off the parchment paper. I was able to roll one since I already had the cream prepared and it tasted so yummy but it was completely falling apart. I can’t understand what I did wrong??
Hi Ilona, do you live in a very high humidity area or did you possibly use wax paper instead of parchment? Wax paper is really difficult to peel off with sponge cakes. If your place isn’t too humid, you might just increase the mixing time by 3-5 minutes and bake a few minutes longer (not all ovens are created equal). My last thought is if you were possibly using a hand mixer, it would require longer beating time so the 3-5 minutes extra beating time would help.
I have KitchenAid mixer and mixed it for about 10 minutes and also used parchment paper so basically I followed the recipe to the t. It was a wet day though as we got fresh snow and it started melting – can that really affect it so much??
Is it possible to use strawberries instead of blackberries?
Hi Oana, I think blackberries or raspberries are best since they break up easily and still look good in the frosting. The third best option would be diced strawberries and you can garnish with strawberry quarters.
Sounds great! Thank you 🙂
OMG I just made this deliciousness! My husband is licking his fingers and is trying really hard to stay away from it.
I used blackberries in the end; amazing! Thank you for another fantastic recipe :*
Oana.
That’s so great! It sounds like you have a new favorite!!
Hello Natasha, I tried your recipe today and the sponge was quite soft. However the texture is not as fine as yours – it’s more crumbly and a bit bubbly. Any ideas on why? Thanks
Hi May, It should not be crumbly. I’m curious if any of the measurements of the dry ingredients were off. Was anything altered in the recipe? This post on measuring has proven to be helpful in the past.
My cake broke close to the edge when I was unrolling it. I was able to put it back. I cut the edge to sample it,,, oh my, this is delicious and very light. I am suprising hubby for dinner Thanks Natasha!
Hi Ms Belle, I’m so glad you enjoyed that! Thank you for sharing that wonderful review with me!
Tried lemon cake roll. It turned very good. Thanks for the recipe.
I’m so happy to hear that! Thank you for sharing your great review!
Great recipe! Turned out amazing!
Can you use this sponge recipe and add cocoa to make a chocolate sponge roll?
Hi Janice, yes but if adding cocoa, you would want to take out the same amount of flour and substitute with cocoa powder.