Classic Pumpkin Roll

Nothing says delicious fall flavor like a pumpkin roll full of delicious cream cheese frosting! This classic pumpkin cake roll is simple to make and it is the perfect dessert for any holiday or gathering!

There are certain desserts that I have a huge weakness for. I don’t mean just I like them, but that I could easily eat the WHOLE thing.

Pumpkin rolls are one of those things.

There is something about the soft spicy pumpkin cake combined with the creamy, fluffy, cream cheese icing that makes them irresistible. I always do a little happy dance when I see them come out in the stores each fall.

It took me a long time to attempt to make one of these delicious desserts because I was always intimidated by them, I knew that there were steps beyond just baking and frosting and I thought like it seemed difficult.

So I wanted to chat a little bit about the process before we get started in case it is holding you up from creating this deliciousness.

Tips for getting the perfect pumpkin roll-

Make sure your baking sheet isn’t too big-

I have 2 baking sheets and one is slightly larger than the other. When I used it to make my pumpkin roll the cake was just a little too thin and so it cracked when I filled it and rolled it. You want a 15×10 inch pan, or even a little smaller would be ok, you would just need to bake it longer. But bigger will result in a cake that is too thin.

Line, grease & flour your baking pan-

One of the keys to getting the perfect pumpkin roll is getting the cake out of the pan in one piece. The best way to do this is to line your pan with parchment paper, grease it and flour it. It seems like overkill but it will assure you a cake that comes out quickly and easily.

Use a tea towel to roll the cake-

A few recipes I’ve seen say to roll your cake in the parchment paper that you’ve lined your baking pan with. This does work, but in my experience, it makes for a stickier cake that is harder to handle. If you transfer the cake to a flour sack towel (or another lint-free thin towel) it allows the steam to escape while it is cooling and makes it easier to handle.

Refrigerate it before cutting-

You can slice right into your pumpkin roll when it is finished but it will be pretty squishy. For a nice clean cut you’ll want to refrigerate it for about and hour so that the frosting has time to firm up, this makes for easier and neater cutting (But I totally understand if you don’t want to wait!)

Hopefully those tips help you troubleshoot any issues you might come across and help you make a perfect pumpkin roll!

Here’s how to make this delicious pumpkin roll –

For the cake-

3/4 Cup Flour

1/2 tsp Baking Powder

1/2 tsp Baking Soda

2 tsp Pumpkin Pie Spice

1/4 tsp Salt

3 eggs

1 tsp Vanilla

1 Cup Sugar

3/4 Cup Pumpkin Puree

For the Icing-

8 oz Cream Cheese (softened)

6 Tbsp Butter (softened)

1 tsp Vanilla

1 Cup Powdered Sugar

Pinch of Salt

Additional powdered sugar for dusting

Preheat oven to 375, line a 15×10 inch baking sheet with parchment paper and grease and flour it.

In a mixer combine your sugar, eggs, pumpkin, and vanilla, mix throughly.

Mix together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt, and pumpkin pie spice.

Add your flour mixture into the pumpkin mixture a little at a time and mix until throughly blended.

Spread the batter out evenly on your prepared baking sheet.

Bake for 13-15 minutes or until the top springs back after being pressed.

While the cake is baking lay your tea towel on a flat surface and sprinkle powdered sugar evenly across it.

When you remove your cake from the oven work quickly to remove it from the pan (be careful!) and place it face down on the prepared towel. Peel off the parchment paper.

Roll the cake and towel up together starting on a short side, once it is all rolled up set it on a wire rack to cool completely.

While your cake is cooling, combine your cream cheese, butter, vanilla, and a pinch of salt with an electric mixer. Add in your powdered sugar a little at a time mixing after each addition.

When you cake is completely cool carefully unroll it (it may stay slightly rolled, that is ok)

Spread your icing evenly across the cake and re-roll it. Wrap your pumpkin roll with plastic wrap or wax paper and refrigerate for about an hour.

When you are ready to serve you can slice the ends off for a better presentation. Just slice and serve, you can get 8-10 slices depending on how thick you slice it.

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