Apple Cake Roll
This apple cake roll is a delicious old-fashioned fall dessert made with tender sourdough cake, warm cinnamon, my homemade recipe for how to can apples, and a sweet cream cheese filling. The cake can be fermented overnight for a long-fermented sourdough dessert, or you can bake it right away when you need a quick treat. Rolled up and sliced, this apple cake makes a beautiful Thanksgiving dessert or cozy fall dessert for any gathering. It is so delicious served with my recipe for how to make homemade vanilla ice cream, or enjoy it alongside my sourdough apple pie for an extra special fall dessert spread.
Quick Look: Apple Cake Roll With Cream Cheese Filling
- ⏱️ Prep Time: 10 minutes
- 🍳 Cook Time: 15 minutes (plus 8 hours to ferment)
- 🕒 Total Time: 8 hrs, 20 minutes
- 👥 Servings: 10
- 📊 Calories: ~511 kcal per serving (based on nutrition panel)
- 🔥 Cook Method: Oven-baked on baking sheet
- 👩🍳 Flavor Profile: Sweet and warmly spiced with soft apple flavor, tender cake, and rich, tangy cream cheese filling.
- ⭐ Difficulty: Easy – beginner-friendly, simple mixing, baking, and rolling.
SUMMARIZE & SAVE THIS CONTENT ON
Jump to:
Why You'll Love This Recipe
- Perfect fall dessert – Warm cinnamon, tender cake, sweet apples, and cream cheese filling make this a cozy dessert for Thanksgiving and fall gatherings.
- Uses sourdough starter – This is a great way to use active sourdough starter or discard in a sweet dessert.
- Make it ahead – The cake roll can be made ahead of time and stored in the refrigerator until you're ready to serve it.
- Easy to customize – Like my apple pie donuts, you can use homemade or store-bought apples, and add a drizzle of caramel on top for an extra special treat.
- Beautiful but simple – It looks like a fancy dessert, but the cake is simple to mix, bake, roll, and fill. If you like this, also try my best pumpkin roll recipe and chocolate cake roll recipe
Ingredients
For a full list of ingredients needed to make this recipe, see the recipe card below.
This post contains affiliate links, which means I make a small commission at no extra cost to you. See my full disclosure here
How to Make This Apple Cake Roll
Step 1: Mix and ferment the batter. The night before baking, combine all of the cake batter ingredients except the baking soda. Cover and let the batter ferment at room temperature overnight. You can skip the fermentation if you're short on time, but you won't get the same long-fermentation benefits.
Step 2: Bake the cake. The next day, preheat the oven to 375°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and spread the batter evenly over it. Bake for about 15 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Step 3: Roll the cake. While the cake is still hot, carefully roll the cake and parchment paper together into a log. Allow it to cool completely while rolled. Be careful—the cake will be hot.
Step 4: Make the filling. While the cake cools, combine the cream cheese filling ingredients in a stand mixer. Mix at medium speed until smooth and well incorporated.
Step 5: Fill and roll. Once the cake is completely cool, gently unroll it. Spread the cream cheese filling evenly over the cake, followed by the apple filling. Carefully roll the cake back up, peeling away the parchment paper as you go.
Step 6: Slice and serve. Slice and serve immediately, or store in an airtight container in the refrigerator until ready to serve. The cake roll can also be frozen for up to 1 month. For best results, slice before freezing and thaw slowly in the refrigerator. Serve with vanilla ice cream or hot chai tea.
Tips For Making This Apple Cake Roll
- Don't skip rolling the cake while it's warm. Rolling it while warm helps the cake cool in the rolled shape and makes it less likely to crack when you fill it.
- Let the cake cool completely before filling. If the cake is still warm, the cream cheese filling can become soft and difficult to spread.
- Don't overfill the cake. Spread the cream cheese and apple filling evenly, but don't add so much that the filling squeezes out when you roll it.
- Use parchment paper to help roll the cake. The parchment makes it easier to handle the warm cake and helps you get a nice, even roll.
- Let the batter ferment overnight for the best sourdough benefits. If you're short on time, you can bake the cake without the overnight fermentation.
- Slice before freezing. If you plan to freeze the cake roll, slicing it first makes it easier to thaw only what you need.
Apple Cake Roll FAQs
Yes. You can skip the overnight fermentation and bake the cake right away. However, allowing the batter to ferment overnight gives you the benefits of a long-fermented sourdough recipe.
Yes. Sourdough discard works well in this apple cake roll. Since the cake is fermented overnight, you can use either active sourdough starter or discard.
Rolling the cake while it is still warm helps it cool in a rolled shape. This makes it easier to fill and roll again later without the cake cracking.
Cake can crack if it is overbaked, rolled when it has cooled too much, or rolled too quickly. Be sure to roll the cake while it is still warm and handle it gently.
Yes. You can use cooked fresh apples in place of home-canned apples. Just make sure the apple filling isn't too wet, as excess moisture can make the cake roll difficult to roll.
Yes. You can make the cake roll ahead of time and keep it covered in the refrigerator until you're ready to serve it. This makes it a great dessert for Thanksgiving and other gatherings.
Store the cake roll in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
Yes. The cake roll can be frozen for up to 1 month. I recommend slicing it before freezing so you can thaw individual pieces as needed. Thaw the slices slowly in the refrigerator.
This apple cake roll is delicious served with homemade vanilla ice cream. A drizzle of caramel sauce or a cup of hot chai tea would also be delicious.
Other Apple Recipes
If you try this recipe and love it, please come back and give it 5 stars! Tag me on Instagram @wagonwheelhomestead21. I can’t wait to see what all you make!
Apple Cake Roll
Equipment
- 1 mixing bowl
- 1 measuring cups and spoons
- 1 Baking sheet
- 1 parchment paper
Ingredients
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- ½ cup applesauce
- ½ cup maple syrup or honey (brown sugar works too)
- ½ cup sourdough starter (active or discard is fine)
- 2 teaspoon cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 3 eggs
- 2 teaspoon 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- ½ cup brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
Filling Ingredients
- 6 cups 6 cups apples, peeled and diced
- ½ cup ½ cup butter
- 1 ½ cups brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ cup water
- ¼ cup cornstarch
- ½ cup butter (for spreading on the dough)
Frosting ingredients
- 8 oz cream cheese
- ¼ cup butter
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 cup powdered sugar
Instructions
- The night before you want to bake the apple cake, in a large bowl, combine all of the batter ingredients except for the baking soda.
- Cover cake batter with plastic wrap and allow to ferment at room temperature overnight. If you're in a hurry, you can skip this step but you'll lose some of the long fermentation benefits of the sourdough.
- When you're ready to bake, heat oven to 375 degrees.
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, and carefully spread the batter over the parchment paper.
- Bake at 375 degrees for 15 minutes.
- Remove from the oven and poke it with a toothpick to make sure it comes out clean. This means your cake is done all the way through.
- Roll the cake and the parchment paper up into a roll and allow it to cool while rolled up. (Be careful because it will be hot).
- While the cake is cooling, in the bowl of a stand mixer, mix the filling ingredients at medium speed until they are well incorporated.
- Once the cake is completely cool, unroll it gently.
- Spread the cream cheese filling over the cake evenly and then spread the apple filling on topo of that. Then carefully roll it back up, peeling off the parchment paper as you roll it up.
- Slice and serve immediately, or store it in the refrigerator in an airtight container until it's time to serve it.
- You can also freeze this sourdough apple cake roll for up to a month. I would suggest that you slice it first, and then plan on thawing it slowly in the refrigerator.
- Serve with vanilla ice cream or a hot chai tea.
Notes
- Make this ahead for Thanksgiving or any fall gathering.
- Short on time? Skip the overnight fermentation and bake it right away.
- Roll the cake while hot and let it cool completely before adding the filling to prevent cracking.
- Homemade applesauce works well in this recipe.
- Add a caramel drizzle on top for an extra treat.
This recipe is delicious!