The week of delightfully yummy snickerdoodle posts continues today with a Snickerdoodle Mocha Christmas Cake Roll. This cake roll combines moist cinnamon and vanilla sponge with a creamy espresso chocolate ganache filling, a caramelized white chocolate and cinnamon ganache drizzle over the top, and festive sprinkles to complete this cinn-fully delectable cake roll.
One of my favorite things about cake rolls is that they are a great way to use leftover cake, fillings, and buttercream after you make a layer cake. To construct this cake roll, I used the Snickerdoodle sponge remnants and some leftover Snickerdoodle Buttercream, and ganache from my Snickerdoodle Cake (coming to the blog tomorrow for the final day of Snickerdoodle Week!). Cake rolls are a great way to use leftover cake-making pieces, especially if you want to switch it up from making cake pops with your extra cake scraps!
Ingredients:
- Snickerdoodle Sponge (the link for my recipe is provided here)
- Snickerdoodle Buttercream (the link for my recipe is provided here)
- Espresso Chocolate Ganache
- Caramelized White Chocolate and Cinnamon Ganache (find out how to make this in my Ultimate Snickerdoodle Cupcakes post)
- Ground cinnamon
- Granulated sugar
- Christmas Sprinkles
Make the Espresso Chocolate Ganache:
The filling for this cake roll is an espresso chocolate ganache that provides a great punch of espresso flavor. Add 1 cup of heavy whipping cream and 2 tablespoons of ground espresso to a small saucepan. Place the saucepan on the stove on a low heat. Let the cream and espresso cook on the stove for approximately 15-20 minutes. While the espresso steeps in the cream, add ½ cup of semi-sweet chocolate and ½ cup white chocolate to a mixing bowl. Once the espresso and cream mixture is removed from the stove, place a strainer-sifter into the bowl and pour the cream into the bowl. The strainer-sifter will remove large pieces of espresso grounds, which will produce a smooth ganache. Let the chocolate sit in the warm cream for approximately 2 minutes before whisking them together. Once the cream and chocolate are whisked together, and all the chocolate is completely melted, press a piece of plastic wrap onto the top of the ganache, and set aside to cool. Note: To store the ganache, place in the refrigerator. When you want to use it, take it out and let it sit at room temperature for approximately 20 minutes so that it will be easier to spread onto the cake .
Prepare the Cake:
Place the Snickerdoodle sponge (approximately 3 cups) in a large mixing bowl. Add Snickerdoodle Buttercream, approximately ¼ – ½ cup, and then crumble the sponge into small pieces and thoroughly mix the cake and buttercream together. You want the cake to hold together, so take a small ball of the cake mixture and press it into a disc shape in your hand. If the cake cracks or crumbles at all while doing this, add more buttercream, a little bit at a time.
Once the cake mixture is the desired consistency, form into a rectangle and place on a piece of parchment paper. Place another piece of parchment paper on top and use a rolling pin to roll the dough into a large, flat rectangle that is about 1/8 – 1/4 inch thick. Note: I rolled the cake into approximately 1/8 inches for this cake roll to have a stronger espresso chocolate flavor. Remove the parchment paper and use a paring knife to cut a rectangle in the cake. Remove the excess and set it aside to use for another cake roll or some cake pops.
Add Espresso Chocolate Ganache, Cinnamon and Sugar, and the Roll the Cake:
Add the espresso chocolate ganache and spread into a thin layer on top of the cake dough. Add equal parts of ground cinnamon and granulated sugar to a small bowl and mix the two ingredients together. Generously sprinkle the cinnamon and sugar mixture over the top of the ganache.
Next, gently fold one side of the cake to start the rolling portion of the cake roll process. Use the parchment paper to continue to roll the cake until it is all tightly rolled together. Place this onto a sheet pan and pop that into the freezer for at least 15 minutes to let the cake and fillings slightly harden.
Top with Caramelized White Chocolate and Cinnamon Ganache and Festive Sprinkles:
Remove the cake roll from the freezer and cut a thin strip off each end of the cake roll. Using a piping bag filled with the ganache, pipe a thick drizzle onto the top of the cake roll. Sprinkle some Christmas sprinkles on top of the ganache drizzle. Place in the freezer for at least 30 minutes to allow the cake roll to completely harden as it is much easier to cut neat slices.
Cut the Roll and Serve:
Remove the cake roll from the freezer and use a sharp knife to cut even slices. Enjoy!
Notes:
- You can either leave the cake roll in the freezer until you are ready to cut before serve, or you may cut the cake rolls ahead of time and keep them in the freezer until you are ready to serve.
- I recommend that this cake roll be kept in the freezer until close to the time of service so that the slices will be easier to transfer to a plate or serving vessel when it is slightly frozen.
- The cake roll comes to room temperature pretty quickly, so you will not have to wait long to serve it.
Thank you so much for checking out this post! I hope that you give this super easy snickerdoodle dessert a try! Please leave a comment below to let me know if you made this and how you enjoyed it!
Check back tomorrow for the final day of Snickerdoodle Week!
