Fall Pumpkin Roll

Fall is finally in the air, which means that it's time to start baking things with all those wonderful fall flavors, such as pumpkin.  I personally, have never been a fan of pumpkin pie, and therefore was afraid to try tasting other items that contained pumpkin.  It was only about a year or so ago that I finally decided to attempt making my first pumpkin roll.  It was intended to be a surprise for my husband, seeing that pumpkin pie was always his favorite fall dessert.  While the roll was baking, the smell of the pumpkin and spices became so intoxicating that once I had the roll assembled I just had to taste it.  To my surprise it was delicious!  In fact........I now seem to enjoy everything I try that is pumpkin flavor, except for pumpkin pie.  Isn't that funny?  For some reason, that I cannot explain, I still can't stand the taste of it. 

Fall Pumpkin Roll
Printer-Friendly Version

Cake:
1 cup sugar
3/4 cup flour
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking soda
¾ tsp. cinnamon

¼ tsp. nutmeg
3 eggs
2/3 cup canned pumpkin (I use Libby’s)
1/2 cup chopped walnuts or pecans (optional)

Filling:

8 ounces cream cheese, softened (I use 1/3 less fat)
1 tablespoon butter, melted
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup confectioner’s sugar

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease a 15x10x1 inch jelly roll pan and then line the pan with wax paper leaving about an inch of overhang on each of the shorter sides.  Lightly grease the wax paper (otherwise the roll with stick, trust me).

In a medium bowl mix the sugar, flour, salt, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, eggs, and canned pumpkin.  Once the mixture has been evenly combined pour it over the wax paper.  You may need a spatula to help you spread the mixture out evenly over the pan.  Sprinkle with walnuts/pecans if you choose to do so.  I sprinkled on some extra cinnamon, and it turned out delicious.  Bake for 14-15 minutes, or until the edges slightly pull away from the sides of the pan and the center is done.

On your counter top, lay out a large dish towel (it is best to use one without any texture) and sprinkle on a thick coating of confectioner’s sugar.  When you remove the cake from the oven, turn the pan upside down, onto the towel coated with the confectioner’s sugar, so that the wax paper is facing up (I have not yet found an easy way to do this).  Peeling slowing, remove the wax paper from the inverted cake, being careful not to tear the roll.  Starting at one of the short ends, roll the pumpkin cake up into the paper towel to cool.  I set the wrapped up roll on a wire rack to speed up the cooling process.

While the roll is cooling, mix together the cream cheese, butter, vanilla, and confectioner’s sugar until well combined and creamy in texture.  Refrigerate until ready to use.  Once the roll has completely cooled, unroll the pumpkin cake and evenly spread on the filling.  Re-roll the pumpkin cake without the paper towel this time, cover with plastic wrap, and place in the refrigerator for at least an hour before serving.  Feel free to garnish with a light dusting of a little extra confectioner’s sugar and serve.    

Adapted from: All Recipes