Pumpkin Roll Cake Recipe

Moist, spiced cake with rolled layers of cream cheese icing - pumpkin roll cake is a must try recipe for your Thanksgiving season!

My mom has made this classic pumpkin roll ever since I can remember. In fact, I pulled this recipe outta my Longaberger recipe box to share it with you.

But first, I had to quiz my mom on all things pumpkin cake. She's my Yoda and I am here Jeti.

Or something like that.

Recipe for pumpkin cake roll

Typical cake ingredients are combined with real canned pumpkin puree. This is the pure pumpkin variety, not pumpkin pie filling.

Add some warm, autumn spices like cinnamon, vanilla, ginger and nutmeg. Feeling cozy yet?

Then slather some cream cheese icing over the wholllllle thing and roll it into a pretty, scrumptious package topped with a dusting of powdered sugar.

How to make a pumpkin roll

Let's be honest, many of us are intimidated by the term "jelly roll". It involves the word technique. Sounds fussy, but don't worry, my friends. I have a fix for that.

Have you ever gone camping? Or were you a Girl Scout?

I'm raising both my hands!!

Okay, so you know how to roll a sleeping bag, right? Then you can do this! Let's walk this through together...

Step 1: Make the cake

Nothing earth shattering here. Just making a typical cake. Now, grease your 10 x 15 inch jelly roll pan with some cooking spray. Top the greased pan with a sheet of parchment paper or waxed paper.

Spray that too. The one thing we want to avoid is the cake sticking to the pan. We need it to turn out easily.

Step 2: Bake the cake

Pour the prepared cake batter into the prepared jelly roll pan. Be sure to spread the batter all the way to the four corners and then make sure the cake batter is evenly distributed throughout the pan.

Bake for 20-25 minutes until the cake springs back when touched.

Step 3: Get ready to roll!

Remove the pan from the oven and allow to cool for five minutes.

Now, this is when it starts to get a little wacky and you'll thinking, "she wants me to do WHAT?". But trust me, Mom won't steer us wrong.

Get a clean dish towel and lay it on the counter. Generously sprinkle it with more powdered sugar. Turn the still warm, but slightly cooled cake carefully out onto the towel.

Start rolling the towel away from you with the cake rolling up into the towel. You'll end up with a fat, towel and cake roll, so you know which way to roll (as opposed to rolling lengthwise which would give you a long, skinny roll).

Still with me?

Now, let the cake cool completely. Rolling the cake while it's warm will keep it from cracking and it'll also have some memory in it to remember how to roll back up.

It's kind of like setting your hair in curlers and letting them cool.

Sort of. Camping, hair rollers....yeeesh!

Step 4: Make the icing and then unroll the cooled cake

Make your icing and set aside. Unroll the cooled cake, which will lay back ON the dish towel. If there are hardened edges, you may wish to carefully cut those off with a serrated knife. Generously ice the entire cake, taking care to cover the corners, or edges, too.

Re-roll the cake (think sleeping bag technique, here) while gently making it tightly rolled. The icing will act like a glue for you as you roll. Place onto a serving dish and refrigerate (covered loosely with plastic wrap until ready to serve).

If desired, dust with additional powdered sugar before slicing to serve.

If you're a visual person, here's a great video of how to make a jelly roll.

Tips for pumpkin cake rolls

More fall inspired recipes:

• Pumpkin Spice Pancake Recipe
• Mini Pumpkin Pies Recipe
• Make Ahead Cranberry Sauce
• Butternut Squash Casserole with Pecans and Bacon
• Easy Pumpkin Pie Bars
• Soft Pumpkin Cookies