This spiced Pumpkin Roll is easier to make than you think! It is a soft, moist pumpkin cake rolled up with an easy cream cheese frosting!
Now I have no idea who Granny Kat is, but I wish I did because she deserves a personal thank you for this Pumpkin Roll. The pumpkin cake is moist and flavorful and the cream cheese filling is sensational!
When I first made this in 2013 I was super nervous, but I shouldn’t have been. It is way easier than you’d think and you know I am going to give you all the professional tips and tricks so that your pumpkin rolls will be fantastic on the first try. If you aren’t feeling the roulade stress, you could bake my pumpkin spice layer cake instead. Both use my favorite cream cheese buttercream for that sweet, tangy cream cheese layer. It is also phenomenal with a little bourbon like in these pumpkin pecan pie cupcakes or this red velvet layer cake. It’s the holidays. Pour it up!
Table of Contents
How to make a perfect pumpkin roll cake
- Start with a well baked cake: An over-baked cake will be dry and have a tendency to crack. Brush with simple syrup for a quick fix. An underbaked cake is possibly worse because it will be sticky and gooey and it will stick to the towel and to you and to basically everything you don’t want it to stick to. If this happens skip pre-rolling in the towel and allow to cool completely in the pan before rolling.
- Cool the cake in a towel: Cooling the cake in the towel really does make a world of difference because it keeps your cake moist. Pre-rolling the cake allows it to acclimate to its new rolled shape. It is less likely to crack.
- Chill your cake well before slicing and slice with a sharp knife or a serrated knife!
Ingredients
- All-purpose flour: All-purpose flour has just the right amount of gluten to make a tender pumpkin roll cake that is still flexible enough to roll.
- Sugar: I use granulated sugar in this cake. It is here for the more obvious flavor reasons, but also to aid in leavening, moisture, texture and stability.
- Baking Soda: Do check the freshness of your baking soda! It does lose potency over time. If it's not fresh, send it to the back of the refrigerator to absorb some odors, or clean your marble countertops with it!
- Pumpkin Pie Spice: Spices are best used within one year of purchase. They will be most potent and true to their original flavor. This recipe calls for pumpkin pie spice mix. I used my recipe but you could use store-bought as well.
- Pumpkin Puree: I use Libby's pumpkin puree because it is consistent and that is what I use to develop all my recipes. Use whichever brand you prefer. Just be sure to grab pure pumpkin puree and not pumpkin pie mix! I would not suggest substituting homemade pumpkin puree due to the varying moisture content. Canned pumpkin puree is tightly controlled within a certain percentage. Too much moisture will make the pumpkin roll cake gummy and flat.
- Eggs: Whole eggs allow you to emulsify all that oil into the batter, resulting in a moist, not greasy, cake. They also help with leavening by trapping air with the sugar.
- Lemon Juice: Lemon juice is the flavor here! My motto for citrus juices is that fresh is always best. If you must use store-bought, try to find a frozen option that is frozen fresh juice, or sometimes it can be found in the refrigerator section. If it looks dark in color, then it is no longer going to taste fresh.
- Powdered Sugar: Dust powdered sugar or confectioner’s sugar over the cake prior to rolling.
- Cream Cheese: I use original Philadelphia Cream Cheese for all my baked goods including frostings and buttercreams. I also use full fat though reduced fat can be substituted. Just ensure that it is not whipped. Whipped will make the buttercream too soft and it won't support the layers or stay in the roll.
- Butter: I use unsalted butter for baking, because you want to control the amount of salt you are adding. In frostings and buttercreams the butter is there for stability. It will firm up when cold, which helps the buttercream stay in the pumpkin roll.
- Confectioner's Sugar: We use confectioner's sugar in American buttercreams because it ground finely into a powder.
- Vanilla Extract: Vanilla Extract adds a beautiful flavor to the buttercream.
Frequently Asked Questions
While there is no real fix other than starting again, you can cheat it by brushing it with an easy simple syrup. Bring equal parts sugar and water to a boil then cool completely. Brush the cake with the cold syrup prior to assembling.
The first step to keeping a pumpkin roll from cracking is to properly bake the cake. An over-baked cake will crack when rolled and an under-baked cake will stick to the towel, parchment or plastic wrap.
The second step is cooling the cake rolled in a clean, dry kitchen towel. This gets the cake used to its new rolled shape and will be less likely to crack.
No tears will fix a cracked pumpkin roll, so it’s best just to whip up extra of my favorite cream cheese buttercream to slather on top. You can also add a little whiskey to the buttercream. This will cover the cracks and stop the tears 😉
Chef Lindsey's Recipe Tips
The biggest take-away from this whole post is, don’t stress! Pumpkin rolls look fancy but it is just a simple, oil-based cake that is made in one bowl. You can cover any cracks with more cream cheese buttercream and no one will be the wiser!
Recipe
Granny Kat’s Pumpkin Roll
Ingredients
For the Cake:
- ¾ cup all-purpose flour
- 1 cup white sugar
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
- 1 cup pumpkin puree
- 3 eggs
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
- ¼ cup confectioner’s sugar
For the Filling:
- 8 ounces cream cheese (softened)
- ¼ cup butter
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup confectioners sugar
For the Topping:
- 2 tablespoons confectioner’s sugar
- ¼ teaspoon cinnamon
Instructions
- Make the Cake:
- Preheat oven to 375° and grease and flour a 9x13 inch jelly roll pan. Do use the right sized pan so that your cake is an even thickness. I realized my pan was too large too late. Next time I won’t make such rookie Pumpkin Cake Roll mistakes.
- In a large bowl mix together flour, sugar, baking soda and pumpkin pie spice. Stir in pumpkin puree, eggs and lemon juice. Pour mixture into prepared pan and spread the mixture evenly.
- Bake in preheated oven for 15 minutes or until cake springs back when touched lightly.
- While the cake bakes, lay a clean, unscented, lint free towel on the counter and sprinkle with ¼ cup of confectioners sugar. Turn the cake onto the towel leaving only ½ inch of towel exposed at one short end. Start rolling the cake and towel together lengthwise at the end with the smallest overhang. Place the cake rolled in the towel on a cooling rack and let cool completely.
- Make the icing: cream the cream cheese, butter, vanilla and 1 cup confectioners sugar together with an electric mixer.
- When cake has cooled, gently unroll cake and spread the icing with a small offset spatula within a ¼ inch of each side. Carefully re-roll the cake, making sure to tuck filling into the starting curl so that there is filling at the very center of the roll. Dust with Topping.
- Keep the cake refrigerated and slice right before serving.
Video Instructions
I love your website and the way you explain things. You are an excellent teacher in your videos as well. I had an issue making the pumpkin roll and was hoping you could tell me what I did wrong. I made the recipe for the pumpkin roll in a 12x17 pan and it turned out to be about 3/4 inch thick and cracked completely in half when I tried to roll it. My pan was actually 11.5 x 16.5 interior measurement (I measure at the inside bottom of the pan for my measurements). Is your pan size measured by the interior or exterior measurement? I made it again and just made the Libby's recipe and put it in the same size pan, since I did not have a 10x13 and it turned out perfectly and did not crack when rolled. It was slightly thinner than I would have liked, but delicious and beautiful with icing and pecans on top! Guests where actually taking photos of it. So thanks for the inspiration to put the icing on top....great idea! The only thing different about the Libby's recipe besides the spices, is that it uses 2/3 cup pumpkin puree instead of 1 cup. So my question is, do you think it was the extra pumpkin, or was my pan too small because I measured the interior measurement instead of the exterior? Thanks so much for your help!
Aww thank you, Sharon! I appreciate your readership!
Oh, sorry, Sharon, I didn't see the rest of your comment. I don't think you used the wrong pan. Every pan is slightly different even "standard" ones. The fatter cakes are more susceptible to cracking, so you definitely have to pre-roll it when it is warm. If you did that, it could also be the baking time. The cakes will crack more if they are baked longer. I'm sure you can see in the video that mine also cracked. Part of that was because it was fatter and because I wanted a lot of frosting inside. The cracking was actually the reason I ended up putting icing on top. A happy accident for us both!
I’m going to try it in my pampered chef 14x10 bar pan.. should I line with parchment paper?
Looks amazing!
Definitely! Better to be safe than sorry! Plus the parchment helps with the rolling process
I love pumpkin rolls!! Thank you for linking up to Party Time and we hope to see you again next week!
A jelly roll pan is bigger than 9 x 13 but is only an inch deep. That's what you typically use for a cake roll, not a 9 x 13 cake pan. Either way, can't wait to try it, but I will use my jelly roll pan. 🙂
A 9x13 jelly roll is what the original recipe called for. I didn't have one, so I used a rimmed cookie sheet and just didn't spread the batter to the edges. It worked but it wasn't as even as if I had had the correct sized pan.
Did you have two pumpkin rolls?? One post said there is enough for 2 rolls? I don't have the 9x13 jelly roll pan either. I will wait and buy one, this looks so good I want it to be right.
Hi Glenda, The recipe as written makes 1 pumpkin roll. I actually made the one you see in the pictures in a rimmed baking sheet and just didn't spread the batter all the way to the edges. That commenter substituted a box of cake mix for the flour and baking soda and sugar, and I think she was saying that she should have only used half the box. I've never tried using box cake mix, but I know that my recipe makes one roll! I'm sure your roll will be spectacular!
This pumpkin roll looks great! Perfect idea for Fall! Pinning and will try to make it soon !
Thanks, Mira! It is delicious. I need to remake it soon!
I goofed on my first attempt (used a recipe with boxed cake mix......forgot to only use half the batter for 1 roll....The recipe will normally yield 2 rolls....
now I have a huge fat roll :'(
LOL! It happens to the best of us! I didn't have the right sized pan when I made this one, because I failed to check my pans prior to mixing up the batter! So I ended up with some crispy, ugly edges 🙂
Hopefully your chubby roll still tastes amazing!
This pumpkin roll looks amazing! I absolutely love pumpkin, so I'd love to make (and eat!) this!
Pumpkin makes me happy. There is no other way to say it. 🙂 Let me know if you try it!
it looks yummy!
Thanks! They definitely are!
Gorgeous cake!! I've never made a roll before but they always look SO so yummy 🙂
Thank you! It was fun once I got over the fear that I would break it or that mine would turn out hideous!
Ohh..more pumpkin recipes. Yummy! Reminds me...I should go buy some pumpkins too before pumpkin season rolls right by me. Pumpkins for cooking/baking and also for facials lol. So good for your skin!
They are good for your skin!? Now you tell me!
Ps- I've never baked from a "real" pumpkin. I use the ones that are ready with the quick twist of a can opener! 😉
Pumpkin rolls are my weakness, yours looks amazing! I am dreaming of a few pieces right now! 😉
Thanks, Pamela! Everything pumpkin is my weakness! For serious. Can. Not. Resist.
I've wanted to make a pumpkin roll for the longest time! Yours looks wonderful!
You should totally try it! I don't know why I was so terrified before! They are sooo much better than store-bought.
Nice photos! What a good looking pumpkin roll! It looks so soft. Pinning!
Thanks Julia! It was definitely the moistest pumpkin roll I've ever had.
I make this every year at Thanksgiving (or recipe similar to it). Everyone loves it! Great photos! What type of lighting do you use?
I'd love to try your recipe too! You aren't afraid of complicated recipes - that's one of the reasons I love your site!
I use natural light coming in from the left side with a silver bounce on the right. I haven't mastered artificial light yet so I am a slave to weather.com!!
wish i could use natural light but i do all my cooking mostly at night so i have to adjust for artificial lighting.
I run into that problem a lot too, but I'm still trying to perfect my artificial light photography! Any tips?