Chocolate roll, grandma’s recipe for an easy, quick and delicious dessert, like the Nutella giraffe roll or the sweet roll with lemon cream and the Sicilian ricotta cannolo roll. The cocoa roll with mascarpone cream is an easy and quick dessert that everyone always likes. The ingredients are few and very easy to find and it takes very little fuss to prepare.

The cocoa roll is made with a sponge cake (Pan di Spagna) flavored with cocoa and a quick mascarpone cream with condensed milk and chocolate flakes, ready to make together? Let’s go right away — this grandma’s recipe for a soft chocolate roll will make you fall in love at first bite and will make everyone happy. But before we start, remember that if you want to stay updated on all my other recipes, you can follow my Facebook page and my Instagram profile.

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Difficulty: Very easy
Cost: Very inexpensive
Preparation time: 30 Minutes
Cooking time: 7 Minutes
Portions: 10
Cuisine: Italian

Ingredients

4 eggs
6.5 tbsp sugar ((about 80 g / 2.8 oz))
3/4 cup all-purpose flour ("00" flour) ((about 100 g))
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder ((about 20 g))
1 tbsp baking powder (level)
1 tsp vanilla extract (or vanilla sugar)
1/3 cup milk (only for brushing the ready sponge)
as needed crushed pistachios (for finishing)
2 1/8 cups mascarpone ((about 500 g / 17.6 oz))
1/2 tbsp milk ((about 8 g))
1/2 cup condensed milk ((about 120 g))
1 tsp vanilla extract (or vanilla sugar)
3 oz dark chocolate (chopped with a knife (about 80 g))

Tools

1 Mixer
1 Baking sheet (about 14×12 in)
1 Bowl
1 Spatula
Parchment paper
Pastry brush
Kitchen towel
Oven

Steps

To make the chocolate roll, place the eggs in a bowl, add the sugar and beat with a mixer for at least 10 minutes or until you obtain a fluffy, light and voluminous mixture.
Set the mixer aside and, with the help of a spatula, fold in the cocoa and flour in several additions, making gentle movements from the bottom to the top and taking care not to deflate the mixture.
In the same way, fold in the baking powder.
Pour the batter onto a baking sheet about 14×12 inches (lined with parchment paper) and bake in a fan-assisted oven at 338°F for about 7 minutes; check with a skewer before removing from the oven even after the 7 minutes have passed.
Remove from the oven, immediately cover with parchment paper, lift off the baking sheet and—without completely deflating the sponge cake (Pan di Spagna)—roll it up between the two layers of parchment.
Cover with a kitchen towel and let the roll cool down.
Put the mascarpone in a bowl and beat it with the beaters together with the condensed milk and vanilla sugar/extract.
You will obtain a firm mixture; adjust the consistency by adding the milk little by little and incorporating it with the beaters.
Chop the chocolate with a knife, gently unroll the roll (there’s no need to flatten it again—follow its shape so it doesn’t break) and brush with a little milk.
Spread almost all of the cream over it, leaving the final two centimeters (about 3/4 inch) of the short upper edge free, and sprinkle with the chocolate shavings.
Roll it up again using the same parchment and form the cylinder.
Place in the fridge for an hour, then move to a cutting board and trim both ends.
Brush the surface with more milk and decorate with the remaining cream and some crushed pistachios if you have any available.
The dessert is ready; you can serve it immediately or store it in the fridge and consume within 36 hours (if possible, keep it in an airtight container).
If you’re looking for other recipes for a delicious sweet roll, also check out:
– Fiordilatte ice cream roll covered with pistachio;
– Strawberry roll with ricotta cream;
– Mimosa strawberry roll;
– Grandma’s lemon roll;
– Homemade tiramisu roll with eggless cream;
– Cocoa roll with cream and strawberries.