Pumpkin Cream Cheese Roll
not ancient, but still epically delicious and full of enough calories to nourish the Roman empire at its peak
As lovely as pumpkin pies are, I found myself without a pie pan or a desire to have that be something else I store in my room and find a place for between semesters. I also wanted to have something more 'rare' and 'exotic' to spice things up for my guests, and the ratty features pumpkin pie fairly regularly in the autumn season. Inspired mostly by smack talk from my fiance' toward anything inspired by the fall season pumpkin foods or anything that relies on cream cheese to stand alone as a flavor, the pumpkin cream cheese roll became the perfect option.
Part of having a successful feast is impressing my guests from start to finish and if that means making an irresistible dessert based on some of their least favorite dessert options, then I will feel successful.
Ingredients for cake:
- 3 eggs
- 1 cup sugar
- 2/3 cup pumpkin
- 1 tsp lemon juice
- 3/4 cup flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 3 1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 8 oz softened cream cheese
- 4 tbs butter
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 1/2 tsp vanilla
Begin by mixing the eggs and sugar until they are well mixed, frothy, and yellow. Using an electric mixer can be a great help, but is not necessary, my whisk worked just fine. Add the pumpkin and lemon juice to this mixture and mix well. I find that squeezing half of a fresh lemon for a recipe like this makes for better lemon juice than what you usually get in the bottles at the grocery store.
Mix all of the dry ingredients in a separate bowl, and then add them to the pumpkin mixture. Mix well and spread onto a greased jelly roll pan lined with wax paper. Lining the pan is so that the cake can be easily removed from the pan without cracking since it must be handled while still semi-warm at first to prepare the cake for becoming rolled up.
I did not have wax paper and used foil, which reduced my baking time and caused the underside of my cake to get darker brown than the rest, so if you use foil, be careful to pay attention and not let the bottom burn. Make sure to grease the foil some so that the cake will release from it as well, but that is not necessary if using wax paper.
Bake at 350 degrees for approximately 15 minutes (mine took less) and then remove and let cool for 15 minutes. Then flip the pan out onto a clean towel you have sprinkled with a healthy layer of powdered sugar. Let it cool 10 more minutes. After it's cooled for ten more minutes, roll the cake up into the towel, as seen below.
Beat together the softened cream cheese and softened butter (or margarine, if you prefer). Both can be slightly softened in the microwave if you want to make this and they aren't soft enough, but watch them carefully and don't let them melt. It's also helpful to use a fork to mash them together, or two knives to cut them together. Once the cream cheese and butter are mixed together, add the powdered sugar and vanilla and mix until smooth, as seen above.
Next, unroll the cake, spread the mixture on the cake, and roll up again. Be careful and go slowly, trying to roll it as tightly as possible while holding it as lightly to assist the cake from not cracking.
Transfer the pumpkin roll to plastic wrap, wrap it tightly, and then chill for at least an hour in the refrigerator. I found that having it in the freezer for about a half an hour before serving makes it easier to cut. You can also just keep it in the freezer to store it for a long time if you want to make it days ahead of time or have it keep for a while.
