The Best Jelly Roll Cake
Jelly Roll Cake is a classic dessert made with a light, flexible sponge wrapped around sweet raspberry preserves. When baked and handled correctly, the cake rolls neatly without cracking and slices into clean, elegant spirals.
This is a simple recipe, but the technique matters. Once you understand how the sponge works, you’ll find that a jelly roll is one of the most reliable and adaptable cakes you can make.
Table of contents
Why This Recipe Works
This jelly roll uses a chiffon-style sponge, which is ideal for rolled cakes. Whipped egg whites provide lift and structure, while oil and sugar keep the crumb moist and flexible.
That balance is key. A sponge that’s too dry or too firm will crack when rolled, but a well-balanced chiffon stays soft enough to shape without tearing or becoming rubbery.
If you’d like to dig deeper into how ingredients affect cake texture, you can learn more in the Cake Baking Guide and Baking Ingredient Science pages.
Ingredients
Ingredient Notes
- Flour: Measure carefully. Too much flour can make the sponge stiff and prone to cracking.
- Oil: Oil keeps the cake soft and flexible even after cooling, which is essential for roll cakes.
- Sugar: A relatively high proportion of sugar helps retain moisture, keeping the cake flexible for rolling.
- Egg Whites: Whip to full peak, but stop before they become dry or grainy. Overwhipped whites are unstable and prone to deflating when folded, which leads to loss of volume in the finished sponge.
- Preserves: Seedless preserves are easiest to spread and give the cleanest slices. Warm slightly if needed for smooth spreading.
Process Photos
Here’s what the recipe process looks like at each stage. Refer to the recipe card below for measurements and exact instructions.
- Whip the yolks and combine with the flour. Whip the whites.
- Fold the whites into the batter just until combined.
- Do not over fold the batter. It should still be light and fluffy.
- Spread the batter into the pan and bake just until the center springs back when pressed.
- Be careful. Overbaking can cause cracking.
- Cover the cake with a clean kitchen towel and set aside to cool.
- The cake will be quite thin, which allows for a neat spiral when rolled.
Baking Sense Tip
Why Cover the Cake While It’s Warm?
Covering the warm sponge traps a small amount of steam, which keeps the surface moist as the cake cools. A moist sponge stays flexible, allowing you to roll the cake cleanly without cracking—no need to roll, unroll, and reroll.
- Peel the parchment off the cake and use the parchment and towel to help flip the cake.
- Spread the jelly over the cake and use the parchment to lift and roll the cake.
- After rolling the cake, wrap it in the parchment and then in plastic.
- Leave it at room temperature for at least 1-2 hours before serving.
Variations
This jelly roll works well with other fillings. Strawberry or apricot preserves are easy substitutions, and a thin layer of lightly sweetened whipped cream beneath the jam adds richness without overwhelming the sponge.
Thicker fruit curds—such as lemon, raspberry, or passion fruit—can also be used. Spread a thin, even layer so the cake rolls cleanly without squeezing out the filling.
Storage
The assembled cake can be kept covered at room temperature for several hours or refrigerated for 1–2 days.
For longer storage, wrap the cake tightly and freeze for up to one month. Defrost at room temperature in the wrapping. Individual slices can also be wrapped and frozen.
FAQS
The most common causes are overbaking, incorrect ingredient ratios, or letting the cake cool uncovered. A thin sponge dries out quickly, so avoid overbaking and cool the cake under a towel to retain moisture.
Make sure the cake is rolled tightly (see process photos) and chilled before slicing. Chilling allows the filling to set and lightly absorb into the sponge so the slices hold together.
Yes. Thicker fruit curds such as lemon, raspberry, or passion fruit work well. Spread a thin, even layer so the filling doesn’t squeeze out during rolling.
More Roll Cakes to Try
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Jelly Roll Cake
Ingredients
- 2 oz vegetable oil (¼ cup)
- 3 each large eggs (separated)
- 2 oz water (¼ cup)
- 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
- 5 oz all purpose flour (1 cup, see note)
- 6 oz granulated sugar (¾ cup, divided)
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 12 oz seedless raspberry preserves (1 cup)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375 °F. Line a half sheet pan with parchment paper.
- Combine 2 oz vegetable oil, 3 egg yolks, 2 oz water and 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract in a mixer bowl. Mix on medium speed until well combined.
- Sift 5 oz all purpose flour with 1/2 cup of the sugar, 1 teaspoon baking powder and ¼ teaspoon salt. With the mixer on low, add the dry ingredients to yolk mixture. Whip on high speed for 1 minute, then set aside
- Whip 3 egg whites on medium speed to soft peak. Gradually add the remaining 1/4 cup sugar, increase the speed to medium high and whip to full peak. Fold the whites into the yolk mixture in three increments.
- Pour the batter into the pan and smooth until level. Bake until the middle of the cake springs back with lightly pressed, about 12 minutes.
- Cover the pan with a kitchen towel and cool the cake completely in the pan.
- Run a small knife around the edges and flip the cake out of the pan onto the towel. Peel the parchment off the back of the cake. Use the towel and the parchment to flip the cake back over onto the parchment paper.
- Remove the towel and spread 12 oz seedless raspberry preserves over the cake. Use the parchment paper to lift the long side of the cake then roll the cake tightly.
- Wrap the parchment paper around the cake and let it overlap at the bottom. Grab the top edge with one hand and the overlap piece with the other. Pull on the overlap to tighten the parchment around the cake. Wrap with plastic wrap. Let it sit at room temperature for 1-2 hours to allow the jelly to meld into the cake. At this point the cake can be frozen for up to 1 month.
- Unwrap the cake and trim the ends at a slight angle. Transfer it to a serving tray, seam side down. Generously sprinkle the cake with powdered sugar and serve at room temperature. The cake will keep covered at room temperature for 2-3 days.
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My family devoured this. So yummy and worth the time. Thanks for sharing
I made two. One with homemade strawberry jam and one with homemade blueberry jam. Both came out delicious.
I made this after using an old recipe for decades- yours wins!! I filled it with raspberry jam and whipping cream with cream cheese blended. Oh my gosh, it’s like eating cheese cake. Love it 5* I am now following you.
@Linda,
Sounds yummy this way. How much whipping cream to cream cheese for this sized cake did you need? Thanks
It says 1c.flour/5oz,Google tells me 1c.=4.25oz,I weight for accuracy what is your thought on this
Even Google doesn’t have the final word on how much a cup of flour weighs. The weight of a cup of flour is not an absolute. How you fill the cup with flour will affect the density of the flour in the cup. I use the “dip and sweep” method to fill a measuring cup. That is, I dip the cup into the flour bin, overfill it, then sweep away the excess. Using this method I consistently get 5 oz of AP flour per cup. Other bakers may fluff the flour in the bin then spoon it into the cup. That method incorporates more air into the flour so the weight in the cup is less. Often 4 – 4.5 oz, up to a full oz less. Neither method for filling the cup is “correct”. As long as you’re following my recipe you can trust my conversion from volume to weight for my recipes. That being said, if you measure your recipes by weight there’s no reason to worry about the volume measures. I put those there for folks who don’t have a kitchen scale and because most American bakers use volume measure. Feel free to ignore the volume measure and just go by weight.
Thanks much obliged
what size pan?
As mentioned in the recipe steps, I use a half sheet pan for this cake. The standard half sheet pan measures 13″x18″.