My Classic Pumpkin roll is a timeless fall dessert that is guaranteed to bring smiles to your dinner table. It’s one of those desserts that everyone thinks is too difficult to make, but honestly, it’s not that hard to make and is well worth the effort.
This perfectly moist spiced pumpkin cake filled with a luscious layer of cream cheese frosting is a delicious addition to any fall table. I’ve never been a fan of pumpkin recipes, but I do make an exception for this classic pumpkin dessert.
My other pumpkin season favorite is my Pumpkin Crunch Cake.
If this is your first time making a (Swiss Rolls) pumpkin cake, don’t be intimidated by the process. Making the sponge cake isn’t difficult. It’s a combination of simple pantry ingredients including, pumpkin puree, flour, pumpkin pie spice, eggs and sugar.
If you need a Gluten-Free version of this delicious cake roll, you can find it here, Gluten Free Pumpkin Roll.
Ingredients
Let’s start by gathering the ingredients we need to make a Classic Pumpkin Roll. In Chef Speak this is called the “Mise en Place” which translates to “Everything in its Place”.
Not only does setting your ingredients up ahead of time speed up the cooking process, it also helps ensure you have everything you need to make the dish.
Make sure to use 100% pure pumpkin, not pumpkin pie mix.
How to make a pumpkin roll?
Preheat oven to 375 degrees
- Mix flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves and salt in a small bowl. Set aside the dry ingredients until needed.
- Add eggs and sugar to a large mixing bowl.
- Beat the eggs and sugar on medium-high speed until thick.
- Add the pumpkin puree to the egg mixture.
- Mix the pumpkin in until well blended and creamy.
- Add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients.
Make sure to use 100% pure pumpkin, not pumpkin pie mix.
Mix until the flour is just combined. Don’t over-mix.
Sprinkle a dish towel with powdered sugar.
- Grease a 15 x 10-inch jelly-roll pan; line the pan with parchment paper. Grease and flour the parchment paper.
- Spread the pumpkin cake batter evenly into the prepared pan. *using an offset spatula will make spreading the cake better easy.
- Bake for 13 to 15 minutes or until the top of the cake springs back when touched.
- Turn out the cake onto the prepared dish towel
*Alternatively you can skip the dish towel step and simply roll up the sponge cake in the parchment paper it was baked in.
Cream Cheese Frosting
While the cake is baking make the cream cheese frosting. I like using part mascarpone cheese (Italian cream cheese) when making cream cheese frosting. I like how it makes the cream cheese frosting extra smooth and silky.
You can use all cream cheese to make the frosting and it will still be delicious!
- Add the cream cheese, mascarpone, powdered sugar, butter and vanilla extract to a small mixing bowl.
- Whip ingredients on high speed until smooth and creamy
Assembling Pumpkin Roll
- Roll up the cake and towel together, starting with the narrow end. Itโs important to work quickly once the cake comes out of the oven. You want to get it rolled while itโs still hot to prevent any cracking.
- Let the wrapped cake cool on a wire rack.
- Carefully unroll the cake; remove the towel.
- Spread the cream cheese mixture over the cake.
Carefully re-roll the pumpkin cake.
Wrap the pumpkin roll in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least one hour; overnight is best.
Sprinkle the roll with powdered sugar.
Your friends and family are going to love this classic pumpkin roll, and after one bite you’ll agree this is the Best Pumpkin Roll Recipe!
Recipe FAQ’s
Once filled and rolled, wrap the finished pumpkin roll tightly in a piece of plastic wrap and then again in a layer of foil. Make sure that the ends are sealed well; this is important.
After properly wrapping the pumpkin roll you can keep them in the refrigerator for 2-3 days or you can freeze them for up to a month.
When ready to serve the pumpkin roll, remove it from the freezer or refrigerator and allow the roll to come to room temperature before serving.
No, you don’t. The newest technique for an easy and mess-free pumpkin roll is to roll the pumpkin cake up inside the parchment paper that it was baked on. No dish towel is necessary.
Allow the cake to cool in the parchment paper, then unroll the cake and spread the cream cheese frosting over the cake. Re-roll the cake, without the parchment paper, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate.
No, you can’t. Don’t try it won’t come out well, since the pie mix is diluted and not pure pumpkin.
Shelley Smith
Hello, I just found your blog recently, and just cooked your Pumpkin Crunch recipe over the weekend and just had to write to thank you for sharing such a delicious recipe! it was wonderful and made me feel less homesick lol. I’m a Vermont girl (loved to learn that you enjoyed your trips to Vermont!) but I now live in Scotland. I’ve been over here for 17 years next week, and while I go home to VT at least once a year, this past year I have been so overwhelmingly homesick…this pumpkin roll reminded me so much of home that I could close my eyes and almost believe I was with my family back there…thank you especially for that! =) I’m going to make this for my family when I go home later this year. The only thing I didn’t have to follow your recipe completely was the can of pumpkin, so I had to make my own from roasting a pumpkin and then evaporating all the excess liquid to get the right texture, but I don’t imagine that doing that will have changed the actual flavors of this recipe, if it did, it would have been only a minor change. So once again, thank you for this great recipe and thanks for making me home to VT, I can’t tell you how much that means!! I hope you’re well and that you are having a wonderful week!
Chef D
Hi Shelly
what a wonderful comment! Thank you so much for stopping by, and if I can take you home for just a moment that I have done more than I could have ever dreamed of! In one of my last posts, I mentioned how certain foods bring back memories form other times so easily, we do tend to associate food with many of the good times in our lives.
I can’t imagine roasting your own pumpkin would have done anything but improve the flavor, and I’m so happy to hear that you enjoyed it! If you have any more pumpkin left and want a really, really good cake, check out my pumpkin crunch cake, I only make a few time a year but people are always asking for it.
Thanks again for such a beautiful comment, I truly appreciate it, and have wonderful day in Scotland!
Cheers
Dennnis
Shumaila
I have been dying for a cream filled cake roll and its been on my mind to make one. Thanks for sharing this! You always make such beautiful looking recipes! And indeed, you are a great blogger. I read your post on the food blogging ethics and loved it! Great to be part of such a talented group!
Terra
I have been saying I will make a pumpkin roll, and still have not. I remember one Christmas I made it for my family, man did my Uncle love it:-) I love the crunch layer in your pumpkin roll, what a fun idea, adding another texture:-) Beautiful, Hugs, Terra
mangiabella
p.s. incredible pumpkin roll
mangiabella
you truly are our most valuable foodie ๐ congratulations friend, well deserved indeed. Such an inspiration you are in so many ways – on a side note, what kind of tablet do you have????
Maranda
Congratulations on most valuable foodie!!! And congrats on such a stunning cake! My niece is scared of pumpkin roll cakes and I told her we will definitely be making one to push her past her fear. I may have to use your recipe! Thanks for sharing!!
Lora ~ cakeduchess
I’m with Barb and cranberries. But my crush this season is also on any thing pumpkin. This roll looks so moist and delicious!! Finally making it around to see the Vintage Recipe swap posts. ๐
Lana
I want to congratulate you once again, as I am one of the bloggers that followed your advice and learned a lot from you:) I share your amazement with technology and feel extremely fortunate to live in this age when borders and distances are erased with a click of a button – that never seizes to astound me:)
Your pumpkin roll looks divine and I can only imagine the nice surprise of the crunchy layer. My mom made rolls fairly often and counted them in easier desserts, but I always stayed away from them thinking that they were too challenging, until I ventured in the unknown territory and made a few successful ones:)
Have a great weekend!
Emily @ Life on Food
First isn’t Google Analytics amazing. I love tracking data like that. Second, this pumpkin roll looks amazing. The crunch is what really does me in.
Dara
Love it! Congrats on your award – you really are the MVF! I have been following you since I started blogging and never miss an “ask Chef Dennis.” Well deserved.
Jen
Congratulations on your Most Valuable Foodie Award! Can’t wait to hear all about the conference!
Barbara | Creative Culinary
This looks beautiful with the cranberries and I might be inclined to even make a cranberry sauce to serve it on…but then I have such a huge crush on cranberries I could put then everywhere this time of year.
Christine
Congrats on winning Foodbuzz award.
Missy
Oh good lord. I need a piece of this cake. I am such a sucker for roll cakes!!!!
Alli
Congratulations Dennis on your FoodBuzz award! That is so wonderful! And I would absolutely add the crunch layer in the pumpkin roll cake…sounds like a perfect holiday cake to impress friends and family with!