Light and festive, this angel food cake roll is a perfectly rolled angel cake with a chocolate whipped cream filling; serve with berries!

CLASSIC Chocolate Rolled Angel Cake Recipe

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When I think of a Christmas cake, I think of this angel food cake roll, a nostalgic dessert that we’ve been serving for years. This warm, soft, simply delicious recipe has been on the blog since December 2011, as it came from my sister. She made this for her family for years, and today we still love this holiday treat, and our guests do, too!

Chocolate Rolled Angel Cake

This Chocolate Rolled Angel Cake is the perfect desser to make ahead! It’s fresh and festive (when you use fresh raspberries), and perfect for a special dessert. We do love holiday desserts and you may also want to try this White Chocolate Peppermint Bark Ice Cream Cake or Chocolate Peppermint Flourless Cake for entertaining!

CLASSIC Chocolate Rolled Angel Cake

For this cake I added fresh raspberries inside and you can also serve them separate on the side. You can also make it with strawberries!

Why I love this recipe

  • It’s an impressive dessert to serve friends and family.
  • You can make it ahead, and it’s super easy to cut and serve. 
  • Stretch the recipe with thinner slices to serve a crowd (or thicker if you want larger servings).

How to make CLASSIC Chocolate Rolled Angel Cake Recipe

Gather these ingredients

  • Angel food cake mix (box)
  • Water (follow the box instructions)
  • Cocoa
  • Powdered sugar
  • Heavy whipping cream
  • Vanilla extract
  • Fresh raspberries

How to make Chocolate Rolled Angel Cake Recipe

How do you make a rolled cake with an angel food cake mix?

  1. Preheat oven to 350. Grease 15x10x1-inch baking pan. Line bottom of pan with parchment paper.
  2. Prepare cake batter as directed on package using water (add cocoa). Pour batter into lined pan.
  3. Bake until golden brown and cracks in cake appear dry. Remove from the oven.
  4. Meanwhile, place clean towel on work surface. With sifter, lightly sprinkle powdered sugar onto the towel.
  5. Loosen edges of warm cake with spatula; immediately invert cake onto sugared towel. Remove the pan and peel off the parchment paper.
  6. Starting with long side, roll up cake in towel, cool on wire rack for 45 minutes or until completely cool.
  7. Meanwhile in large bowl, beat heavy cream and powdered sugar until stiff peaks form; add in vanilla and combine.

How to make Chocolate Rolled Angel Cake

Assembling the cake

  1. To assemble the cake, carefully unroll cooled cake, removing the towel.
  2. Spread the whipped cream evenly over cake, leaving 1/2-in border.
  3. Sprinkle raspberries over whipped cream. Roll the cake, jelly-roll fashion (cake may crack).
  4. Place 2 spatulas under roll, and transfer seam side down, to long platter. Store loosely covered in refrigerator at least 1 hour or up to 6 hours.

How do you serve a rolled angel food cake?

To serve this festive cake, sprinkle with sifted powdered sugar and garnish with more fresh raspberries.

It’s an elegant presentation. This recipe is a good one because it serves at least 12!

BEST Chocolate Rolled Angel Cake Recipe

Tips and substitutions:

  • Rolling your cake can be a bit intimidating! This is why you need a clean kitchen towel dusted with powdered sugar. And the next thing is to roll it while it is warm. Let the cake cool completely and rest in the fridge before unrolling to add your cream filling.
  • You can leave out the cocoa if you don’t want to make “chocolate” cake.
  • Use any kind of fresh berries, or use a variety of berries and serve it for the Fourth of July.
  • Dust the top with powdered sugar or a mixture of powdered sugar plus cocoa (for more chocolate flavor).

Easy Chocolate Rolled Angel Cake Recipe

How to store the cake: This cake needs to be kept stored covered in the fridge because of the fresh whipped cream. It tastes very good served cold, and lasts about five days in the fridge!

Tasty CLASSIC Chocolate Rolled Angel Cake Recipe

Nostalgic memories and cake

Years ago my sisters and I would rotate houses for our “sister Christmas dinner.” It was special because ever since our Mother passed away, we told each other we’d still give small gifts to each other. (Growing up together in Medford, Oregon.)

CLASSIC Chocolate Rolled Angel Cake Recipe - tinker bell

We still celebrate our “big” birthdays and Christmas with something litte, a reminder of our love for one another. 

Our Mom loved to give gifts, and she always picked out just the right thing for us, too. So our giving, in a sense, is a reminder of our Mom, too.

I’m thankful for my sisters, and today I’m sharing one my sis Di’s specialty desserts that she makes for Christmas, a classic Chocolate Rolled Angel Cake Recipe.

You’ll see how light and simple the recipe is, and elegant, too. Raspberries on the inside and just a few for color on the serving platter. Beautiful!

I hope you enjoy it, too!

More chocolate cake recipes to try:

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Chocolate Rolled Angel Cake

Light and festive cake perfect for a holiday dinner party.
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 22 minutes
cooling time: 45 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 22 minutes
Yield: 10
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Ingredients
 

  • 1 box angel food cake mix
  • Water , according to the package directions
  • 2 Tbsp cocoa
  • 1 ½ cups whipping cream
  • 2 Tbsp powdered sugar, + more for dusting
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 2 cups fresh raspberries, or more if desired

Equipment

  • 1 Jelly Roll Pan
  • Parchment paper

Instructions
 

  • Prehat oven to 350 degrees. Grease 15x10x1-inch baking jelly roll pan. Line bottom of the pan with parchment paper.
  • Prepare cake batter as directed on package using water. Add the cocoa and mix until combined. Spoon the batter into the lined jelly roll pan.
  • Bake for 17-22 minutes or until golden brown and cracks in cake appear dry. Remove from the cake from the oven.

Rolling the cake:

  • Meanwhile, place a clean towel on a flat work surface. With sifter, lightly sprinkle powdered sugar onto the towel.
  • While the cake is still warm, loosen the edges with a spatula; immediately invert cake onto the sugared towel. Remove the pan and peel off the parchment paper.
  • Starting with long side, roll up the cake in the towel and allow to cool on a wire rack for 45 minutes or until completely cool. You can place it in the refrigerator, too.

Assembling the cake:

  • In a large bowl, beat the heavy whipping cream until stiff peaks form. Add the powdered sugar and vanilla and gently combine.
  • To assemble the cake, carefully unroll the cooled cake, removing it from the towel. Spread whipped cream evenly over the cake, leaving ½-in border.
  • Sprinkle fresh raspberries over the whipped cream. Re-roll the cake, jelly-roll fashion (cake may crack some).
  • Place 2 spatulas under the cake roll, and transfer seam side down to a long platter. Store loosely covered in refrigerator at least 1 hour or up to 6 hours.
  • To serve, sprinkle cake with sifted powdered sugar and garnish with more fresh raspberries.

Notes

Reposted from December 2011.
Cuisine: American
Course: Dessert
Calories: 309kcal, Carbohydrates: 46g, Protein: 4g, Fat: 13g, Saturated Fat: 8g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g, Monounsaturated Fat: 3g, Cholesterol: 40mg, Sodium: 383mg, Potassium: 127mg, Fiber: 2g, Sugar: 32g, Vitamin A: 533IU, Vitamin C: 7mg, Calcium: 100mg, Iron: 0.5mg
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Chocolate Rolled Angel Cake