Pumpkin Cake Roll with Toffee Cream Cheese Filling is a gorgeous, delicious alternative if you want something other than pie after Thanksgiving dinner. Or just make it anytime this fall!
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Want something other than pie for Thanksgiving this year? Wait! Who doesn’t want pie for Thanksgiving? So, if you want something ALONG with your pie for Thanksgiving, this is the dessert for you.
The molasses spice swirls on this beautiful pumpkin cake roll are baked right in. It’s so easy to make! The swirls are piped, frozen, and then covered with cake batter before it goes in the oven.
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If you’ve never made a cake roll before, don’t worry. All you need it a “jelly roll” pan (that’s a 10-by-15-inch rimmed baking sheet, pretty easy to find through this link), and a clean cotton tea towel. The warm cake gets rolled in the tea towel to cool and it forms the round shape. Gently unroll it to fill and then roll up again.
Take a look at these how-to images, feel your confidence build, and then bake! A layer of parchment on the bottom of the pan gets cut to perfectly fit inside the rim. You want it to layer very flat. You can pipe the swirls in any design you want.
1– With the thicker molasses batter, pipe designs onto the parchment. I like swirls, but you could do any design.
2– Freeze the pan with the swirls. After the design has been frozen, quickly spread pumpkin batter evenly in the pan, right over the swirls.
3– Bake the cake, then roll the warm cake in a clean towel. As it cools, it will hold the spiral shape.
4. When the cake is cool, unroll and spread with the Toffee Cream Cheese Filling and gently roll back up. Set on serving platter, seam-side down.
Tip:
Let’s talk about the most important thing you should remember when making this cake. When you turn it out and roll it in the towel, the design should be facing down on the towel! This ensures the swirls show up on the outside of the cake when you serve it.
- 1 cup plus 3 tbsp all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- ¾ tsp cinnamon
- 1 tsp ginger
- ½ tsp allspice
- ½ tsp salt
- 4 large eggs
- 1¼ cups granulated sugar
- ¾ cup pumpkin puree
- 1 tsp lemon juice
- 2 tbsp molasses
- 6 oz cream cheese softened
- 2 tbsp unsalted butter softened
- ½ tsp vanilla extract
- 1¼ cups confectioners’ sugar
- ¼ cup Heath Bits or other toffee finely chopped
- ¼ cup finely chopped pecans
- ⅔ cup heavy cream
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Make the cake: Heat oven to 375ºF with rack in the top third. Cut parchment to fit on the bottom of a 10-by-15-inch jelly roll pan and lightly grease the parchment and sides of pan; set aside. Whisk together 1 cup flour, baking powder, cinnamon, ginger, allspice and salt; set aside.
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In a mixer beat the eggs and sugar on high speed until fluffy, 4 min. Sir in the pumpkin puree and lemon juice, then the flour mixture, scraping the bowl to incorporate completely.
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Place ¼ cup of the batter in a small bowl and stir in molasses and the 3 tbsp flour. Transfer to a piping bag fitted with a #3 plain tip. Pipe swirl designs onto the parchment in the pan. Freeze until solid, about 20 min. Spread remaining pumpkin batter over frozen designs, smoothing the surface. Work quickly so the swirls don’t get warm.
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Bake until cake springs back when touched, 16 to 17 min. Run a knife around the edges and turn cake onto a wire rack. Gently remove parchment, then turn cake onto a tea towel, design side facing down. Dust the top of the cake with extra flour to prevent sticking. Starting at the short end, roll the cake to form a log, wrapping with the towel as you roll. Allow to cool in the towel.
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Make the filling: in a mixer beat together the cream cheese and butter until smooth. Add the vanilla and confectioners’ sugar and mix. Gently stir in toffee bits and pecans. In a separate bowl whip the cream until firm peaks form. Fold cream cheese frosting into the whipped cream until completely mixed.
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Gently unroll cooled cake, remove from towel and spread with filling. Re-roll and place seam-side down on a serving platter. Cover with plastic wrap and chill 1 hr or until ready to serve.
Tip:
Let’s talk about the most important thing you should remember when making this cake. When you turn it out and roll it in the towel, the design should be facing down on the towel! This ensures the swirls show up on the outside of the cake when you serve it.
Try these other fall treats and crafts.
No Carve Fall Pumpkin Crafts
Easy Apple Tarts
Fall Spiced Walnuts
Farro with Pomegranate and Apple
Pin this pumpkin cake roll for later!
Recipe by Tara Bench. Originally published in Ladies’ Home Journal Nov 2013. Photography David Malosh. Food Styling Christine Albano. Prop Stylist Jen Everett.
juliemason5 says
November 25, 2014 at 12:26 pmI love this idea!! So cute!
tarateaspoon says
November 25, 2014 at 4:21 pmThank you! 🙂
The Silver Teaspoon says
November 25, 2014 at 3:41 pmWow, amazing!! Love the molasses scrolls – such a cool idea for decorating.
tarateaspoon says
November 25, 2014 at 4:21 pmThanks! You can do your own designs too!
Kennedy Thorley says
October 20, 2015 at 11:04 pmTara! I’ll be making this for a huge family thanksgiving this year! Never made a rolled cake, and never wanted to until now! Fingers crossed!
Tara says
October 20, 2015 at 11:30 pmKennedy you’ll rock it! There are a lot of steps, but it’s easier than it looks. The huge group will love it!
Natalie says
October 27, 2017 at 4:08 pmThis looks amazing! I’m excited to try! I’ve made log cakes 3 times now and two of those times it’s cracked. Do you have any tips to avoid that? I was gentle and followed recipe.
Tara says
November 11, 2017 at 5:32 pmI emailed you! I hope this one turns out perfectly for you!
Lorelei says
November 21, 2017 at 4:12 pmI’d love to get those tips as well. I’m making this for Thanksgiving this year!
Tara says
November 26, 2017 at 8:41 amI just posted under Heather’s comment!!
Heather says
November 22, 2017 at 11:36 amCould you email me as well some of mine have cracked.
Tara says
November 26, 2017 at 8:41 amHeather, here is the note I sent about cake rolls! — Log or roll cakes can be tricky for sure. Some cake recipes just aren’t right for turning into a cake roll. Geniose-type cakes (a fancy French type of cake) is more spongy and lends itself well to cake rolls. I made this pumpkin cake based on this type of cake recipe so it would be less likely to crack.
Working with cake rolls just takes a gentle touch. Make sure you’re clean, dusted kitchen towel is ready when the cake comes out of the oven so you can place the cake right on it. No need to make the roll super tight, you just need the shape. So just gently roll the cake into the towel, being sure not to squeeze it. There shouldn’t be any cracks if you do this while it’s hot.
Once it’s cool, here’s where cracks sometimes happen. Gently unroll the cake, spread on the filling and gently roll up again. Use the towel to lift the cake into the final roll again.
Mary Bench says
July 17, 2018 at 10:33 pmThis is just as tasty as it is beautiful!
Brittany Smart says
July 19, 2018 at 4:03 pmLooking at the pictures it amazes me that they have swirls, but you make it look so easy!
Eithne Kilroy says
September 26, 2018 at 11:17 amThis looks absolutely delish! Definitely giving this a go. Just out of curiosity, how did you make the molasses swirls Tara? Thanks.
Eithne says
September 26, 2018 at 11:21 amOops! Never mind, just answered my own question. Thanks anyways.
Ashley says
November 21, 2019 at 9:07 amThis looks amazing, I’m going to try it next week for thanksgiving. If I don’t have a jelly roll pan, could I use a different size? Like a 9×13?
Tara Teaspoon says
November 21, 2019 at 1:30 pmAshley, so excited to hear if you enjoy it as much as I do. A 9×13 pan will result in a cake that is too thick and won’t roll correctly. A jelly roll pan is just bit bigger and the perfect size for creating a rolled cake. Here is my affiliate link to my favorite jelly roll pan, but any 10×15 inch rimmed baking sheet should work. If you are ordering it off of Amazon or Walmart, it should reach you by Thanksgiving. Tara