This Pumpkin Cake Roll with Cream Cheese Frosting is much easier to make than it looks! Featuring a springy, spiced pumpkin cake filled with sweet cream cheese frosting, it’s the perfect dessert to impress during any season.
I don’t know who needs to hear this, but it is absolutely acceptable to make pumpkin desserts in March.
You will not descend into Dante’s Sixth Circle of Hell.
You will not be smitten (smited? smote?) by the wrath of fifteen angry pagan gods.
You will not have to go to jail without passing GO and collecting $200.
What you will do is ascend to the highest form of dessert nirvana known to humankind, a place where Starbucks pumpkin spice lattes are brewed all year round.
Case in point: this week, I made our favorite Pumpkin Cake Roll (yes, it’s 80 degrees and sunny in California) and I swear you could hear pumpkin spice snobs across the globe sniffing hopefully at the unexpected aroma of cinnamon and cloves wafting through our home. Not only is this cake packed with the perfect blend of spices: it’s also springy to the touch, with a light, spongy texture that sets it apart from most other cakes. The warm pumpkin blend is also balanced by a smooth, sweet cream cheese filling that takes just 30 seconds to whip up.
Best of all, this elegant dessert is insanely easy to make, so if it’s your first time tackling a cake roll, this is the perfect place to start! I first stumbled across this popular recipe through Libby’s (which has 700+ near-5-star reviews) and was extremely impressed by how quickly everything came together. This cake should take you about an hour to make from frosting to finish, so you can even pop out a cake roll before bedtime tonight if you’re feeling extra motivated!
Bottom line: pumpkin any time of year is a win. Go be a winner. Go make this pumpkin roll cake and devour it, like, yesterday.
Pumpkin Cake Roll
All the fanciness, none of the fuss! This elegant Pumpkin Cake Roll is perfect for first-timers and a great way to spice things up (literally) for your next round of dessert. Original recipe from Libby's.
Ingredients
For the cake:
- 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 3 eggs, room temperature
- 1 cup white sugar
- 2/3 cup pumpkin puree
- 1/4 cup powdered sugar
For the filling:
- 1 (8 oz.) package cream cheese, softened
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 6 tablespoons butter
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Grease a 10x15-inch jelly roll pan (see Note 1 for other options) and line with wax paper. Lightly grease and flour the wax paper to keep cake from sticking.
- In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves, and salt.
- In a separate large bowl, beat together eggs and white sugar until thick. Beat in pumpkin, then fold in flour mixture until just incorporated.
- Spread batter evenly and carefully in lined pan. Bake for 13-15 minutes, or until cake springs back when touched. (If using dark pan, begin checking for doneness around 11 minutes.) While waiting, sprinkle 1/4 cup powdered sugar evenly onto a large second sheet of wax paper.
- Immediately (and carefully!) loosen and turn cake onto powdered wax paper sheet. Starting with narrow end, gently roll up the cake and paper together until cake forms a spiral roll. Allow to cool completely on wire rack.
- In the meantime, prepare frosting by beating together cream cheese, 1 cup powdered sugar, butter, and vanilla in a medium bowl until smooth. Carefully unroll cooled cake, spread filling evenly across the entire rectangle, then reroll cake into a tight spiral. Wrap with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least one hour before slicing and serving!
Notes
- If you don't own a jelly roll pan, no problem! Simply use a standard 10x15-inch baking sheet instead and line it with paper as instructed, keeping careful not to spill any batter over the edges.
