The best pumpkin roll recipes have a sweet cream cheese filling. Full stop. I’m going to show you how to make the best pumpkin roll recipe with a sweet cream cheese filling. Don’t be intimidated by a pumpkin roll cake, it is easy to do with the right tips and tricks! I got you!
Parchment Paper is essential, but so is using cooking spray, as well!
Use a silicone spatula to really get the pumpkin roll cake batter into the corners of the pan. I get these cute pink ones from Amazon. If you don’t have a prime yet, you can get a 30 day free trial here.
A flour duster helps so much in this pumpkin roll cake recipe because you need to dust powdered sugar to keep the cake roll from sticking. Don’t be afraid to use a good thick layer of powdered sugar because it will get into the pumpkin roll cake and make it even more luxurious.
As soon as the pumpkin cake comes out of the oven, flip it out onto a powdered sugar covered piece of parchment paper or a dish towel. I’ve done both and whilst I used parchment paper on this specific recipe, I think I’d prefer the dish towel method because the dish towel helps to soak up some of the extra moisture from the steam. Both are effective though!
Rolling up the pumpkin cake while it’s still hot helps it hold its shape and not crack when filling it later on. Don’t skip this step!
Putting Saran Wrap down before unrolling the pumpkin cake helps after you roll it back up with filling.
Make sure your pumpkin cake is completely cooled before unrolling and filling it. I’m talking like 2 hours. Putting it in the fridge helps speed it up! Use an offset spatula to spread the sweet cream cheese filling into an even layer.
Leave some space on the edges so that it doesn’t ooze out when rolling up.
Use the parchment paper or dish towel to slowly help lift and roll the pumpkin cake.
Now the pumpkin roll cake is on the Saran Wrap you put down and can easily be wrapped tightly around the pumpkin roll cake.
Place pumpkin roll cake into the fridge for the sweet cream cheese filling to set.
A cold pumpkin roll cake is way easier to cut for cleaner slices. Definitely wipe off the cake knife between each slice too.
Be sure to watch my video for even more visuals for a perfect pumpkin roll cake with sweet cream cheese filling.
Ingredients:
Pumpkin Cake
- 100g all purpose flour (3/4 cup)
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1 1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 150g granulated sugar (3/4 cup)
- 50g brown sugar (1/4 cup)
- 3 eggs
- 165g pumpkin purée (2/3 cup)
- 1 tsp vanilla bean paste (or extract)
Sweet Cream Cheese Filling
- 6oz cream cheese, softened
- 3 tbsp unsalted butter, softened
- 1 tbsp vegetable shortening
- 1 tsp vanilla bean paste (or extract)
- 150g powdered sugar (1 1/4 cups), plus extra for dusting
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 350°F
- Whisk together the dry ingredients in a large bowl (flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice, salt)
- In another bowl, whip together the eggs, sugar, brown sugar, pumpkin purée and vanilla together for a couple of minutes, until it is a bit foamy
- Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and fold together
- Pour into a prepared 10×15 baking sheet (parchment paper and cooking spray), spread evenly
- Bake for 10-12 minutes or until a toothpick stuck in the middle is clean or springs back to the touch
- Flip the pumpkin cake onto another piece of parchment paper (or dish towel) that has a layer of powdered sugar and roll into a tubular cylindrical roll shape and let cool completely before filling or the filling will melt and you’ll have a very big mess on your hands
- For the sweet cream cheese filling, use a mixer to whip together the cream cheese, butter and shortening. Then add the vanilla and powdered sugar and whip until smooth
- Unroll the cooled pumpkin cake and spread the filling in an even layer, leaving a little edge on the ends then roll up into a roll
- Wrap roll tightly in cling wrap and pop it into the fridge for the filling to set
- Cold pumpkin roll cake is way easier to cut too, but serve room temp for the best texture and flavor. Store in the fridge.
- Enjoy!
Eating a pumpkin roll on a dessert plate with a fork is nice but when I sent them with my husband to work, they just grabbed a slice by hand and ate it on the go!
I’ve served these for the holidays, but also I’ve given them away for presents for the holidays too. You can make them ahead of time and store them in the freezer. Just make sure they are tightly wrapped and place in a freezer bag to keep them fresh.
When you make this pumpkin roll cake, take a picture and a video and share with me on social media! I love to see your recreations!
If you’re looking for a Vegan pumpkin roll recipe, I have that on this blog too!
I’ve also made a zero sugar pumpkin roll recipe too
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Amazon Products used in this recipe:
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