Tender low carb chocolate cake with a sugar-free strawberry cheesecake filling. This flourless, grain-free treat is worth all the effort!
Here is the plain and honest truth: cake rolls are finicky little buggers. Even when they are made with gluten and sugar, it’s hard to know whether they will roll properly without breaking. But when you take away the gluten, the magical substance that holds everything together, they are even more finicky. I’ve had my share of cracked and broken cake rolls, and I’ve had my share of the subsequent frustration. But I keep trying, because they are so darned pretty. Nothing looks prettier than that spiral slice of cake with some gorgeous filling swirled up around it. If you can pull it off, it will be ever so rewarding.
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Which is why, when I saw a delicious flourless chocolate cake roll filled with peanut butter from my friend Brianne of Cupcakes and Kale Chips, I had a flare of hope. Hers looked perfect and of course it married my favourite flavours together. But hers was made with sugar and sugar also helps in baking because it keeps things moist. Many low carb sweeteners are non-hygroscopic, meaning they don’t attract moisture the way sugar does. Cakes that are drier tend to break and crack more easily. So I knew I still had my work cut out for me to figure out how to make a more flexible cake that wouldn’t crack. I wanted to try my hand at it but I was a little intimidated, truth be told
And then I had all of these gorgeous Oregon strawberries from the farmer’s market and some cream cheese and inspiration hit. A delicious low carb chocolate cake roll with a strawberry cheesecake filling, how awesome would that be? But could I really make it work? I read four or five different recipes and took little bits of each as some guidance. And then I went with my gut, which told me I still needed something to give the cake a little more flexibility. And this time, in pure experimentation, I went with grassfed gelatin. I was delighted to find that the cake didn’t dry out during baking and that it had a nice spongy quality that allowed it to roll up well. Cake Roll Victory!
Please see my Chocolate Strawberry Cake Roll on Swerve Sweetener
Nutrition: Serves 12. Each serving has 3.5 g NET CARBS.
Food energy: 217kcal
Total fat: 17.75g
Calories from fat: 159
Cholesterol: 110mg
Carbohydrate: 5.62g
Total dietary fiber: 2.12g
Protein: 5.08g
Sugar Alcohols (erythritol): 21.25g
Taylor @ Food Faith Fitness says
You know what, I have yet to try making a cake roll! BUT, I love this chocolate strawberry combo, so I think this is a good place to start! Pinned!
sue | theviewfromgreatisland says
I have to admit, I’ve never attempted a cake roll, much less a gluten free version, but this looks spectacular, the cake has the perfect texture and the filling, well, how can you go wrong with strawberries and cream cheese? Heading over for the recipe now…
Tracy says
I did make a cake roll many years ago and while intimidating it did turn out. It is harder making certain baked goods low carb but this certainly rates a try. Looks delish. I hope mine looks as good as yours, Carolyn.
Matt says
One of my favorite combos, will definitely need to give this a try, my kids would go crazy for some
gerry @ foodness gracious says
You totally nailed these!!
Kim | Low Carb Maven says
This chocolate and strawberry cake roll is a great low carb achievement! Just beautiful!
Adam@EasyFamilyMeals.org says
Those pictures make me think of the old Lil Debbie rolls. I am probably getting the name wrong, but it’s the little rolls. Anyway, these look about 1000 times better and something I am going to try soon!
Ang says
Could the chocolate be left out for a vanilla cake roll?
Carolyn says
Use this recipe instead and replace the 2 tbsp cocoa powder with 2 tbsp almond flour. The chocolate cake roll will fall to pieces without any cocoa in it! https://alldayidreamaboutfood.com/2016/12/low-carb-gingerbread-cake-roll.html
Ang says
Thank you so much for the idea! Will try it soon for my husbands birthday! He’s going to be so happy.
Mary Thornton says
That look so delicious yum
Mary Thornton says
That look so delicious yum …. I love your recipe
Ang says
Thank you for your idea to turn it into a vanilla cake roll. Am going to try to make soon for my Husbands birthday!
Kim says
Sadly this link doesn’t work and when searching Swerve no recipe is found.
Carolyn says
I am looking into it.
Carolyn says
Here’s the link. https://swervesweet.com/recipes/strawberry-cake-roll
Candy Nelson ✌️ says
Is there coconut or almond flour in this recipe?
It’s not listed
Thank you trying to make this cake
Carolyn says
Nope… just cocoa powder and gelatin. Did you specifically want one with coconut or almond flour?
Susan says
Just made this!! It’s in the refrigerator setting. I am taking it to a party tomorrow (NYE), and I’ll report back when I get feedback. I will say this, however- it’s beautiful! And my son and husband were quite happy to lick the mixing bowls along the way. 🙂 So excited to taste it!! (I’m fasting until tomorrow’s party, and I am very proud that I didn’t so much as lick a finger while making this!!)
Carolyn says
So glad to hear it. Enjoy the party!
Susan says
Thanks, I did! And the cake roll was delicious. However, I wasn’t completely enchanted by the texture of the cake- it seemed a little stiff. Also, it was really thin. I think it would have worked better for me in a smaller pan. I remember a couple things about the process that I wanted clarification on. First, when I was folding the egg whites into the chocolate mixture, it seemed to take forever to fold in until there were no streaks. This may have deflated the egg whites. Also, the batter didn’t make it quite to the end of the 11×17 baking pan- there were about 3 inches left, but the batter was spread as thin as I could get it and if I had tried to cover the last 3 inches, it would have been paper thin. Did I do something wrong?
Carolyn says
Hmmm, that interesting. I made a similar version of this the other day (actually on Christmas for a Buche de Noel) and the batter wasn’t too thin at all. I wonder if it was your cocoa powder, some are more absorbent than others and if it did absorb more, then it wouldn’t spread as well or mix in as well.