Growing up in a very traditional Ukrainian household and a family of bakers, we had a lot of different kinds of goodies my mom and aunties would make. One of my favorite pastries was the coffee roll. That's what I call them in English. If I were to translate the description of the pastry word for word, they would be called tree stump cake rolls.
Here is to all my Slavic friends who can read Russian. This pastry is called Бисквитные пирожные "Пенёчки."
Coffee Cake Roll History
When I first started making this pastry, I used my mom's recipe to the "t." As I gained more experience as a baker, I created my own version of a coffee roll cake. Since I am a coffee fanatic, I like to infuse everything with coffee. I switched up Mom's simple syrup to the coffee flavor. Also, I love whip cream, so I added some to the caramel flavor buttercream.
In 2014, I started baking for family and friends as a hobby, and one of the most requested pastries was these coffee roll cakes. After a few years of making these as a hobby, 2016, I opened a pastry business and started making these coffee cake rolls for a local cafe, weddings, and events. They are worth every minute you spend in the kitchen making them.
How to Make the Coffee Roll
Are you ready to make these beautiful cake rolls and wow your family and guests? I have a few tips and tricks to help you achieve the same results as I did.
Tips to Make the Perfect Coffee Cake Rolls
Sponge Cake
There are two stages to making this sponge cake. First, you must achieve fluffy eggs and sugar. An electric stand up mixer will save you time, as you can leave it to mix and prepare all your other ingredients and sheet pans.
Sift the flour before adding it to the fluffy eggs and sugar. This is important as it will create a lighter sponge cake and make the mixture easier to combine.
When mixing the flour, use a regular whisk or dough whisk. Mix very lightly, scraping down the sides and bottom of the bowl to release any air pockets of flour.
Cream
There is a two step process to make this cream.
First, make the buttercream. The butter must be at room temperature or else it will not combine with the dulce de leche. Set this aside in a bowl.
Second, making the whip cream. You can use store bought whipped topping, but I prefer using real food in my recipes. That's why I make my own whip in these coffee cake rolls.
Overmixing whip cream is worse than undermixing in this recipe. The whip lightens the flavor of the buttercream and when it is overmixed, it will become butter. We don't want to do that. So, if you are not sure if the whip is ready and it is still yet soft, no worries. When you mix it into the buttercream, the whip will finish coming together at this stage.
While you prepare the other parts of the coffee roll, place the cream in the refrigerator.
Cream for the Mushroom Legs and Leaves
This is a typical buttercream. The goal is to make sure the mushroom legs to be firm and hold the mushroom tops and keep the shape for the leaves. And this is the perfect buttercream to do that.
Sponge Cake Coffee Syrup
Honestly, this can be adjusted to your liking. I have an espresso machine, so I make two shots of espresso, add ½ cup of water, a splash of heavy cream with homemade vanilla syrup (the sweeter the better). That is my current coffee syrup.
When I didn't have a coffee machine, I used instant coffee with heavy cream and a tablespoon of sugar. That is a budget friendly recipe and still taste just as good.
Putting the Coffee Cake Rolls Together
This is my favorite part for sure, putting the coffee roll cake together and making the beauty of this dessert come alive.
Pictured below are the steps to putting the coffee cake roll together.
How to Store Coffee Cake Rolls
This recipe makes 12 coffee cake rolls. There are several ways to store these, depending on your goals.
Coffee roll cakes are stored well in the refrigerator for 5-7 days.
You can freeze coffee caake rolls for up to 90 days. These treats are perfect to pull out of the freezer when you have guests coming and not enough time to make dessert. Pull them out of the freezer the day before, place them into the refrigerator to thaw overnight.
PrintCoffee Cake Rolls
Coffee cake roll infused with coffee flavor, shaped into a mini tree stump and decorated with mushroom tops.
- Prep Time: 2 hours
- Cook Time: 10-12 minutes
- Total Time: 2 hours and 15 minutes
- Yield: 15-18 small coffee rolls 1x
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Bake
- Cuisine: Ukrainian
Ingredients
Sponge Cake
Cream
- ¼ cup heavy cream
- ¼ cup powdered sugar
- ¼ tsp vanilla extract
- ½ can of dulce de leche (one can is 13.4 oz)
- 1 stick of butter, softened
- Green food coloring
Cream for Mushroom Legs and Leaves
- 1 ¼ cup of butter, softened
- ½ cup powdered sugar
- ⅛ tsp vanilla extract
- ½-1 tablespoon heavy cream
- Crumb for Coffee Rolls
- ¼ cup cocoa powder
- ¾-1 cup crumbled sponge cake
Sponge Cake Coffee Syrup
- ½ cup strong Black coffee
- 3 tbsp half-and-half
- 1 tsp sugar
OR
Instructions
Sponge Cake, Mushroom Tops and Crumb Bake
- Preheat the oven to 350*F
- In a stand up electric bowl mixer, add 5 eggs, ½ teaspoon vanilla extract and ¾ cups of sugar. With the whisk attachment on, turn the mixer to high and mix until the batter is fluffy and pale yellow, about 10-12 minutes.
- While eggs are mixing, whisk together the flour and baking powder and set aside.
- Prepare 2 half sheet pans and line parchment paper. Spray with cooking spray or oil.
- Once egg mixture is ready, sift in flour/baking powder mixture ¼ cup at a time and slowly fold in with a clean spatula.
- Set aside 1 ½ cups of batter to bake at the end for the crumb and mushroom tops. The rest of the batter, divide into the two sprayed half sheet pans and spread evenly throughout the pan.
- Bake the batter for 16-18 minutes or until golden brown.
- Remove from oven and allow to cool.
- Take a pastry piping bag, and cut the end off just enough to fit the round pastry tip (use a small to medium hole). Add ½ cup of sponge cake batter into the pastry bag and pipe about 40 small circles onto a half sheet pan with parchment paper (no need to spray). Make different sizes of circles on the sheet - ¼-½ inch circles. They will spread, so be mindful. Bake 8-10 minutes until golden brown. Allow to cool, then peel off the parchment paper and set aside in a bowl.
- Use the remaining 1 cup of sponge cake batter to make the crumb. Take the 1 cup of sponge cake batter and spread thinly on a sheet pan with parchment paper. This will only fill about ¼ of the baking sheet, so spread thinly. Bake until slightly more than golden brown. This will be the crumb, so having this baked a little longer is okay. Bake for 8-10 minutes, and set aside to cool.
Cream
- Add ¼ cup of softened butter and the ½ a can of dulce de leche in a mixer bowl with the paddle attachment. Mix together until well combined and there are no streaks of butter. Transfer to another bowl and set aside. Use a spatula or bowl scraper to remove all the buttercream from the mixer bowl.
- Add ½ cup of heavy cream, ¼ cup of powdered sugar, and ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract in the same mixing bowl. With the whisk attachment on, turn the mixer low to medium speed and let the heavy cream thicken slightly. Once slightly thickened, turn the mixer on high until the cream has thickened to stiff peaks. DO NOT OVERMIX, or your cream will become butter.
- Combine the butter/dulce de leche mix and whipped cream in the mixer until combined.
- Place into the refrigerator in the meantime.
Cream for Mushroom Legs and Leaves
- Place softened butter, powdered sugar and vanilla extract into a mixer bowl. Starting on a low speed, start mixing using a paddle attachment. Once powdered sugar and butter are combined, turn on high to mix. The butter will start to become whiter. Add a tablespoon of cream to the buttercream.
- Take ¼ of the cream and add green food coloring of your choice and ¼ teaspoon at a time until you achieve the desired color.
- Set green cream and white cream aside until ready to use. Leave at room temperature.
Coffee Syrup for Sponge Cake
- Make a cup of black coffee to your liking, I like to make mine pretty strong. Add desired sugar and cream. Mix together and set aside to cool
Crumb for Coffee Rolls
- After the crumb is baked and cooled, use the food processor to crumble the sponge cake. Break into pieces to fit into the food processor, add ⅓ cup of cocoa powder, and pulse a few times. Do not over pulse and make it powdery. Set aside in a bowl.
Putting the Coffee Cake Roll Together
- Take a sheet of sponge cake, carefully pull it off the parchment paper, and lay it back down on the same parchment paper.
- Cut the sheet of sponge cake in half so you have two smaller rectangles.
- With a tablespoon or squeeze bottle, evenly soak the sponge cake layer—just enough to get a top coat of coffee on it. One layer will take about ½ cup of coffee syrup. But DO NOT OVERSOAK.
- Spread a thin layer of cream on the sponge cake sheet.
- Start rolling from the longer side until the roll is complete.
- Repeat with each sponge cake layer.
- To coat the sponge cake rolls with the crumb, first cover each roll with cream.
- Add cream to the top and sides of the sponge cake rolls, sprinkle with the crumb, and lightly pat down.
- Roll the sponge cake roll on the side that has no crumb or cream and repeat.
- Cut the rolls into 1 ½ - 2 inch pieces. They will look like little stumps. Using a serrated knife will make a cleaner cut. Place the stumps on a plate or into cupcake liners.
- Make the mushroom legs using the white buttercream. Place the cream in a piping bag with a round piping tip (medium). Make 3 legs on each stump.
- Fill another piping bag with a leaf tip with the green buttercream. Pipe 2-3 leaf tips on each stump.
- Lastly, add the mushroom tops on the white mushroom legs.
- Allow the coffee rolls to rest in the refrigerator for a few hours and the flavors to combine before serving.
