Pumpkin Roll is a delicious pumpkin cake rolled with a cream cheese frosting on the inside. Perfect for those fall get-togethers or for a family dessert.
Jump to RecipeFall is here, and that means time for everything pumpkin! This delicious pumpkin roll cake is one of my favorite pumpkin-flavored desserts. Plus, it’s full of cream cheese. I love cream cheese!
It takes a couple of hours to make, but only about 30 minutes of that is actively doing something. The rest of the time is in the cake baking and cooling.
I got the original recipe for this pumpkin roll from one of my coworkers over 10 years ago. She used to make it every year in the fall and bring it to the office to share. Let me tell you, it didn’t last long!
Step by Step
Start by preheating the oven to 375F. Then butter and flour a 15×10 jellyroll pan. Use either butter or oil to grease the pan. Then pour a little bit of flour on the pan. Tilt the pan all around until it’s covered in flour. And a jellyroll pan just means a flat baking sheet that has sides to it.
In a small bowl, combine the flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger and set the bowl aside. I usually try to sift the flour because it helps it mix up better without any lumps.
Use an electric mixer to beat the sugar with eggs on high until it nearly triples in volume. This usually takes about 5 minutes or so, which is why I like to use my stand mixer.
Once the eggs and sugar have tripled in size, turn the mixer to low and add in the flour mixture.
After that has stirred in, add the pumpkin puree and stir until just combined, you don’t want to over mix.
Pour the batter into your prepared jellyroll pan and use a spatula to gently level it out.
Bake the pumpkin cake for about 15 minutes, or until the cake is springy and the edges start to pull away from the sides of the pan. Make sure you don’t overcook the cake because it will dry out quickly since it’s so thin. Lay a clean dish towel out on the counter, and sprinkle it with a decent amount of powdered sugar.
Carefully pull the edges of the cake away from the pan and flip it over onto the dishtowel. Powdered sugar will poof everywhere, so be aware of that!
Starting from the small side of the towel, carefully roll the cake up in the dish towel while it is still warm. Rest the cake on a wire cooling rack with the seam side down so it doesn’t unroll and let it cool completely.
After the cake has cooled, use a mixer on high speed to combine the cream cheese and butter until it’s smooth.
Add the powdered sugar and vanilla and stir again until it is combined completely.
Carefully unroll your cake from the dishtowel. Don’t worry if it falls apart. I don’t call this my “perfect” pumpkin roll because it looks perfect, but because it’s a perfectly delicious recipe for the fall!
Spread the cream cheese mixture all the way across your cake(s), making sure to leave a little bit to add to the top once it is all rolled up.
Use the towel to help you re-roll the cake again, using the cream cheese mixture inside to help hold it all together. Then spread the rest of the mixture on the top and sides of the pumpkin roll. Sprinkle with more powdered sugar as garnish. Store in the refrigerator.
Recipe
Originally Published On: September 10, 2017
Last Updated On: September 16, 2019
Perfect Fall Pumpkin Roll
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp butter
- 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp nutmeg
- 1/2 tsp ginger
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 3 eggs
- 12 oz pumpkin puree
- 1/3 cup powdered sugar
- 16 oz cream cheese (softened)
- 1/4 cup butter
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Recommended Equipment
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375F
- Butter and flour a 15×10 jellyroll pan
- In small bowl, combine flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger and set aside
- In mixer bowl, beat on high sugar with eggs until eggs nearly triple in volume, about 5 minutes
- Reduce speed to low and mix in flour mixture
- Beat in pumpkin until just combined
- Pour batter into jellyroll pan and gently level with spatula
- Bake 15 minutes or until cake is springy and edges pull away from sides of pan
- Sprinkle clean dish towel with powdered sugar
- With small knife, loon cake edges and invert onto towel
- Starting with short side, roll up cake in towel
- Let cake cool completely, seam side down, in towel on wire rack
- Meanwhile, with mixer at high speed, combine cream cheese with butter until smooth
- Reduce speed to low
- Beat in 1 cup powdered sugar and vanilla until combined
- Carefully unroll cake and spread cream cheese mixture to within 1/4 inches of edges
- Roll cake, using towel to help
- Sprinkle with additional powdered sugar
All nutritional information is based on third-party calculations and should be considered estimates. Actual nutrition content will vary based on brands used, measuring methods, portion sizes, and more.
My husband loves these rolls! the rolling part is always difficult for me! But it always turns out tasting amazing regardless of my cake rolling skills lol
Yeah, I have a hard time getting it to roll without breaking sometimes, too. But, no matter what it looks like, it still tastes the same!
Ooh, this looks so good… I’ve never tried pumpkin roll before! My family would love this!
It’s such a yummy fall treat. I am not a huge fan of pumpkin flavor, but the cream cheese filling really balances everything out in this one.
This looks so light and delicious!! The perfect dessert for a warmer fall day!
It is great for warmer fall days (like we have in Texas) because you serve the cake cold.
Pumpkin rolls are a family fav in my house! This recipe looks delicious, and your photos prove it!
My husband and I devour this. The boys liked it, too, but didn’t get much chance at it since we would eat it while they were in school!
I have never made a roll, they always seem so intimidating having to cool off but be rolled right. I like the towel idea and not worrying about it breaking!
I haven’t had one perfect yet, but it still tastes amazing! The towel really helps to roll it up easily.
This pumpkin roll looks so delicious! Love the swirl pattern inside when you cut each slice!
Me too. It makes me feel so fancy to serve a dessert that looks so pretty 🙂
‘Tis the season! Now this pumpkin spice dessert I can get on the band wagon for, totally yummy. Great recipe to create a deliciously light yet flavorful roll.
It definitely is the season for it! I am not a big pumpkin person, so this is great since the pumpkin flavor is there, but the cream cheese filling helps tone it down a bit.
I love pumpkin everything! I’ve never tried a rolled cake before “; they seem so intimidating. But I think I’ll give this a go!
I understand that! I was intimidated at first, too. But as long as you aren’t looking for perfection, but just a delicious dessert, then this is easily doable.
Wow! this Pumpkin Roll looks so yummy!! perfect for breakfast!
Yep, my husband had it for breakfast with his morning coffee a time or two!
Oh wow! I’ve always wanted to do a “roll” of some kind because I think they look so cool, but I never have. This looks so incredibly tasty and not that hard at all actually! 😉
It definitely looks harder than it is. As long as you aren’t looking for perfection (mine still tend to break when I unroll) then you can easily make this.
I am positively drooling looking at this pumpkin roll! I usually do pumpkin bars which I love, but now I have got to try this as well.
Oh, pumpkin bars sound like a great dessert, too! I have so much pumpkin puree right now, I may have to give pumpkin bars a go soon.
Ohhhh I have made a cinnamon roll like this but never pumpkin. I am so going to try this!
Cinnamon roll sounds like a delicious option, too! I’ve made homemade cinnamon rolls but not quite like this before.
The minute I saw the title I was in love with this! Me and my boys will have to make this fall.
It’s a great dessert for the fall. My boys enjoy helping me make (and eat) all the desserts!
My husband and I have such a sweet tooth and we crave for sweets literally after every single meal even if its just a bite. These rolls look so Delicious and yummy and now I see they are not too difficult to make either.
I completely understand because I am the same way! We often have mini chocolate chips in the pantry and I’ll grab a small handful of those after a meal for that kick of sweetness when we don’t have a dessert like this here.
It’s fall and I love everything pumpkin. This look great. I’m savorying the opportunity to make this and eat with my favorite coffee. I love adding the cream cheese. This makes this recipe even more scrumptious. My husband always has a sweet tooth.
My husband will have this for breakfast with his morning coffee when we have it, too!
Oh my goodness – that CREAMY interior looks soooooo drool worthy – and then matched with the luscious pumpkin roll part, UGH! I am dreaming of wolfing this down!!
I am not a huge pumpkin person, so the creamy filling is by far my favorite part!
This looks really delicious! I love anything pumpkin, so I’m definitely going to have to give your pumpkin roll recipe a try!
The pumpkin and cream cheese go so well together, I hope you enjoy it as much as we do!
This is the most perfect dessert for fall season! Also, the cream inside the roll looks so delicious! I’ll give a try to this recipe
In my opinion, the cream cheese filling is the best part! 🙂
Ooooo yum!!! Just love pumpkin roll! It’s something I always bake during the fall. I might just have to try your recipe when the time comes!
We bake it almost every year, too. It’s such a great dessert for early in the season for us since it’s so warm here still and this is best served cold.
I like your rolling tips! I have never successfully managed to make a roll but it’s something I’ve wanted to do!
As you can see, I haven’t been completely successful either. But no matter how it looks, the taste is the same!
These pumpkin rolls look so good! I usually buy one or two each year, but I might try to make them this year.
They aren’t too hard to make. The hardest part is getting the cake to not break when you unroll. As you can see, mine still broke, but it tastes delicious either way!
As always, you make it look/sound so easy! Not only do I want to try this combination, but (now that I know the secret of neatly “rolling” the roll!) I am tempted to try this technique on other combinations! (MMMMMM chocolate with peanut butter buttercream frosting 🙂 🙂 🙂 …)
I haven’t tried it with any other cakes yet, but that’s a great idea! I don’t eat peanut butter, but my husband and boys would love a chocolate and peanut butter cake!