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This chocolate cherry roll is spiked!! The base is a Russian chocolate sponge cake called biskvit. Use rum in lieu of vanilla extract for a cream that smells and tastes amazing. I think you’ll agree! Check out the video for step-by-step instructions and a taste test that my husband insisted I include :-O.
There is a print-friendly version at the bottom of this post. Also, be sure to subscribe to my new youtube channel. One last thing and then I’ll stop rambling; this cake is GOOD!
Watch How To Make Chocolate Cherry Cake Roll:
Ingredients for the Chocolate Cherry Roll:
4 eggs (cold or room temp)
2/3 cup white sugar
1/2 cup all-purpose flour *measured correctly
3 Tbsp Unsweetened cocoa powder
Ingredients for the Frosting:
1.5 cup heavy whipping cream
1/3 cup powdered sugar, plus more to sprinkle the finished cake
2 tsp Rum (I used Meyers Dark rum 40% alcohol)
1 cup Canned cherries in light syrup OR whatever fresh or canned fruit you like.
How to Make the Chocolate Cherry Roll and Rum Cream:
Preheat the Oven to 350˚F.
1. Line an rimmed half baking pan (interior dimensions 16.5 x 11.38) with parchment paper, then butter and flour the top of the parchment paper.
2. In the bowl of your electric mixer, whisk together 4 eggs with 2/3 cup sugar for 12 minutes on high speed until the mixture is thick. Sift in 1/2 cup flour and 3 Tbsp cocoa powder and fold it in gently, scraping from the bottom of the bowl to make sure you do not have any lumps left in the batter. Continue folding/scraping gently for about 1-2 minutes until the batter is smooth and lump-free. It’s best to be humming a little tune at this point;… not really, but it makes everything so much more fun! Transfer to your prepped baking pan and Bake at 350˚F for 15 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
3. You must start rolling the cake when it just comes out of the oven. Transfer your cake to your work surface and place a sheet of parchment paper or a tea towel over the cake, then roll the cake over it, pulling it away from the parchment paper as you roll. Use a thin edged spatula if the cake sticks to the parchment. Let cool to room temp.
The Frosting & Assembly:
1. Clean and completely dry the mixing bowl. Whisk together 1.5 cups heavy whipping cream with 1/3 cup powdered sugar on high speed (about 2 minutes) until stiff peaks form, then beat in 2 tsp Rum until well combined. Don’t over-beat or it will turn buttery. Lick the whisk clean (very important!) and then Refrigerate frosting until ready to use.
2. Once the cake is cooled to room temp, unroll it and spread the top evenly with frosting. Scatter about 1 cup of drained cherries over the top. Roll the cake in the same direction that you rolled it initially. Transfer to your serving platter and sprinkle it generously with powdered sugar. You can cut off the ends for a prettier presentation.
Chocolate Cherry Roll with Rum Cream ~ A Video Recipe

Ingredients
For the Cake
- 4 eggs, (cold or room temp)
- 2/3 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
- 3 Tbsp Unsweetened cocoa powder
For the Frosting
- 1.5 cup heavy whipping cream
- 1/3 cup powdered sugar, plus more to sprinkle the finished cake
- 2 tsp Rum, I used Meyers Dark rum 40% alcohol
- 1 cup Canned cherries in light syrup OR whatever fresh or canned fruit you like.
Instructions
- Preheat the Oven to 350˚F.
- Line rimmed baking pan (interior dimensions 16.5 x 11.38) with parchment paper, then butter and flour the top of the parchment paper.
- In the bowl of your electric mixer, whisk together 4 eggs with 2/3 cup sugar for 12 minutes on high speed until the mixture is thick. Sift in 1/2 cup flour and 3 Tbsp cocoa powder and gently fold it in, scraping from the bottom of the bowl to make sure you do not have any clumps left in the batter. Continue folding/scraping gently for about 1-2 minutes until the batter is smooth and lump-free. Transfer to your prepped baking pan and Bake at 350˚F for 15 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
- You must start rolling the cake when it just comes out of the oven. Transfer your cake to your work surface and place a sheet of parchment paper or a tea towel over the cake, then roll the cake over it, pulling it away from the parchment paper as you roll. Use a thin edged spatula if the cake sticks to the parchment. Let cool to room temp.
- Clean and completely dry the mixing bowl. Whisk together 1.5 cups heavy whipping cream with 1/3 cup powdered sugar on high speed (about 2 minutes) until stiff peaks form, then beat in 2 tsp Rum until well combined. Don't overbeat or it will turn buttery. Refrigerate frosting until ready to use.
- Once the cake is cooled to room temp, unroll it and spread the top evenly with frosting. Scatter about 1 cup of drained cherries over the top. Roll the cake in the same direction that you rolled it initially. Transfer to your serving platter and sprinkle it generously with powdered sugar. You can cut off the ends for a prettier presentation.
Hi Natasha, the cake was very moist and got lots of compliments. I prepared it a day ahead and did frosting on top instead of icing. Great recipe!!
Hello Donna, thank you for sharing your experience with this recipe. We’re glad that you enjoyed it!
Natasha, can the cake be kept in fridge after sprinkling powder sugar? Will the sugar melt? I like to make it as X’mas roll cake but can’t think of any other decorations to go on it. What can be used on the rolled cake if not putting powder sugar which might be easier. Hope to get your replay soon. Thanks.
Hi Donna! The moisture from the refrigeration can make the powdered sugar melt. You can freshly dust the powdered sugar on it before serving it. I haven’t used any other decorations on this. If you are serving this on a tray, accents of fresh fruits, ever-green branches, rosemary, and cranberries could add a nice touch.
Natasha, is it ok to keep the cake in fridge overnight after dusting powered sugar? Thanks.
Hi Donna. You can dust it with powdered sugar after refrigeration, and before serving.
Hi Natasha, is there a reason to use Canned cherries instead of frozen cherries for this recipe? Is there any decorations you may suggest to go on top of the roll? Thanks.
Hi Donna! I like using canned cherries in light syrup but you can also use whatever fresh or canned fruit you like. You can use frozen but probably would thaw them out first. I can’t think of any decorations to add, but you can experiment with them. Using a stencil to add shapes like snowflakes onto the roll while applying the powdered sugar is pretty simple.
Thanks Natasha. Would it work writing on top of powdered sugar with melted chocolate?
Hi Donna, it may work, but it may have trouble staying on/ sticking to the roll. I haven’t tested that myself; if you experiment, let me know how you liked the recipe.
This looks awesome! Unfortunately, I do not have rum on hand. How much rum extract should I use as a substitue?
Hi Bridgette, Yes, that should work but use less or it might be a little too strong.
I love all of your recipes but this one was a fail twice for me. I followed the recipe exactly as written the first time but accidentally used wax paper instead of parchment. The cake had huge fissures when I rolled it and I lost a lot of the top layer of cake to the wax paper when I unrolled it to frost. After reading some reviews, I decided to try again but use the right paper! I also decided to omit the cocoa powder since some reviewers mentioned that it made the final product drier. The parchment paper indeed came off much more easily from the bottom of the cake than the wax paper had previously. But… the parchment paper still stuck horribly to the top of the cake when I was rolling it. So I switched to a tea towel. When I unrolled it, I lost a lot of the top layer again. The cake had such huge cracks both times that no amount of frosting could save it when presented on a plate. Not sure where I went wrong but the happy ending is that the two rolls fit almost perfectly into two bread loaf pans I have (just trim the ends). I just covered one with the whipped cream icing and sprinkled chocolate sprinkles on top and made chocolate buttercream icing for the vanilla version. Voila!
Same! Third time making this and sticks to paper every time! Not sure why..
HI Natasha, delicious. It is like black forest cake, I change the rum for kirsch terry
I’m so glad you enjoyed that, Marimar! Thank you for sharing that with me.
Hi natasha, will this be just as good with fresh cherries?
You can definitely make this with fresh cherries!
Hi Natasha, I’m a little confused concerning the size of the baking pan. I read in your instructions to use a 14×16, however in your video you say to use a 11×16 (?) So which one is it? Lol. Thanks in advance & Merry Christmas to you & your family 😊
I’m sorry about the confusion Sabrina. I used half sheet with interior dimensions 16.5 x 11.38. Merry Christmas to you and your family as well 😬