This dulce de leche cake roll is absolutely delicious and very easy to make.
What is Pionono?
It's also known as Brazo de Reina, a popular dessert in Spain, Colombia and other Latin America countries. There are many variations of the pionono, but it is generally is a cake rolled and filled with fruit preserves, puddings, dulce de leche or whipped cream combined with fresh fruit. You can also experiment with your favorite filling.
Here are some of my favorite variations of this delicious dessert strawberry and cream cake roll and red roll cake with guava filling.
A couple of days ago I opened a jar of dulce de leche to make some cookies. I had some leftover so I decided to make my pionono using some of my favorite ingredients, coconut and arequipe or dulce de leche, as it is known outside of Colombia.
This dulce de leche and coconut cake roll is so easy to make from scratch and your guest will love it. The cake is light and the dulce de leche filling is sweet and creamy.
You'll Need these Ingredients
The printable recipe card with exact amounts and baking directions is below.
Eggs: You will use the egg whites and yolks to make this cake, but separated. I always recommend using cage free eggs for my recipes.
Flour: You need all purpose flour for this cake. Always sift your flour before using.
Sugar: Use granulated sugar to make the cake and powder sugar or confectioner's to cover it before serving.
Vanilla Extract: Use a good quality.
Dulce de Leche: You can find it online or any supermarket. I have a homemade recipe if you want to make it. This is for the filling.
Shredded Coconut: I recommend using sweetened coconut flakes or shredded coconut. This gives a delicious flavor and texture to the cake.
How to Make this Recipe
- Preheat the oven to 400° F.
- Line a 9 x 13 brownie pan with parchment paper.
- Place the egg whites in a large clean bowl and with an electric mixer, beat until form soft peaks. Gradually add the egg yolks, one at a time until combined.
- Add the flour, vanilla extract and sugar and mix until well combined.
- Spoon the mixture into the prepared pan, spreading evenly. Bake for 15 minutes or until golden.
- Mean while, spread out a sheet of parchment paper or a wet towel . Turn out the cake onto the paper or wet towel . Roll up the cake loosely from one short side, with the paper inside. Let it cool.
- Unroll and remove the paper. Spread the dulce de leche and sprinkle coconut flakes over the cake. Roll up and dust with powdered sugar and serve.
Tips to Make this Dulce de Leche Cake Roll
*Roll up the cake when it’s hot out of the oven, if the cake is cold it will fall apart when rolling.
*Use a clean and dry bowl to whip the egg whites and also can not have any egg yolks.
*Store in the refrigerator the leftovers for a couple of days. Use plastic wrap or place it in a sealed container to keep it fresh.
More Cake Recipes
Pastel Borracho (Drunken Cake)
Torta Negra (Colombian Black Cake)
Chocolate and Dulce de Leche Cake
Dulce de Leche and Coconut Cake Roll Recipe
Ingredients
- 5 eggs separated
- ½ cup all-purpose flour sifted
- ½ cup sugar
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- Powdered sugar
- 1 cup dulce de leche
- ½ cup shredded coconut
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400° F.
- Line a 9 x 13 brownie pan with parchment paper.
- Place the egg whites in a large clean bowl and with an electric mixer, beat until form soft peaks. Gradually add the egg yolks, one at a time until combined.
- Add the flour, vanilla extract and sugar and mix until well combined.
- Spoon the mixture into the prepared pan, spreading evenly. Bake for 15 minutes or until golden.
- Mean while, spread out a sheet of parchment paper or a wet towel . Turn out the cake onto the paper or wet towel . Roll up the cake loosely from one short side, with the paper inside. Let it cool.
- Unroll and remove the paper. Spread the dulce de leche and sprinkle coconut flakes over the cake. Roll up and dust with powdered sugar and serve.
Elaine
Hello! I am making this for my Colombian neighbor, who has just lost a sister to Covid-19. Do I use sweetened or unsweetened coconut? Thank you so much - love your website!
Erica Dinho
I use unsweetened, but you can also use sweetened coconut.
grace
oh erica! i love everything about this! no kidding, this has the potential to be my favorite dessert of all time, and it's beautiful too!
Emilia
I just tried the pionono with crushed roasted almonds and coconut, as well as arequipe and cream! What a treat!!
Jessica
I have attempted this once so far and the roll it self came out very bubbly and stuck to the wax paper. However I will say the little we did get off was very good. I am going to try it again and hope it comes out like the one pictured!
Elizabeth
This recipe is wonderful. So easy to make, it come out perfectly every time and great flavor. Those folks who had no-so optimal results should check their ovens. A keeper!
Jenny
i made this yesterday, and the roll stuck to the parchment paper. it took me a while to get it off (and there was a lot the roll left stuck to the paper) but the results were fantastic nevertheless. maybe next time, ill try greasing the paper before pouring in the batter. (:
Paula
I've made this at least five times and the results have always been amazing.
Carla
I made this roll and the dulce de leche recipe and they were fantastic....Thank you so much for posting this.
Deily
Erika I tried your recipe! I'm happy I did! I can't believe It worked! It was so easy and yummy! Tks!! Loved your site!
Isabel
Erica,
I had the same problem with the wax paper; the roll did not come out from the wax paper, it was quite disappointing!! I guess I will try it again another day baking it without the wax paper. also the roll began to break. if you can make it, then it can be done.
the measurements were accurate, not sure what happened
Erica
Isabel- Next time use parchment paper!
Anonymous
I made this roll for my son's party yesterday and we loved it! It was a hit......Thank you so much. I will make this one again.
Natalie
Luis:
Maybe you did not: measured correctly, your oven is properly calibrated, did you forgot to set the timer, if you swapped an ingredient for another one that probably caused the dish’s demise, if your ingredients were at room temperature, if the bowl where you whipped the egg whites was clean and dry,
I made this recipe 3 times and it worked perfect and delicious!
Adriana
I made this roll yesterday for my friends, but I filled mine with orange preserves and it was perfect and delicious.
Jackie
Will this cake work with a whipped cream (chantilly) and strawberries inside?
Erica
Jackie- Yes you can use any filling!That sounds delicious.
Tangled Noodle
A fruit-filled roll sounds delicious but I would never be able to turn down this wonderful dulce de leche one! Your recipe looks so easy to make, there's no excuse for me not to make this. Wonderful!