The pumpkin roll and the pumpkin pie are the OGs of pumpkin flavored desserts. They really were ahead of their time and have been an American classic for years before the pumpkin spice craze started.
Pumpkin rolls will forever remind me of Christmas despite them being more of a fall type dessert. We would always visit our neighbor’s house on Christmas Eve and she had pumpkin rolls upon pumpkin rolls stacked in her fridge. I would have a couple small slices as a kid and be as happy as ever!
My mom is a great cook and baker, but for whatever reason, she has never made a pumpkin roll. I always thought they must be a tough thing to make since she has never made one for me.
I’m here to tell you though, it’s not as challenging to make as I suspected!
Equipment You Need
This recipe has been adapted from a Nestlé Toll House cookbook. Within their recipe they recommend using a jelly roll pan in order to successfully make this pumpkin roll. Thankfully, a classic 9×13 inch pan works just as well too, so don’t worry about Amazon Prime-ing a jelly roll pan. If you do, I recommend purchasing this OXO Good Grips Non-Stick Pro Jelly Roll 10×15 inch pan and it’s a great price with tons of five star reviews!
The 9×13 pan size will result in a little bit different shape than your traditional 10×15 jelly roll pan size, but it works just as well.
Parchment paper! I cannot stress enough how important parchment paper is with baking and cooking, but especially when making a recipe like this. You definitely need it. I purchase my parchment paper at Costco. Like everything else there, you get a huge supply of it for a very affordable price.
A thin cloth napkin or thin kitchen towel – I recommend using a cloth napkin when you transfer your pumpkin roll cake portion from the pan to the towel. It’s thin enough that it allows for a tight roll, but doesn’t have the cake stick to it when unrolling it from the pan.
Rolling the Pumpkin Roll
It’s important to do whatever it takes for this thin layer of cake to come out of that pan cleanly so that you can construct your pumpkin roll.
Spray your pan generously with cooking spray, layer it with parchment paper and then spray more cooking spray on top of the parchment paper. This ensures NOTHING will stick when you are finished baking and need to flip that layer of pumpkin cake out of the pan onto a thin towel.
Unrolling the Pumpkin Roll
After your pumpkin roll cake has cooled completely, it’s time to spread on the cream cheese filling. My biggest tip is to work slowly and to stay calm.
Quick hands during this can result in the cake splitting when unrolling it. Once a little mishap happens, it’s very easy to get in your head and worry the rest of it will not come out successfully. You got this! Just unroll it slowly from the napkin or towel, spread in the cream cheese filling as evenly as you can and roll it back together.
Storage
Once you successfully fill your pumpkin roll and roll it back together, wrap it tightly in plastic wrap and store in the fridge for up to 2-3 days. For best results, eat the day of baking.
Ingredients
Pumpkin Cake
- ¼ c powdered sugar
- ¾ flower
- ½ tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 3 eggs
- 1 c granulated sugar
- ⅔ c canned pumpkin or about ⅔ of the can
Cream Cheese Filling
- 1 8 ounce package of cream cheese, softened to room temperature
- 1 c powdered sugar
- 6 tbsp butter, softened
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- Powdered sugar for decoration
Instructions
Pumpkin Cake
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Spray a jelly roll pan (see above to substitution) with cooking spray and line with parchment paper. Spray the parchment paper with cooking spray too.
- Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda and cinnamon in a small bowl.
- Using a mixer, combine eggs and granulated sugar until well-combined.
- Beat in the pumpkin with the egg and sugar combination.
- Stir in flour mixture and spread evenly into pan.
- Bake for 13 to 15 minutes or until cake is done.
- While the cake is baking, spread a thin cloth napkin or kitchen towel on your work surface. Sprinkle ¼ c powdered sugar on the towel evenly.
- Once the cake is finished baking, immediately transfer the cake to the powdered sugar coated towel.
- Roll the cake and towel together from the more narrow end.
- Cool completely.
Cream Cheese Filling
- Using a mixer, combine cream cheese, 1 c powdered sugar, butter and vanilla until completely smooth.
- Carefully unroll the pumpkin cake and spread cream cheese mixture onto cake surface. I recommend starting with the inside part of the pumpkin roll.
- Reroll the cake and wrap in plastic wrap.
- Refrigerate for at least 1 hour before eating.
- Serve on a platter and sprinkle the top of the cake with powdered sugar before serving.
