I’ve been trying to work up the courage to make this dessert for years. Every fall, I see pumpkin rolls around the internet and make it a goal to try one. And then I chicken out. A month or two later, the Buche de Noel becomes popular, giving me another chance to try my hand at one of these rolled cakes. And still, I just never believed it would be possible to bake a cake and then roll it up. I mean I can barely make a decent layer cake, and all that requires is stacking cakes on top of one another, which in theory anyway, should be way easier than rolling a cake, right?
A few weeks ago though, my friend Natalie posted a pumpkin roll over on her blog. She’d had the same fears as me, but forged ahead anyway, and discovered that it was nowhere near as difficult or scary as she anticipated. I was inspired to get in my kitchen and finally cross this rolled cake business off of my to-do list!
Though I’d initially planned to use the same recipe as Natalie (it was tested and approved, big bonuses in my book), I wound up going in a different direction at the last minute. The outcome was the same though – Natalie was 100% right, this is a completely doable project! The rolling part wasn’t even the most tricky for me at the end of the day. I didn’t grease my pan well enough apparently, and lost a few corners, but I just trimmed the ends of the cake to make them even. The other spot where I ran into a bit of difficulty was just in handling the cake. It was extremely moist, and a bit sticky, but a liberal dusting of powdered sugar helped remedy that issue. I didn’t experience any cracking with the cake at all; in fact, it was so simple I’m sort of kicking myself for not doing this sooner.
I shared the pumpkin roll with my friend Lauren who loves all things pumpkin and cream cheese frosting related. Initially she told me her husband wouldn’t have any because he wasn’t into pumpkin, but I later found out this cake won him over. Even their baby Jude gave it his seal of approval π My only note is that I wouldn’t suggest making this too far in advance. We found it got a bit soggy after a few days, so if you have to make it ahead, try to keep it to just one day.
Pumpkin Roll
cake from Paula Deen, filling from Libby’s
Cake
3/4 cup cake flour
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 1/4 teaspoons ground ginger
3/4 teaspoon ground allspice
6 large eggs, separated
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup packed light brown sugar
2/3 cup canned pumpkin puree
1/8 teaspoon salt
confectioners’ sugar
Filling
8 oz cream cheese, at room temperature
1 cup confectioners’ sugar, sifted
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
To make the cake: Preheat oven to 375 F. Line a 15 by 10 by 1-inch baking sheet with parchment paper. Spray the parchment with nonstick cooking spray.
Whisk the cake flour, cinnamon, ginger and allspice together in a medium bowl. In a large bowl, use a hand mixer to beat the egg yolks, granulated sugar and brown sugar until pale and very thick. Add the pumpkin and beat on low until incorporated. With the mixer on low, add the dry ingredients and beat on low speed just until combined. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment (or with the hand mixer and clean beaters), beat the egg whites and salt until stiff peaks form. Fold the egg whites into the batter with a rubber spatula until most of the white streaks are gone.
Transfer the batter to the prepared pan and spread into an even layer. Bake for 14-18 minutes, or until the cake springs back when gently pressed, and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. (While the cake is baking, spread a clean kitchen towel on your work surface and dust generously with confectioners’ sugar.) Transfer the baking sheet to a wire rack and generously dust the hot cake with confectioners’ sugar. Run a thin knife around the edges of the cake then turn it out onto the kitchen towel. With a short side facing you, fold the towel over the edge of the cake and roll up the cake (with the towel inside of it). Transfer to your fridge, with the seam down, and let cool for 1 hour.
To make the filling: In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the cream cheese until smooth. Add the confectioners’ sugar, butter and vanilla and beat until combined. Scrape down the sides of the bowl, then beat until light and fluffy. Remove the cake from the refrigerator and gently unroll. Spread the filling evenly over the cake, leaving just a tiny border (about 1/4-inch) around the edges. Reroll the cake and wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least one hour. Let the cake come to room temperature for about 30 minutes and sprinkle with powdered sugar before serving.
I LOVE this idea. A lot of pumpkin recipes are circling many of the blogs right now, but this one is different! So pretty and tasty looking!
Bravo on tackling your fear – your pumpkin roll turned out wonderfully!
π
ButterYum
This is on my list to do too Tracey, thanks for sharing the recipe. I especially love that you make the pumpkin version of it π
I haven’t made a pumpkin roll in years and now I’m really craving one! I’ve made quite a few but they still make me nervous!
Looks absolutely delicious! π Congrats on tackling a baking goal. Always feels so good when you can tick something off your “baking” to do list π
thefigtree.blogspot.com
Funny how things aren’t as scary as we think they are. I felt the same way about a roll cake. I took the plunge two years ago (before I started the blog) and made Ina Garten’s pumpkin roulade with ginger mascarpone filling. It took me a while to figure out her technique of rolling the cake using a powder sugar covered kitchen towel, but it really was much easier than I ever thought. So will we be seeing a buche de noel soon?
Congrats on tackling your fear! It looks fabulous!
Wow – such a great idea – only I don’t have enough people to eat this cake! My UPS driver usually ends up with the bulk of my baked goods. Needless to say, I get GREAT service :)!
I’m just about pumpkined out, but I think I could work in your delicious roll…so beautiful, Tracey!
The pumpkin roll looks terrific, so pretty! It’s been on my baking list for ages; I can never come up with a good excuse for one. I guess I’ll just have to make one for the heck of it one of these days.
My co-workers were talking about making one of these this weekend. I have also always thought they would be complicated, so I have never done it either. Yours looks like it turned out great!
As for saving it, they were telling me that they freeze well, so maybe that would help with making it ahead of time?
Love this–and your pumpkin roll looks absolutely perfect!
I have never made this roll before for the same reason. I’ve always been afraid of it disintegrating upon rolling. Glad to hear it’s not as scary as it seems. Yours turned out beautifully!
Your pumpkin roll looks beautiful! My aunt use to make one for every Thanksgiving, after seeing this I may make one this year to keep the tradition going!
YAY! I’m so glad yours turned out—it looks GORGEOUS…I’m ready to try another one π Thanks for the shout out!
This is one of my hubby’s favorites, but I almost never make it… And, when I have, it hasn’t really turned out well. I will have to give your recipe a try!
Hey Foodies, Tracey’s Roll recipe has been selected by Knapkins in our Recipe Guessing Game. Invite fans to play: http://knapkins.com/guess_games/710?source=blog
This is the second time I made this, and both times have turned out wonderful.
This is my boyfriend’s favorite cake but I’ve always been daunted by the idea of making a rolled cake. But this was seriously easy! I’m pretty new to baking and if I can do it, anyone can do it.
Thank you for the motivation π
I love this dessert, and your post reminds me of how easy it is and how much my gang does enjoy it. So, pumpkin is now on my shopping list. THANKS.