You can bake this Peanut Butter Cup Chocolate Roll Cake when you want a show-stopping dessert that looks bakery-level but uses a simple chocolate sponge and an easy peanut butter cup filling. A light rolled cocoa cake wraps around a creamy peanut butter filling loaded with chopped peanut butter cups, then you finish it with a silky chocolate ganache for the ultimate chocolate–peanut butter dessert.
Why you’ll love this roll
This recipe follows the same Swiss roll technique used in classic chocolate-peanut butter cake rolls: a flexible sponge baked in a jelly roll pan, rolled warm in a towel to prevent cracks, then filled and rolled again once cooled. The sponge is oil-based and egg-whipped, which keeps it light and pliable so it can roll without breaking but still taste rich and chocolatey. Inside, the filling is essentially a whipped peanut butter “mousse” made with peanut butter, powdered sugar, cream, and vanilla, similar to the creamy fillings in other Reese’s-inspired roll cakes. The chopped peanut butter cups add pockets of candy texture throughout, echoing many peanut butter cup roll and Swiss roll recipes that stir candy into the filling or sprinkle it on top.
The optional ganache topping uses hot cream and chocolate chips in the same proportion and method that most chocolate roll and Swiss roll cakes rely on. Once set, it gives you a glossy, sliceable shell that makes the cake look like a giant, candy-bar-style Swiss roll you can proudly serve at birthdays, holidays, or special family dinners.