Oh, pumpkin roll! Oh, pumpkin roll!

This pumpkin treat is requested so often, that I have had to limit it to 1 at Thanksgiving and 1 at Christmas. Making a pumpkin roll is a real labor of love.

My pumpkin roll is moister and denser than those that you buy from the store. My family likes a more cakey texture. We find the store-bought version to be too thin and a little dry.

I use brown sugar instead of white sugar to add a richer flavor to the cake. It makes it taste amazing!

The tangy cream cheese really comes through in the filling, which is a great balance to the pumpkin spice of the cake. The filling is not too sweet which is much appreciated during the holidays!

Making a pumpkin roll can be a little intimidating, but I have been making at least 2 every year for the last 20 years. Even with a disability to my right arm (I have Erb’s Palsy since birth), I’ve been able to crank this tasty dessert out every year. 🙂

I hope you give this dessert a try, even if it seems overwhelming. Check out the video for some basic guidance. Let me know in the comments, if you’d like a more in-depth step by step video.

Enjoy!

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Pumpkin Roll

A classic for Christmas or Thanksgiving

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 40 minutes mins

Cook Time 15 minutes mins

Course: Christmas, Dessert, Thanksgiving

Ingredients Equipment Method Video

Ingredients

  

Pumpkin Cake

• ¾ cup flour
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 2 tsp baking soda
• 2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
• 1 cup pumpkin not pumpkin pie
• 3 eggs

Filling

• 8 oz cream cheese softened
• ¼ cup butter softened
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 cup powdered sugar

Equipment

• 1 9×13 inch jelly roll pan or baking sheet

Method

 

Making the cake

1. Preheat oven to 375°
2. Grease and flour a 9×13-inch jelly roll pan and line with parchment paper
3. Combine flour, sugar, baking soda, and pumpkin pie spice in a large bowl. Stir in pumpkin and eggs
4. Spread mixture in pan
5. Bake for about 15 minutes
6. Lay a tea towel on the counter and sprinkle with powdered sugar, turning cake onto the towel
7. Remove parchment paper
8. Carefully roll the warm cake up in the towel up lengthwise
9. Place the cake-in-towel on a cooling rack and let it cool completely

Filling

1. Blend cream cheese, butter, vanilla, and powdered sugar in a medium bowl until combined and smooth

Assembling

1. Carefully unroll cooled cake
2. Spread filling on cake
3. Roll cake up
4. Tightly wrap cake in plastic wrap and put in refrigerator
5. Keep chilled until ready to serve

Video

Tried this recipe?

Let us know how it was!