Baker’s Treat Swiss Rolls

Last Updated on December 20, 2023

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A Swiss roll is a type of dessert made by spreading a layer of whipped cream, jam, or frosting on a thin sheet of sponge cake, and then rolling up the sponge cake to form a log shape. When cut into slices, a Swiss roll displays a pretty spiral effect. Swiss rolls also go by a few other names, including a jelly roll or roll cake. Despite the cake’s name, it most likely originated in Austria, Slovenia, or some other part of Central Europe rather than Switzerland, with variations seen around the world. Published references to a rolled cake of some type date back to the mid 19th century.

Every fall, Aldi sells a jelly roll style of cake: the Bake Shop Pumpkin Cake Roll.

But Aldi also sells Swiss rolls that are an imitation of name-brand Little Debbie Swiss Roll snack cakes. Little Debbie, a part of McKee Foods Corporation, specializes in snack cakes and other sugary wrapped grab-and-go desserts that have been lunch box staples for decades. I’m personally a fan of Little Debbie Oatmeal Creme Pies, but Little Debbie also sells Nutty Bars, Zebra Cakes, Fudge Rounds, and Cosmic Brownies.

Little Debbie Swiss Rolls feature chocolate cake rolled up with creamy icing and covered with chocolate frosting. Hostess Brands also sells something similar called Ho Hos. The Aldi version looks practically identical to Little Debbie Swiss Rolls.

Baker’s Treat Swiss Rolls are a Regular Buy, so you should be able to find them at Aldi any time of year. Baker’s Treat is not a company. Instead, it’s the private label Aldi uses for packaged baked goods such as cup cakes, mini muffins, mini pies, brownies, coffee cakes, peanut butter wafers, and other Hostess or Little Debbie knockoffs.

These Baker’s Treat Swiss Rolls cost $1.85 for a 13-ounce box at the time of publication. One box contains six 2.2-ounce, 2-cake servings. That comes out to about 31 cents per serving or about 14 cents per ounce.

For comparison, name-brand Little Debbie Swiss Rolls cost $2.68 for a 13.31-ounce box at Walmart at the time of writing. That comes out to about 45 cents per serving or about 20 cents per ounce.

If you’re looking out for allergens, these contain wheat, soy, milk, and eggs. They may contain peanuts and tree nuts. These are kosher certified.

Nutrition information and ingredients for Baker’s Treat Swiss Rolls. (Click to enlarge.)

The main ingredient is sugar, which is the same case for name-brand Little Debbie Swiss Rolls. Both the name brand and this Aldi brand contain lots of processed ingredients, and they’re definitely not good for you. However, you could make the case that the Aldi Swiss Rolls are slightly less unhealthy because they don’t contain artificial colors whereas the Little Debbie Swiss Rolls contain red 40. Also, the Aldi Swiss Rolls have 40 fewer calories per serving and contain 19 grams of added sugar per serving while the Little Debbie Swiss Rolls contain 28 grams of added sugars per serving.

Nutrition information and ingredients for Baker’s Treat Swiss Rolls on the left and Little Debbie Swiss Rolls on the right. (Click to enlarge.)

One serving of Baker’s Treat Swiss Rolls has 240 calories, 9 grams of total fat (12% DV), 6 grams of saturated fat (30% DV), less than 5 mg of cholesterol (1% DV), 150 mg of sodium (7% DV), 39 grams of total carbohydrates (14% DV), 2 grams of dietary fiber (6% DV), and 19 grams of added sugars (37% DV).

Baker’s Treat Swiss Rolls on the left, Little Debbie Swiss Rolls on the right. The Aldi Swiss Rolls are a little darker in color and look like they have a little less cream filling.

As for whether these are good, my family and I did a side-by-side taste test of Aldi Baker’s Treat Swiss Rolls and Little Debbie Swiss Rolls.

First, we noticed that these look just about identical. The Aldi Swiss Rolls are slightly darker in color and look like they might have a little less cream filling. Without looking at them side by side, though, I’d have a hard time telling what brand is what.

Taste-wise, these are very similar. The chocolate cake is great. We felt like the Aldi Swiss Rolls were a little less creamy, but they weren’t lacking in cream filling by any means. We also thought the Aldi Swiss Rolls had a subtly different texture, like the sugar had somewhat more granular consistency. These differences were not very pronounced, though.

I slightly prefer name-brand Little Debbie Swiss Rolls for their creamy filling and chocolate frosting texture, but I’ll happily eat either brand, in moderation, of course. My family liked the Aldi ones just as well as the Little Debbie ones.

I do appreciate that the Aldi Baker’s Treat Swiss Rolls don’t contain artificial colors, have less added sugar, and have slightly fewer calories. Those differences might be enough to sway some people over to team Aldi.

The Verdict:

Baker’s Treat Swiss Rolls are an Aldi take on name-brand Little Debbie Swiss Rolls. These feature chocolate cake rolled up with creamy filling all covered in chocolate frosting. Any taste or texture differences we noticed between the Aldi and Little Debbie brands were minimal. We do like that the Aldi Swiss Rolls don’t contain red food dye and have about one third less sugar compared to the Little Debbie brand. If you’re fond of Little Debbie Swiss Rolls, give these Aldi Swiss Rolls a try.