Recipe: Pumpkin Roll

Image found here.

As much as I love pumpkin everything, I actually had never made a pumpkin roll before! So this weekend a friend of mine and I got together and made one. It is delicious! Actually, the batter as well as the filling are so good that I might even suggest just eating them with a spoon rather than baking the roll itself...

Ingredients
Cake:

• 1/4 cup powdered sugar (to sprinkle on towel. Don't worry, the towel will be explained later!)
• 3/4 cup flour
• 1/2 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp. ground cloves
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 3 large eggs
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 2/3 cup canned pure pumpkin (NOT pumpkin pie filling!)
• 1 cup walnuts (optional)

Filling:

• 1 package (8 oz.) cream cheese, at room temperature
• 1 cup powdered sugar, sifted
• 6 tablespoons butter, softened
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract

Instructions
For cake:
1. Preheat over to 375° F. Grease 15 x 10-in. jelly-roll pan; line with wax or parchment paper. Grease and flour paper. Sprinkle a thin, cotton kitchen towel with powdered sugar (enough so the cake won't stick to the towel).

2. Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves, and salt in a small bowl. Beat eggs and granulated sugar in a large bowl until thick. Beat in pumpkin. Stir in flour mixture.

3. Spread batter evenly into prepared pan. Sprinkle with nuts if you are including them.

4. Bake for 13-15 minutes or until top of cake springs back when touched (i.e. It might look a little moist, but test with a toothpick to make sure it's baked all the way.); if you are using a dark-colored pan, begin checking on the cake at 11 minutes.

5. Once the cake is done, immediately loosen and turn it upside down onto the prepared towel. Carefully peel off the paper. Roll up the cake and towel together, then let it sit to cool on a wire rack.

For filling:
1. Beat cream cheese, 1 cup powdered sugar, butter, and vanilla extract in small bowl until smooth. Carefully unroll the cake and spread the cream cheese mixture over the cake. Re-roll the cake, wrap it in plastic wrap, and refrigerate it for at least an hour. Then serve! (You can sprinkle the outside of the cake with powdered sugar before serving if you'd like.)

Because I like to take shortcuts with recipes to make my life easier, I did not add nuts, and I didn't bother sifting the powdered sugar (totally unnecessary, IMO). I really liked the towel technique in this recipe. I always wondered how people rolled the cake without it cracking! Rolling the cake around the towel while it's still warm allows the cake to form into the roll shape; the towel acts as the filling (if you will). Very cool, and it works! I will definitely make this recipe again!

Find the original recipe here.