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Peanut butter cup cake roll is the perfect cake for peanut butter and chocolate lovers. This easy Reese’s cake roll recipe is rich chocolate cake filled with creamy peanut butter filling. It’s topped with chocolate ganache and covered in peanut butter cups! Basically, this is the BEST CAKE ROLL EVER.
Table of Contents
What is a Reese’s Cake Roll?
I realized that, in all the cake rolls I’ve ever made (and there are a lot of them), I’ve never made one with peanut butter.
It’s a Peanut Butter Cup Cake Roll: chocolate cake filled with peanut butter cup filling. Then it’s glazed with ganache and topped with more peanut butter cups.
Why you’ll love this recipe
Cake rolls are really easy to make. They’re that dessert that everyone oooohs and aaaaahs over. They think you’re Houdini or something because, you know, you got filling inside a cake roll. It’s magic!
I promise you, the peanut butter cup cake roll is easy to make. The recipe is a little time intensive, just because of all the cooling and waiting, but the recipe itself is EASY. You can make the cake batter with a hand mixer and one bowl, and the same goes for the filling. The only thing special you need for this recipe is the right pan. Order yourself a jelly roll pan today!
How to make a Peanut Butter Chocolate Cake Roll
However, in case you’ve never seen my photo tutorial on making a cake roll, I decided to make you a how-to video.
- Make the cake by beating the eggs for a full 3 minutes (5 if using a hand mixer). Then mix in the rest of the ingredients and bake in a jelly roll pan.
- While the cake is baking lay a kitchen towel onto a work surface and cover it with powdered sugar.
- Flip the hot cake over onto the powdered sugar towel and roll it up into the towel. You can also use parchment paper for this.
- Once it’s cool, make the filling by mixing all the ingredients. Carefully unroll the cake and fill it, then reroll it.
- Make the ganache frosting and glaze the top, covering it with more peanut butter cups.
Expert Cake Roll Tips
- It’s better to overbake the cake then under bake it. It’s done when it lightly springs back when touched.
- Roll it while it’s hot. (That’s a song, right?)
- If you don’t get powdered sugar all over the far wall of your kitchen when you flip over your cake, you may not have used enough on your towel. 😉
- Again, roll it while it’s hot. (I can’t help it, it’s catchy.)
- Be sure to chill it before you frost and or slice it. This gives the filling time to firm up a bit so it doesn’t squish out when you cut it.
- You can always top this with a sprinkle of powdered sugar instead of ganache.
- If it cracks, it could be for so many reasons. Not cooked enough, over cooked, humid air, dry air, Mercury is in retrograde, etc. Just use some filling to paste it together and add more ganache and peanut butter cups on top. NO ONE WILL KNOW.
- You can make the cake ahead (before frosting) – wrap it in plastic wrap and chill for up to 2 days. Freeze unfrosted cake for up to one month.
Other Cake Roll Recipes
Peanut Butter Cup Cake Roll
Ingredients
For the Cake
- 3 large eggs
- ¾ cup (150g) granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons brewed coffee or water
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¼ cup (20g) unsweetened cocoa powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ¾ cup (93g) all-purpose flour
- Powdered sugar to aid in rolling
For the Filling & Topping:
- 2 ounces (113g) cream cheese softened
- ⅓ cup (89g) peanut butter
- 1 cup (113g) powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 4 tablespoons + ⅔ cup (59ml + 158ml) heavy whipping cream
- 7 regular size Reese’s peanut butter cups chopped (about 1 cup chopped)
- 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
Instructions
- Make the Cake: preheat oven to 350°F. Line a jelly roll (10×15”) pan with foil and spray with cooking spray (I like to use the spray with flour).
- Beat eggs at high speed for 3 minutes, until frothy and dark yellow. Beat in sugar, coffee or water, and vanilla extract. Mix in cocoa, salt, and baking powder, then mix in flour. Stir just until blended.
- Spread in prepared pan. Batter will be in a very thin layer and you will need to use a wooden spoon or spatula to spread it to all the corners of the pan. Bake for 10-15 minutes. You’ll know it’s done because if you lightly poke the top with your fingertip it will slightly bounce back.
- While the cake is baking, set a clean kitchen towel out on a large work surface. Sprinkle liberally with powdered sugar (about 1/4 cup). As soon as the cake comes out of the oven, turn it over on the kitchen towel sprinkled with powdered sugar. Remove foil carefully.
- Working at the short end, fold the edge of the towel over the cake. Roll tightly, rolling up the cake into the towel. Let cool completely while rolled, at least one hour (or you can wrap it and chill it overnight).
- Make the Filling: beat cream cheese and peanut butter with a hand mixer until smooth. Beat in powdered sugar until crumbly, then add vanilla and 2 tablespoons heavy whipping cream. Mix until smooth and a spreadable consistency, adding up to 2 additional tablespoons of heavy whipping cream. Stir in 1/2 cup chopped peanut butter cups.
- Assemble Cake: Unroll the cooled cake carefully and then spread the filling on the cake, leaving 1” without filling at either end. Re-roll cake, scooping out any filling that spills out as you roll. Cover with plastic wrap and chill for at least one hour before frosting.
- Make the topping: place chocolate chips and 2/3 cup heavy whipping cream in a microwave safe bowl or measuring cup. Microwave for about 30-60 seconds, then whisk until smooth. Chill for about 20 minutes or freeze for 10, until it thickens to a pourable but not watery consistency.
- Place cake roll on a wire rack set over a cookie sheet. Pour the ganache over the cake evenly. Top with remaining chopped peanut butter cups. Chill until set. Slice and serve.
- May be stored, wrapped in plastic, in the refrigerator for 24 hours before serving.
Recipe Video
Recipe Nutrition
Cake Roll Recipes from Friends:
Lightened Up Banana Split Cake Roll, from It’s Yummi
Hot Chocolate Cake Roll from Will Cook for Smiles
Bailey’s Chocolate Cake Roll from Lemons for Lulu
Candy Cane Cake Roll from Wine and Glue
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I just tried making this and the cake never came off the foil – should I use parchment paper? I sprayed the heck out of the foul with cooking spray… Maybe it was undercooked? But it didn’t look like it.. Help!!
Did you use the cooking spray with flour? That’s what I always use. If it didn’t come off the foil, that could be why, but it could also be so many other reasons. Without being with you in the kitchen, I’m not sure.
I don’t have w/flour. Could I sprinkle flour after I put cooking spray on the foil?
If you don’t have the kind with flour, then it’s probably best to do it the old fashioned way: rub it with butter or shortening and then dust it with flour. 🙂
Help i don’t know what went wrong followed it to a tee but my batter is too thick
Not being in your kitchen with you, I’m not sure what too thick is. If you watch the video in the post, you’ll see mine was thick too, and it takes some work to spread it in the pan. Is it thick like cookie dough? If so, I’m not sure what could have happened. It should be a thick cake batter.
Thank you for your quick response! Now i see, you freeze the roll completely with filling and all? I thought you freeze just the cake, then defrost, fill and frost. Just wanted to clarify before I start my baking today. Thank you?
I froze the final product!
At what point do you freeze the cake? After you roll it, in the jelly roll pan or when removed from the pan prior to rolling in the towel? It doesn’t seem as though it would be to forgiving since it is so delicate. Thanks.
When I froze this cake, I did it after I made it completely. You can wrap it in plastic and freeze, then thaw in the refrigerator. If you’re worried about the topping getting cloudy after defrosting (mine didn’t) you can wrap the filled cake well with plastic, freeze, thaw in the fridge, then top. Enjoy!
Have you ever made an egg nog roll? I make pumpkin rolls but a friend asked me to make him one that tastes like egg nog. I haven’t come up with anything. Thanks for your help
I’ve made one with eggnog filling: https://www.crazyforcrust.com/2014/12/gingerbread-cake-roll-eggnog-whipped-cream/, which you could use with the chocolate or a vanilla base. If you have a vanilla cake roll recipe (https://www.crazyforcrust.com/2013/06/patriotic-cake-roll/) you could probably add some cinnamon and nutmeg and maybe some rum extract to make it more eggnog like?
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