Green tea Swiss roll cake combines the slight bitterness of matcha with sweet and creamy strawberry mousse.
I spent the last semester of my college undergrad studying in Tokyo. It was a dream come true. I had been interested in Japanese culture since I was a young child.
There are a growing number Japanese cuisine inspired recipes on my site. From the super popular Japanese Milk Bread to the anime favorite Melon Pan, there are so many sweet baked treats to explore!
Here’s another tasty cake to add to the list!
Matcha Swiss Roll Cake
Japan is beautiful to visit all year round. From the snow in Hokkaido during the winer months to the beaches of Okinawa during the summer, there is so much see and do.
Hands down, my favorite time to visit is during cherry blossom season.
Matcha and cherry blossom is a popular combination used in cakes, ice creams, and breads.
Since cherry blossom is hard to come by in the United States, I swapped in the strawberries.
Green tea and strawberries pair well so well together. The slight bitterness of the matcha is complemented by the sweet and fresh flavors of the strawberry.
Cake Components
Matcha jelly roll cake
The green tea cake is baked in a 15×10-inch rimmed baking sheet, also known as a jelly roll pan.
Matcha powder is the key flavor component of the cake. Matcha powder is Japanese green tea pulverized into a finely powdered tea. Learn more about my favorite matcha powders in this matcha sugar cookie recipe post.
The cake batter is fairly simple to mix together. No stand mixer needed. Although, it would be helpful to use an electric hand mixer to whip the egg whites. Best of all, the cake bakes in less than 10 minutes!
Strawberry Mousse
The strawberry mousse is made by combining whipped cream with sweetened strawberry puree and gelatin.
Don’t omit the gelatin! The gelatin strengthens the mousse mixture, allowing the filling to be sliceable.
GELATIN 101: Gelatin Sheets vs Powdered Gelatin
The listed recipe uses silver strength gelatin sheet. You may substitute standard powdered gelatin. For conversion:
- 1 (0.25 oz) envelope granulated/powdered gelatin is equal to 1 Tablespoon gelatin.
- 1 Tablespoon gelatin is equal to 3 sheets of silver strength gelatin
The strawberry mousse recipe calls for 1/2 sheet of silver gelatin. That is equal to 1/2 teaspoon of powdered gelatin.
Assemble Swiss Roll Cake
- Spread cake batter into an even layer on a parchment lined jelly roll pan. If you have a silpat mat or nonstick silicon baking mat, that would work best. Bake until cake springs back when touched.
- While the cake is still hot, turn cake over onto a clean kitchen towel. Slowly and gently remove parchment (or silicon baking mat) from cake. Don’t worry if your cake layer ends up looking distorted and destroyed. This part of the cake will be covered with the mousse filling.
- Use the kitchen towel to roll the cake into a log. Let the cake rest like this until it has cooled to room temperature.
- Unroll the cake and remove the kitchen towel. Add a generous amount of strawberry mousse filling.
- Use an offset spatula to spread filling to an even layer.
- Use your hands to gently roll the cake back into a log. Place the seam at the bottom of the cake to prevent it from unraveling. Cover log with plastic wrap and let chill in the fridge for the mousse to set up.
Green tea swiss roll filled with strawberry mousse is a terrific springtime dessert.
Swap in other seasonal fruits when sweet ripe strawberries are not available. Other fruits that pair wonderfully with matcha include: mango, blackberry, and blueberries.
More Strawberry Matcha Recipes
- Iced strawberry matcha latte layers together fresh strawberry sauce, sweet milk, and prepared matcha for one creamy drink!
- Matcha ice cream shave ice features homemade matcha ice cream served with fresh mochi, sweetened red beans, and sliced strawberries.
- No bake strawberry matcha cheesecake is a light and fluffy summertime dessert.
Matcha Green Tea Swiss Roll with Strawberry Mousse
Ingredients
Matcha Green Tea Cake:
- 1 cup cake flour, (120 g)
- 2 Tablespoons matcha powder*, (15 g)
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt, or kosher salt
- 5 large eggs, separated
- ¾ cup granulated sugar, (150 g)
- ¼ cup whole milk
Strawberry Mousse:
- 1 ⅔ cup strawberry puree
- 1 gelatin sheet, **, bloomed
- ½ cup granulated sugar, (100 g) or more depending on sweetness of strawberries
- 2 cups heavy cream, chilled
Instructions
Matcha Green Tea Cake:
- Preheat oven to 400°F. Line 15×10-inch jelly roll baking sheet with parchment paper or silpat mat. Set aside.
- In a small bowl, whisk together cake flour, matcha powder, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, whisk together egg yolks, granulated sugar, and milk until pale in color.
- In another clean bowl, whip egg white to medium-stiff peaks.
- Add dry flour mixture to yolk mixture. Fold to combine. Add whipped eggs in three additions. Gently fold to incorporate egg whites.
- Pour batter to prepared baking sheet. Use an offset spatula to spread batter into an even layer. Bake for 8-10 minutes until cake springs back to touch. Remove from oven and run a mini offset spatula around the edges of the pan to loosen cake.
- Invert cake into a clean kitchen towel. Slowly and gently remove parchment (or silpat) from cake. Use the kitchen towel to roll cake into a log. Let the cake rest on a wire rack to cool to room temperature.
- Once cake is cool, unroll the cake and remove the kitchen towel. Add a generous amount of strawberry mousse filing. Use an offset spatula to spread filling to an even layer.
- Use your hands to gently roll the cake back into a log. Place the seam at the bottom of the cake to prevent it from unraveling. Cover log with plastic wrap and let chill in the fridge for at least 30 minutes to allow mousse to set up.
Strawberry Mousse:
- In a clean bowl, mix together strawberry puree and sugar. Adjust the amount of sugar depending on the sweetness of your strawberries. Take about ¼ cup of strawberry mixture and place in separate bowl. You will use this for the gelatin.
- Fill a small bowl of ice cold water to bloom gelatin for about 3 minutes. Squeeze out excess water from gelatin. Place soft gelatin sheets into bowl of reserved strawberry mixture. Microwave mixture 10 seconds at a time until gelatin has melted. Pour mixture into the rest of the strawberry puree. Set aside. Allow mixture to sit and come back to room temperature.
- In another bowl, whip chilled heavy cream to medium peaks. Add whipped cream to cooled strawberry mixture in three additions. Gently fold cream into mixture.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Like this recipe? Rate & comment below!
Whoops, sorry. I meant I have the Bronze sheets.
I have PerfectaGel Gold Gelatin Sheets. Do I need to make an adjustment given that you use the Silver Gelatin Sheets? Thanks so much!
Yes, you need to adjust the amount of gelatin. Please check the conversion here: https://blog.modernistpantry.com/advice/the-confusion-over-conversion/
Hi there, what size jelly roll pan do you use?
18×13-inch
Hello. That looks so good. Thanks for sharing. I only have gelatin powder in the house. How many grams of gelatin powder should I use to yield the same result? Thanks
Use 1 tsp gelatin powder