The week of yummy peppermint posts continues today with a Peppermint & Cookie Cake Roll. The best things about cake rolls are that they are super easy to make and faster to make than a traditional layer cake. This cake roll combines super moist chocolate sponge with delightful peppermint buttercream, chocolate cookie pieces, candy cane pieces, Christmas sprinkles, and edible glitter.
One of my favorite things about having leftover cake scraps, buttercream, and other items from making cakes is seeing what I can make with them. For this cake roll, I used the leftover chocolate sponge, frosting, and candy cane pieces from my Peppermint Bark Cake (coming to the blog tomorrow for the final day of Peppermint Week!), as well as extra Hot Chocolate Buttercream from my Hot Chocolate Cake to make this cake roll.
Ingredients:
- Chocolate Sponge (the link for my recipe is provided here)
- Hot Chocolate Buttercream (the link for my recipe is provided here)
- Chocolate Ganache (used with buttercream as a binder for cake scraps) (the link for my recipe is provided here)
- Peppermint Buttercream (the link for my recipe is provided here)
- Chocolate Cookie Pieces
- Candy Cane Pieces
- Chocolate Ganache (used to coat the cake roll)
- Christmas Sprinkles
- Edible Glitter
Prepare the Cake:
Place the chocolate sponge (approximately 3-4 cups) in a large mixing bowl and crumble the sponge into small pieces. Add a combination of Hot Chocolate Buttercream and chocolate ganache, approximately ½ cup total to start, and then thoroughly mix the cake, buttercream, and ganache 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 and/or ganache, a little bit at a time.
Notes:
- You can use just the Hot Chocolate Buttercream if you desire, but I ran out of buttercream, so I used some.
- I recommend using chocolate buttercream and/or vanilla buttercream to bind the cake pieces because you get a great chocolate flavor. If you were to use peppermint buttercream for both the binder in the cake as well as the filling of the cake roll, then the flavors of the chocolate cake and peppermint filling would not stand out as well.
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 ¼ inch thick. 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 Peppermint Buttercream, Chocolate Cookie Pieces, and Candy Cane Pieces:
Add small dollops of peppermint buttercream onto the cake. Use an offset spatula to spread the buttercream into a thin layer.
Sprinkle a generous amount of chocolate cookie pieces onto the buttercream layer. Sprinkle candy cane pieces on top of the cookie pieces.
Roll the Cake:
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 15 minutes to let the cake and fillings slightly harden.
Top with Chocolate Ganache, Sprinkles, and Edible Glitter:
Add ½ cup of semi-sweet chocolate and ½ cup of heavy whipping cream to a microwave-safe bowl. Heat for approximately 45 seconds – 1 minute. Whisk the chocolate and cream together. If not all the chocolate is completely melted, then put it back in the microwave for an additional 15-20 seconds. Stir the mixture again. Repeat this heating and stirring process until the chocolate is completely melted. Remove the cake roll from the freezer and pour the ganache over the top of the cake roll.
Sprinkle Christmas sprinkles on top of the chocolate ganache. I decided to use a mixture of red sprinkles, green sprinkles, and some white snowflake sprinkles. Lastly, sprinkle some edible glitter over the cake roll. I used a combination of red and pearl edible glitters, but the pearl stood out the best against the chocolate ganache. 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 each end off the cake roll. Trim the extra ganache and set it aside for another project, or serve it with some of the cake slices. Then use the sharp knife to cut even slices, making sure to wipe the knife off between each cut to ensure that the slices will look clean. Lastly, serve and 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 because the marshmallow cream is a bit soft, so 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 and delicious peppermint dessert a try! Please leave a comment below to let me know if you made this and how you enjoyed it!
Make sure to come back tomorrow for the final day of Peppermint Week!
