Pumpkin Roll

By Samantha Seneviratne

Published Nov. 9, 2023

Pumpkin Roll
Linda Xiao for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Samantha Seneviratne.
Total Time
1 hour 50 minutes
Prep Time
10 minutes
Cook Time
40 minutes, plus 1 hour cooling
Rating
4(230)
Comments
Read comments

This basic pumpkin roll hits the spot. The cinnamon-scented cake has a soft, airy texture that works well with the decadent American buttercream filling. It’s simple and satisfying as is, but could also be a great jumping off point for experimentation: Fold a bit of chopped chocolate, toasted coconut, raisins or your favorite nuts into the cake batter, or flavor the buttercream with bits of spicy candied ginger, earthy molasses, maple syrup or floral honey. You could even swap the buttercream altogether and fill the cake with your favorite cream cheese frosting or a simple whipped cream. The possibilities are endless.

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Ingredients

Yield:8 servings

    For the Cake

    • Unsalted butter, for greasing
    • 1½cups/192 grams all-purpose flour
    • 2teaspoons ground cinnamon
    • 1teaspoon baking powder
    • ¼teaspoon baking soda
    • 1teaspoon kosher salt
    • 1cup/240 grams canned pumpkin purée
    • 3large eggs
    • ¾cup/150 grams granulated sugar
    • ½cup/110 grams packed dark brown sugar
    • 2teaspoon pure vanilla extract
    • 2teaspoons apple cider vinegar
    • Confectioners’ sugar, for dusting

    For the Filling

    • 12tablespoons/170 grams unsalted butter, at room temperature
    • 1½cups/180 grams confectioners’ sugar
    • 3tablespoons/45 milliliters heavy cream
    • 2teaspoons pure vanilla extract
    • ½teaspoon kosher salt
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (8 servings)

540 calories; 23 grams fat; 14 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 7 grams monounsaturated fat; 1 gram polyunsaturated fat; 79 grams carbohydrates; 2 grams dietary fiber; 58 grams sugars; 6 grams protein; 380 milligrams sodium

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 13-by-18-inch rimmed baking sheet. Line it with parchment paper, then butter the parchment.

  2. Step 2

    Prepare the cake: In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda and salt. In a large bowl, whisk together the pumpkin purée, eggs, granulated sugar, brown sugar, vanilla extract and vinegar until smooth. Fold the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients, whisking gently if needed to eliminate any lumps.

  3. Step 3

    Spread the batter onto the prepared sheet in an even layer. (It won’t look very thick.) Bake until the cake is puffed, set and springs back when pressed gently in the center, 12 to 15 minutes.

  4. Step 4

    Meanwhile, set a clean dish towel on a work surface. Dust with confectioners’ sugar until evenly coated.

  5. Step 5

    Remove the cake from the oven and use a paring knife to loosen it from the edges. Immediately flip the cake out onto the prepared towel and peel off the parchment paper. Starting from one of the short edges of the towel, roll the cake and towel up into a spiral, taking care not to compress the cake. Transfer the towel-wrapped cake to a rack to cool completely, about 1 hour.

  6. Step 6

    Meanwhile, make the filling: In a large bowl, beat the butter and confectioners’ sugar with an electric mixer on low speed until combined. Using a rubber spatula, scrape down the side of the bowl, then beat on medium-high until very light and fluffy, about 4 minutes. The mixture will lighten in color and become glossy. Beat in the cream, vanilla and salt.

  7. Step 7

    Carefully unroll the cooled cake. Spread the filling evenly over the cake and then roll it back up without the dish towel. Trim about 1 inch from each end of the cake. Transfer to a serving plate, dust with confectioners’ sugar, if using, and serve immediately. (You can also make the cake in advance and refrigerate up to 24 hours. If doing so, wait to dust with confectioners’ sugar until ready to serve.)

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Ratings

4 out of 5
230 user ratings
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Comments

cbmeckfessel

I have always thought the Land O Lakes, Libby pumpkin roll was the standard. The filling in that has 8 oz of cream cheese, 6 Tbsp butter, 1 cup confectioner's sugar and a teaspoon of vanilla extract. It is more like a cream cheese frosting than a butter cream. But as stated, "to each his/her own."

Dimitroula

I'd already decided to fill this cake with a cream cheese frosting. Best-ever and easiest recipe: 560g full-fat cream cheese + 200ml heavy cream + 150g conf. sugar + 1 tsp ground cinnamon + 1 tsp. vanilla. Combine all ingredients in stand mixer with whisk attachment on low speed, then increase speed to medium-high until firm peaks form. (The yield will be too much for this cake, so adjust overall proportion accordingly.)

Susan Neul

I just made this as practice before I make it for real on thanksgiving. Excellent flavor, very moist. 12 minutes in oven . Rolled perfectly. My only issue was pan size. My half sheet pans are 14x 19.5”. My rimmed cookie sheets are 10x15. I decided to use the smaller pan and did some math to figure out how much batter to leave off. (I baked the leftover in a 5” round pan and ate as a snack!) the whole thing came out perfectly!

2GreenThumbs

I did try Dimitroula's suggested modification. One half of her cream cheese frosting recipe was just enough. I WISH that I had used Kathleen G's suggestion to whip the egg whites separately. I think the pumpkin makes the cake wet enough that it needs the support. My own modification is to substitute the NYT homemade pumpkin spice mix (see Pumpkin Crumb cake, it really elevated the flavour.

Carol Mathias.

Thanks for all the advice! I made the cream cheese frosting and didn’t over bake. Had a great dessert in 2 hours.

Delicious as a meal-prep lunch

The cake/sponge is delicious: absolutely perfect. The buttercream is where I had issues. I feel that a cream cheese frosting pairs better with pumpkin. Plus, I made this roll in advance and refrigerated it which led the frosting to really get hard. The roll was good but it would have been better with a different frosting.

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