Pumpkin Roll with Cream Cheese Filling
Pumpkin roll cake is a classic fall dessert with moist pumpkin sponge cake full of warm spices filled with the silkiest cream cheese buttercream frosting and dusted with sifted powdered sugar.
Equipment
- Electric Hand Mixer or Stand Mixer
- tea towel or extra parchment paper
Ingredients
Pumpkin Roll Cake
- 3 large eggs
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- ⅔ cup pumpkin puree
- ¾ cup all purpose flour (or gluten free 1:1 all purpose flour with xanthan gum)
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
- ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
- 2 teaspoons lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ cup powdered sugar, sifted (for dusting the towel and the top of the finished cake roll)
Cream Cheese Buttercream Filling
- 8 ounces cream cheese (softened, room temp.)
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter (softened, room temp.)
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- pinch of fine sea salt
Instructions
Pumpkin Roll Cake
- Preheat oven to 375℉.Prepare a 10"x15" inch jelly roll sheet pan by generously spraying nonstick spray and lining with a sheet of parchment paper. Spray the nonstick spray well on top of the parchment paper as well. Set aside.
- Whisk together the flour, baking powder, ground cinnamon, fine sea salt, ground nutmeg, and ground cloves together in a bowl and set aside.¾ cup all purpose flour, 1 teaspoon baking powder, 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon, ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg, ¼ teaspoon ground cloves, ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
- In a separate bowl, with an electric hand mixer or stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, whip eggs on high for 3 minutes. The eggs will be pale yellow and double in size. This is a very important step!3 large eggs
- With the mixer on low-medium speed, add in the sugar and whip for another minute or two until a smooth fluffy mixture forms.1 cup granulated sugar
- Add in the pumpkin puree, lemon juice, and vanilla extract. Whisk until completely combined.⅔ cup pumpkin puree, 2 teaspoons lemon juice, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Add the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients, folding with a silicone spatula until cake batter forms. Avoid overmixing!
- Pour cake batter mixture into prepared sheet pan and spread evenly from corner to corner.
- Bake for 13-15 minutes.
- While the cake is baking, lay out a clean tea towel or extra sheet of parchment paper and sprinkle with sifted powdered sugar to cover the surface.½ cup powdered sugar, sifted
- Once fully baked, pull the cake out of the oven and allow to cool for a few minutes. Once the pan is just cool to the touch but cake is still warm, carefully and quickly flip the warm cake out on to the prepared powdered sugar towel. Peel the parchment paper off gently. Carefully, start at one end and fold the edge of the towel or parchment over the end of the cake. Slowly roll the towel or parchment into the cake to form a log. Place in the refrigerator to chill for 60 minutes.
Cream Cheese Buttercream Filling
- While the cake is cooling, make the cream cheese filling by creaming together room temperature softened butter and cream cheese with an electric mixer for 5 minutes, scraping the sides of the bowl half way through to ensure mixture is uniform. Mixture should be very light and fluffy.8 ounces cream cheese, 6 tablespoons unsalted butter
- Gradually add in the powdered sugar, fine sea salt, and ground cinnamon with the mixer on low speed.2 cups powdered sugar, ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- Add in vanilla extract and beat the filling for 3 full minutes on medium to high speed until fully combined and smooth.1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Assembly
- Once the cake is fully cooled, pull it out of the refrigerator and slowly unroll the cake. Take care not to move to fast or you could crack the cake.
- Gently spread the cream cheese filling onto the inside of the unrolled cake in an even layer. Roll the cake into the filling from the curled end of the cake. Starting with the curled edge ensures a perfect swirl at the end! Be very careful and roll the cake up slowly into a log.
- Once cake roll is formed, wrap the cake roll in plastic wrap and chill it in the refrigerator for at least an hour before cutting into it. This just allows time for the cake to settle with the filling and makes the cake roll sturdy to slice into perfect swirled slices. Once ready to serve, dust with remaining sifted powdered sugar over top. Slice into 1 inch slices and serve!Tip: If you would like the end of the cake to have a smooth even swirl, slice a small portion off the end first before serving (this is always my taste test slice!) Enjoy!½ cup powdered sugar, sifted
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!
