Christmas Roulade Recipes To Try For The Holidays

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Last Updated on August 3, 2023 by Share My Kitchen

Christmas roulade desserts are crowd-pleasing, delicious, and simple to make. They may be retro, but they will never truly go out of fashion. You can make a chocolate version and three different versions.

Recipe Tips

• The classic chocolate roulade takes less time to make than a traditional cake because the sponge is ready in no time.
• This is a great dessert to serve at dinner parties, as you can make the roulade up until 5 hours in advance.
• Line the Swiss roll tin using a sheet of non-stick baking parchment. Then, trim the parchment so that it stands taller than the tin by 3 cm. This will allow the roulade some space to rise.
• Use an electric hand mixer or whisk to beat the eggs and sugar at high speed until the mixture becomes thick, pale, and airy. When lifted, the beaters should leave behind a ribbon-like trail. You can use eggs that are a couple of days old and allow them to reach room temperature prior to whisking. They will whip up easily and create a lighter roulade.
• Try to keep as much air as you can when folding the cocoa and flour into the whisked egg mixture. Use a large metal spoon or spatula to gently chop through the mixture. Rotate the bowl as you go.

Before you begin, you need to use a classic chocolate Christmas roulade recipe.

1. Follow your recipe to weigh out the ingredients.
2. Then, grease and line a Swiss-roll tin with baking paper.
3. Gently fold the cocoa and flour into the whisked egg mixture.
4. Pour the hot cream on top of the butter and chocolate.
5. Before rolling up, spread some ganache on top of the roulade.
6. To protect your plate when icing, you can use paper strips.

How to Make Chocolate Leaves.

1. Heat 200g of plain chocolate in a heatproof bowl over a saucepan of simmering water. Let cool for 2 minutes, and then mix until smooth.
2. Spread a thin layer of chocolate onto the underside of a clean bay or holly leaves using a fine paintbrush. To make a double layer of chocolate on just one side of the leaf, allow it to set up before you apply the second coat.
3. Let the chocolate to set in the refrigerator. Once the chocolate has set, gently peel the leaves away to expose the chocolate. The actual holly leaves should be thrown out as they can cause gastric problems.

You can try these variations:

Once you’ve mastered the sponge technique, the possibilities are endless. These ideas are just a start. You can also find more christmas roulade recipes to try.

Iced Cherry and Almond Christmas Roulade

1. Create the sponge according to the master recipe but substitute the cocoa powder and flour with 100g of ground almonds. Then, roll it up and cool it as before.
2. In the meantime, pour a 400ml tub of white chocolate ice cream or vanilla ice cream into a bowl. Let it soften in the refrigerator for 10 minutes.
3. Then, drain 500g of cherry compote using a sieve to take out any excess liquid and fold into the ice cream.
4. Unroll and spread the cherry ice cream on the unrolled roulade. Roll it again and then place in the freezer for at least 1 to 2 hours for it to become firm.
5. Decorate with white chocolate shavings and toasted flaked almonds. Then, serve in small slices with cherry compote.

Cinnamon Spiced Christmas Roulade with Figs, Whipped Mascarpone and Port Syrup

1. The sponge can be made as per the master recipe. You can replace the cocoa with 40g of plain flour, and you can also add 1 1/2 teaspoons of ground cinnamon with the vanilla extract to the mix. Then, roll it up and cool as before.
2. Divide 4 ripe figs into sixths. Beat 200g mascarpone with 100g Greek yoghurt and 2 tbsp of icing sugar until the mixture is light.
3. Then, bring 200ml of port, 90g caster sugar, and a cinnamon stick to a boil in a small saucepan. Let it simmer for 7 minutes until the mixture thickens.
4. Stir in the figs, carefully coating them in syrup, and simmer for 2 more minutes. Set aside to allow it to cool. Next, unroll the roulade and spread the whipped mascarpone, two-thirds of the drained figs, lifted out of the syrup using a slotted spoon.
5. Reroll the roulade, and serve with remaining figs and syrup.

Coffee and Pecan Praline Christmas Roulade

1. To make a paste, mix 2 tbsp of hot water with 4 tbsp instant coffee granules. The sponge can be made as per the master recipe. You can use 100g of light brown sugar instead of caster sugar and add 40g of flour instead of cocoa powder.
2. Then, whisk the coffee mixture with the eggs and fold in the flour. Bake without the vanilla extract. Roll up and let cool as before.
3. To toast the nuts for the praline, leave the oven on. Whip together 280 ml double-cream and 1 tbsp of icing sugar until it holds its shape. Then, spread the mixture over the unrolled dough. Sprinkle with blitzed praline and roll up. Decorate with the rest of the praline.

For the Pecan Praline

1. First, spread 150g of chopped pecan nuts onto a non-stick paper-lined baking sheet and bake for 8 minutes, until the nuts are toasted.
2. In a heavy-based pan over low heat, dissolve 4 tbsp of water. Then, increase the heat up and boil, without stirring, until the syrup begins to caramelize. Once the syrup is a deep chestnut color, add the nuts to it and let it set for 15 minutes.
3. The cooled praline should be broken into small pieces. Once it is broken up, pulse the other half in a food processor to make it look like rubble.

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