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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 white 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.
Natasha Kravchuk
Hi! I'm Natasha Kravchuk. Here you'll find delicious, trusted recipes with easy step-by-step photos and videos. 
Hi Natasha, the cake is indeed a success! Absolutely love it! 🙂
However, I found the cake a little bit too sweet for diabetics. I was thinking how much should I reduce for the sugar to make it spongy and if it’s possible not to add sugar in?
Cheers!
Hi Joanne, I haven’t tested it with less – you might possibly be able to make it work with half the amount but the cake does need sugar to form properly. Sorry I can’t be more helpful!
Hi Natasha any chance you have Brioche recipe??
I might have something like that here.
Mmmmm wow Cherries and chocolate what could be better lmao wow this cake looks yummm may wanna make it tomorrow however my sissy cannot have alcohol because she’s on antibiotics what’s a good substitute love the video tutorial may watch it again if I do decide to make it
Hi Tzivia! You could just omit it in this recipe. It adds nice flavor to the cream but you could leave it out or use 1/2 tsp to 1 tsp of vanilla extract 🙂
Oh ok vanilla extract I happen to have on hand if I decide to make this will definitely add thanx again Natasha for your help this cool awesome site of yours has been such a gr8 advice cooking baking column and also health and money saver big time I rarely go out to eat now
I’m so happy to hear that! Thanks Tzivia 🙂
Thank you for the recipe Natasha, i made it with fresh raspberries. It’s still in the fridge, hope it turned out well.
You are welcome Yelena, I would love to hear how it turned out 😀.
It was so good. Love your website, i use it a lot! Thank you for sharing your recipes.
Thank you for the compliment and you are welcome 😊.
Is it possible to make the cake part a day before and keep it rolled up and then frost it next day?
Yes, that would work well, just cover it loosely with plastic wrap and it can be stored at room temperature. Once the frosting and filling are on, then you want to refrigerate it.
I knew this was going to be delicious.. but I had no idea it was going to be SOOO delicious!!! It was bomb! Thanks for sharing.
Sheesh that’s quite a compliment! Thank you Erica 🙂
I am making it again this week for our bible study group.. I did notice though i bought a different Rum last time it was called Kingston Black Cherry
How was it with the Kingston one?
Thank you so much for the delicious reciepe. I loved it! And everyone enjoyed this chocolate cherry roll cake. It looks just like the one you made. Thank you onice again Natasha!
I’m so happy to hear that you all enjoyed it! I bet it was beautiful! If you shared it online somewhere, I’d love to see your creation! 🙂
I tried to make it and its comes all wet inside. Do you know why? I hope I can make like you do.
Do you mean after you put the syrup on? It shouldn’t be wet, but moist. Did you watch the video? Was there anything that you did differently than the instructions stated?
Hi Natasha,your cake looks so delicious! I have to make it for my brothers birthday. But I dont know where I can get the cherries with light syrup. Where did you get yours? Or where can I get the cherries for this cake?
I’ve seen them at Fred Meyer. You can also purchase frozen pitted cherries and thaw them. You might find them in the pie filling section of your grocery store, just make sure it’s not “cherry pie filling” since that one usually has a thick sauce and not much actual cherries, that’s why going with cherries in a light syrup is best. I hope that helps 🙂
Thank you so much! 🙂 yay,I cant wait to make ur cake!!
Have you tried these with fresh raspberries? Wonder if that taste better than cherries.
Also I dont have a 13 x 18 pan. My biggest one is 11×17 and 10×15. Do you think your recipe will still work good on the 11×17? No need of omitting anything right? Just will be a thicker cake? I also have 40% golden bicardi Rum, think it will taste good with that? 2 teaspoons right? Im drooling just thinking of it!
The rum will be great. I think that pan size will work. It will be a little bit thicker. 🙂 raspberries would be wonderful!
would the golden bicardi Rum work for this recipe? And does this cake taste better the next day?
Yes the rum will work great and use the same amount. I like this cake best the same day but is also very good the next day. I hope you love it!
Thank you so much your recipes are amazing.
You are welcome Helen :).
Hi Natasha I am making 2 layer cake first layer white sponge cake 2 layer chocolate sponge cake,do you think it will be the same texture.
The chocolate layers always tend to be slightly drier but if you are using any kind of syrup on them, you shouldn’t notice a difference if they’re moist.
i love all your recipes and thank you for showing us them.
Thank you Karina, your comment is music to my ears :D.
Can I use 35% Whipping cream instead of heavy whipping cream? Is there a big difference? And can I freeze the roll?
Heavy whipping cream has 38% and a higher fat content will yield a stiffer frosting so I’d recommend getting the heavy whipping cream for a sturdier frosting, but I still think it would whip up if you froze your mixing bowl and whisk attachment for best results. I haven’t tried freezing the roll to be honest so I don’t know if it is freezer friendly.
Hello Natasha! Can I use rum extract instead of rum? Thanks!
Yes, but use less or it might be a little too strong 🙂
I made the roll today and followed all the directions but my roll cracked after I put the cream on and rolled it. It cracked so bad the cream came out of the huge cracks on top that no amount of powdered sugar could cover it. It did not crack when I took it out of the oven and rolled it but as I was putting it together. I checked all the instructions and took advice from the commenters but still failed. So bummed:(
Oh bummer 🙁 how long did it sit before you unrolled it? I’m wondering if maybe it became too dry? Mine had very minor little cracks which are normal but nothing major.
Ok, so I had to experiment with 3 different rolls to figure out what the problem was. I made one by your recipe and it cracked terribly, then I made one without adding the cocoa and was surprised that it was perfect but I wanted a chocolate one, so I made a third one and only added 1/2 the cocoa thats in your recipe and voala! it was PERFECT!!!! I’m guessing the cocoa dries it out more and makes it crack. The one with less cocoa actually is more pliable and delicate but not rubbery or dry. I’m just going to add less cocoa to the batter next time and add the rest of the cocoa to the cream to have the same chocolaty flavor.
Thank you so much for sharing that!! Cocoa does make a dough a little more dry. You’re awesome!
It craked when I was rolling it for the first time. I rolled it right away once I took it out of the oven. Maybe I should of baked it for longer? Haven’t done the second run yet, but I won’t give up. I made so many rolls before and never had that problem.
I’m wondering if it was maybe baked too long and dried out a little?? It’s so hard to say without being there!
Ok! Second run was a little better, but still cracked a lot! Well I don’t have another choice, will take it to the party and see what happens. Lol!
Mine had some small cracks in it and that is normal. Dust the top with lots of powdered sugar and call it “rustic” lol. Ok, maybe that’s not funny. 😉
Natasha I am being honest with you. I have cooked so much recipes from your blog and always was successful. Don’t know what went wrong this time, but while I was rolling the cake it broke into 3 pieces. I am really upset. I read all the comments and will try to do it as someone suggested rolling it with the parchment paper. I promised my sister in law that I will bring this roll for her birthday party today. Do you have an idea why it broke into 3 pieces? It wasn’t sticking to parchment at all. I will give it one more try and before I have to run to the store and get some more groceries for the ingredients.
You have to roll it pretty quickly when it comes out of the oven or it will crack. Are you having problems with it cracking with the first roll up or with the un-roll once it cools to room temp?
Dear Natasha
My heart stopped for a second when I saw the picture of this amazing cake. I always want to make a Chocolate/Vanilla Roll; infact, I have made once and it turned out so rubbery that I thought I was eating a flipflop! So, I will make this cake for sure, just because I want to lick the whisk clean – as per your instruction!!
Oh no!! A flip flop? lol. I hope You LOVE this one as much as we did!
Do you think this roll can be made into a sheet cake, two layers with cream in the middle? Will the texture work? Thank you.
Yes, it definitely will work and that would be very yummy!