Easy Pumpkin Roll Recipe With Cream Cheese Filling

As autumn settles in and the temperatures start to get cooler, normally, we break out all the great baking recipes, especially the pumpkin recipes that bring us cozy comfort. This classic pumpkin roll recipe with cream cheese filling is an easy go-to for a lot of families.

If you are looking for a relatively simple pumpkin roll recipe that will impress your family at the Thanksgiving dessert table, look no further. This pumpkin roll recipe with cream cheese filling is super easy to make. The cooling time is the longest part of it all. It takes about an hour to cool. But while it’s cooling, you can always make the heavenly cream cheese filling.

It is also a good recipe for a cozy evening at home. This pumpkin roll is super easy and quick to make. Don’t be intimidated by the process. I was when I first started, and I’m not sure why. I think I was always worried about it cracking and not turning out just right. I did learn several things along the way not to do. I will tell you at the end of the recipe the things I tried that did not work so well for me. So don’t be intimidated, YOU GOT THIS!

Come along, and I will teach you to make this easy pumpkin roll recipe.

Tools You Will Need For This Easy Pumpkin Roll Recipe

• jelly roll pan or small cookie sheet
• rubber spatula
• offset spatula
• hand mixer or stand mixer
• large mixing bowl
• medium mixing bowl
• small mixing bowl
• parchment paper or wax paper
• plastic wrap
• cooling rack
• tea towel or flower sack towel
• nonstick spray

Ingredients To Make Pumpkin Cake Batter

• 2/3 cup of pumpkin purée (NOT pumpkin pie filling)
• 1 cup of sugar
• 3 eggs
• 3/4 cup of all purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon of baking powder
• 1 teaspoon of cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon of salt
• 1/8 cup of confectioner sugar for the kitchen towel

Ingredients For Cream Cheese Filling

• 1 cup of powdered sugar
• 8 oz of cream cheese softened
• 1 tablespoon of softened butter
• 1 tablespoon of imitation vanilla extract (if you use pure vanilla extract you will need only 1/2 a tablespoon of this)
• Additional powdered sugar for the final touches

How to Make This Easy Pumpkin Roll Recipe

Step 1: Preheat oven to 375 degrees, spray your baking pan with nonstick cooking spray. Next, line it with a piece of parchment paper or wax paper and spray the paper as well with nonstick spray.

Step 2: In a small bowl, combine flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt and set aside but only for a minute.

Step 3: With a large bowl or using the bowl of a stand mixer, add in 3 eggs and sugar. Then, with your electric mixer, beat on high speed until well blended. 

Step 4: Secondly, add in the pumpkin and mix at a low speed.

Step 5: Then pour the dry ingredients into the pumpkin mixture. You can either fold in the flour mixture with a rubber spatula or use your electric mixer on low until it is all blended and no flour streaks are left.

Step 6: Finally, pour batter onto the prepared pan. You can use your offset spatula to smooth your batter out evenly on your jellyroll pan and place your baking sheet into the preheated oven for about 12-15 minutes. While it’s baking, sprinkle your clean kitchen towel with 1/8 of a cup of confectioner sugar. 

Step 7: Once done, turn the entire cake over onto your lightly dusted kitchen towel and take off the piece of parchment paper. Immediately start with the short end and roll up snuggly in your tea towel. Finally, put your rolled cake on a wire rack to cool for an hour. Or, you can place your warm cake in the refrigerator for an hour as well.

NOTE:

How long you bake your pumpkin roll will depend on how hot your oven runs. Therefore, I would check your pumpkin cake at 12 minutes. Once your timer goes off, test the warm cake with a toothpick. If it comes out clean the first time or the top of the cake springs back when touched, it is done. If the toothpick still has a little bit of cake stuck to it, stick your pumpkin roll cake back in for a minute or two and then check it again.

How To Make The Cream Cheese Filling

Step 1: While preparing the pumpkin cake, set out the cream cheese and butter and allow them to come to room temperature and soften. However, if you forget to do this early on, you can always soften them in the microwave.

Step 2: In a medium bowl, combine the softened cream cheese and butter with powdered sugar and vanilla.  Blend it all together until smooth.

Filling The Pumpkin Roll With Cream Cheese Filling

Step 1: Unroll your cooled cake carefully so as not to crack it. (If it does a little, it is ok, sometimes they just crack) And use your offset spatula to spread your cream cheese mixture evenly over the whole thing. Then, tightly roll the cake back up, carefully separating it from the towel. 

Step 2: Next, Roll out a piece of plastic wrap and transfer the pumpkin roll cake with cream cheese icing to it. Roll the whole thing in the plastic wrap making sure all sides are well covered.

Step 3: You can either serve at room temp or refrigerate until you are ready to serve. Before serving, lightly sprinkle powdered sugar over the top of your amazing pumpkin cake. You can do this with a sifter to make it pretty.

Variations:​

• You can add one teaspoon of pumpkin spice to the cake batter if you enjoy even more seasonal flavor.
• You can always bake the pumpkin batter at 350 for 13-15 minutes, but it will be a little more sticky and moist. It is very good this way as well. Just not as easy to handle.

What Not To Do:

• Do not roll your pumpkin roll in the parchment paper. Someone told me to do this, and my pumpkin roll cake turned to complete mush. Maybe you have had success, and if you have, that’s awesome, but this was an epic fail for me.
• Do not pull the pumpkin roll out too soon. Leave your pumpkin roll in the oven until the toothpick comes clean. When I first started, I would pull mine out too early. It would turn out too moist every time. (my kids do like it this way a lot, so it wasn’t too much of a fail In the end. But it does not work out so great for taking to a party super sticky.)
• Do not roll it back out of the towel too fast. If you roll slowly and gently, it helps big time. I’ve cracked too many pumpkin rolls doing this step too fast.

Preparing Ahead Of Time

You can prepare this easy pumpkin roll recipe ahead of time and refrigerate it for a couple of days before you need to serve it. You can also freeze it for a couple of months and just bring it out to thaw a day before you need it.

Pin It For Later

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Leave A Comment

I hope you try this easy pumpkin roll recipe with cream cheese filling. Let me know your thoughts below in the comments.