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!
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.
Indulge in more fall desserts with this Pumpkin Bread with Cream Cheese Frosting recipe.
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.
📖 Recipe
Pumpkin Cake Roll With Toffee Cream Cheese Filling
Ingredients
Cake
- 1 cup plus 3 tablespoon all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ¾ teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon ginger
- ½ teaspoon allspice
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 4 large eggs
- 1¼ cups granulated sugar
- ¾ cup pumpkin puree
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
- 2 tablespoon molasses
Filling
- 6 oz cream cheese (softened)
- 2 tablespoon unsalted butter (softened)
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1¼ cups confectioners’ sugar
- ¼ cup Heath Bits or other toffee (finely chopped)
- ¼ cup finely chopped pecans
- ⅔ cup heavy cream
Instructions
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.
- 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.
- Place ¼ cup of the batter in a small bowl and stir in molasses and the 3 tablespoon 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.
- 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.
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.
- 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.
Notes
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.
Nutrition
Fall Side Dishes
Tara Teaspoon
I’ve been in food publishing for over 25 years, creating recipes & food-styling for magazines, books, television, food brands, & advertising. With two cookbooks under my belt and thousands of my recipes at your fingertips, I hope you'll be inspired to spend more time in the kitchen!
Recipe by Tara Bench. Originally published in Ladies’ Home Journal Nov 2013. Photography David Malosh. Food Styling Christine Albano. Prop Stylist Jen Everett.
Laura says
I would love to make this for Christmas. Could I make it a couple of days before and store it in the fridge? Thanks for all the tips!