This light and spongey champagne cake roll is flavored with reduced champagne and vanilla. Fill with champagne whipped cream to make an extra sparkly and celebratory New Year’s Eve dessert!
Let’s toast to the holiday season and a very happy new year ahead. I’m hoping you saved room for cake. And not just any cake… CHAMPAGNE CAKE ROLL. Cheers!
Champagne Cake Roll
There are two parts to today’s champagne cake roll.
- Champagne Sponge Cake
- Champagne Whipped Cream
Before we even talk about how to make the sponge cake or whipped cream, we need to discuss the champagne. Let’s take something we learned from Strawberry Cake and reduce a flavor down. Reducing a flavor down packs as much flavor as possible into the cake without altering the cake’s texture. And today’s flavor is champagne! Reduce 1 cup of your favorite champagne down to 4 Tablespoons, which will take around 20 minutes. The reduced champagne will be dark with a very concentrated flavor. Delish.
Let’s Make Sponge Cake
Have you ever made a chocolate cake roll or a yule log cake for Christmas? Today’s cake is a sponge cake, just like those cake roll recipes. (It’s much easier, too—hardly any decoration!)
The entire cake is light and airy, floating on your tastebuds just like a glass of bubbly. Have you ever made sponge cake before? What’s interesting about sponge cake is that it’s made without butter or oil. All the magic happens with the eggs. We’ll whip egg whites and a little sugar into stiff peaks, pictured below, then fold them into the cake batter.
We’ll also use egg yolks, sifted cake flour (lightest texture ever!), baking powder for added lift, vanilla extract, and the reduced champagne. Takes an extra minute to whip the eggs, but the texture is unbelievable.
Tip: You get more volume with room temperature eggs than cold eggs. Before beginning, set the eggs in a cup of warm water for 10 minutes to warm them up.
Bake the cake roll in a 10×15 inch pan. A larger pan, such as a 12×17 inch pan, is doable but it yields a thinner and more fragile cake. 10×15-inch jelly roll pan is best.
How to Shape a Cake Roll
Shaping a cake roll is easier than it looks. There are two tricks:
- The 1st trick is to roll the cake up, without filling, while it’s still warm. Why? If the cake cools in the rolled shape, it will make rolling the cake with the filling inside EASIER.
- The 2nd trick is to roll the cake up with a clean kitchen towel or piece of parchment paper. Why? The warm cake will be sticky and stick to itself otherwise. Dust the towel or parchment paper with confectioners’ sugar for a little extra sweetness… and just in case there is any chance of sticking!
These two tricks help guarantee no rips, no cracks, and no sticking.
Champagne Whipped Cream
Believe it or not, the champagne whipped cream filling is even lighter and fluffier than the sponge cake! It’s made from heavy cream/heavy whipping cream, a little sugar, reduced champagne, a touch of vanilla. We use 2 Tablespoons of reduced champagne in the cake, brush the cake with 1 Tablespoon, then use 1 Tablespoon in the whipped cream. Beat it all together until fluffy.
What does it taste like? It actually tastes a little citrus-y! Bright and refreshing with the splashy taste of champagne. It has a really unique and refreshing flavor and I can see it tasting unbelievable on everything from cheesecake and choux pastry cream puffs to lemon berry trifle and strawberry shortcake. Oooooh and pavlova, too!
Totally optional, but I sprinkled cocoa powder on the inside of the cake roll before adding the champagne whipped cream. Just a little something extra if you’re feelin’ it.
Make sure the cake chills in the refrigerator for a few minutes before slicing because it’s much easier to cut that way!
Such a special dessert for any occasion requiring a little bubbly!
Need more New Year’s inspiration?
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Champagne Cake Roll
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Total Time: 4 hours, 10 minutes
- Yield: 10-12 slices
- Category: Cake
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
This light and spongey champagne cake roll is flavored with reduced champagne and vanilla. Fill with champagne whipped cream to make an extra sparkly and celebratory New Year’s Eve dessert. Both the cake and whipped cream can be made ahead of time– see make ahead instructions.
Ingredients
- 1 cup (240ml) champagne*
- 1 cup (105g) sifted cake flour* (spooned & leveled)
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 4 large eggs, at room temperature and separated
- 3/4 cup (150g) granulated sugar, divided
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
For Rolling
- 1 cup (120g) confectioners’ sugar, plus extra for topping
- optional: 1 Tablespoon unsweetened natural or dutch-process cocoa powder
Champagne Whipped Cream
- 1 and 1/2 cups (360ml) heavy cream
- 1/3 cup (40g) confectioners’ sugar
- 1 Tablespoon reduced champagne (from step 1)
- 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Instructions
- Reduce the champagne: In a small saucepan over low heat, simmer the champagne, whisking occasionally, until it reduces down to 4 Tablespoons (1/4 cup). This usually takes around 20 minutes, but the time varies. Place reduced champagne in the refrigerator until completely cool.
- Preheat oven to 350°F (177°C). Grease a 10×15-inch baking pan with nonstick spray or butter, then line it with parchment paper so the cake seamlessly releases in step 7. Spray or grease the parchment paper too. We want an extremely nonstick surface for this cake roll.
- Make the cake: Whisk the cake flour, baking powder, and salt together in a medium bowl. Set aside.
- Using a hand mixer or a stand mixer fitted with whisk attachment, beat the egg whites and 1/4 cup sugar together on high speed for 4-5 minutes or until stiff peaks form. Transfer to another bowl. Using the same mixing bowl you just had the egg whites in (no need to clean it!), add the egg yolks, remaining sugar, 2 Tablespoons reduced champagne, and vanilla extract. Beat together on high speed for 3-4 minutes or until light in color.
- Add half of the whipped egg whites into the egg yolk mixture. Beat on low speed for 10 seconds. Repeat with remaining egg whites and beat on low for 10 seconds. Finally, add the flour mixture and beat on low until the batter is completely combined. Do not overmix.
- Spread batter evenly into prepared pan. Bake for 15 minutes or until the cake springs back when poked with your finger.
- Roll the cake: As the cake bakes, place a piece of parchment paper (larger than the cake) or a thin kitchen towel flat on the counter. Sprinkle with 1 cup of confectioners’ sugar. Once the cake comes out of the oven, immediately invert it onto the parchment/towel. Peel off the parchment paper that was on the bottom of the cake as it baked. Starting with the narrow end, begin rolling the cake up with the parchment/towel. Do this slowly and gently. The cake will be warm. Allow the cake to cool completely rolled up in the parchment/towel. Place in the refrigerator to speed it up, about 2 hours.
- Remove the cake roll from the refrigerator and allow to sit on the counter for a few minutes to warm up as you prepare the whipped cream.
- Make the whipped cream: Using a hand mixer or a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, whip the heavy cream, confectioners’ sugar, 1 Tablespoon reduced champagne, and vanilla extract on medium-high speed until medium to stiff peaks form, about 2-3 minutes.
- Gently and slowly unroll the cake. Brush with remaining reduced champagne. Dust with cocoa powder, if desired. Spread whipped cream evenly on top, leaving about a 1/2 inch border around the cake. Gently roll the cake back up, without the parchment/towel this time. Loosely cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 20 minutes before slicing and serving. Dust with more confectioners’ sugar, if desired.
- Cover leftover cake and store in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
Notes
- Make Ahead Instructions: Reduce the champagne up to 3 days in advance. Cover tightly and refrigerate until ready to use. You can prepare the cake through step 7 and chill the rolled up cake in the refrigerator for up to 1 day before continuing with step 8. Prepared cake roll, with whipped cream, freezes well for up to 2-3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator before slicing and serving. Prepare whipped cream up to 1 day in advance. Cover and store in the refrigerator until ready to use.
- Special Tools (affiliate links): Saucepan | Whisk | 10×15-inch Baking Pan | Glass Mixing Bowls | Electric Mixer (Handheld or Stand) | Parchment Paper or Thin Kitchen/Tea Towel | Pastry Brush | Fine Mesh Sieve
- Champagne: Use your favorite champagne. If you enjoy drinking it, you’ll enjoy it in this cake!
- Cake Flour: Sift the cake flour before measuring. I strongly recommend using cake flour, not all-purpose flour. In a pinch, you can use this homemade cake flour substitute.
Great cake! We only use 3 tablespoons of the reduced wine, right? From the recipe, we use two tablespoons in the batter, and one in the frosting.
Hi Marian, We use 2 Tablespoons of reduced champagne in the cake, brush the cake with 1 Tablespoon, then use 1 Tablespoon in the whipped cream.
Can I change the whipped cream and add some drops of MINT or PEPPERMINT instead?
Hi Andi, you could use plain whipped cream and add a few drops of peppermint extract instead of using the champagne whipped cream.