Skip the Traditional Pumpkin and Try a Pumpkin Roll

 

It's  always traditional to  have a pumpkin pie for Thanksgiving but  for the last  5  years I have always  made a  pumpkin roll  for  dessert which is like my signature dish for  dessert. My family always  looks forward to it. So if you are needing a change of  pace I highly recommend  this dish. It's one of my  favorites. I  think the hardest part  is  rolling the cake because you need to gentle or the cake can crack. But if you like me, as long as it tastes great that is what matters so here is what you will need  for  this recipe:

Ingredients

• CAKE
• 1/4 cup powdered sugar (to sprinkle on towel)
• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 3 large eggs
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 2/3 cup LIBBY'S® 100% Pure Pumpkin
• 1 cup walnuts, chopped (optional)
• FILLING
• 1 pkg. (8 oz.) cream cheese, at room temperature
• 1 cup powdered sugar, sifted
• 6 tablespoons butter or margarine, softened
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• Powdered sugar (optional for decoration)

Directions

FOR CAKE:
PREHEAT oven to 375° F. Grease 15 x 10-inch jelly-roll pan; line with wax paper. Grease and flour paper. Sprinkle a thin, cotton kitchen towel with powdered sugar.

COMBINE flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves and salt in small bowl. Beat eggs and granulated sugar in large mixer bowl until thick. Beat in pumpkin. Stir in flour mixture. Spread evenly into prepared pan. Sprinkle with nuts.

BAKE for 13 to 15 minutes or until top of cake springs back when touched. (If using a dark-colored pan, begin checking for doneness at 11 minutes.) Immediately loosen and turn cake onto prepared towel. Carefully peel off paper. Roll up cake and towel together, starting with narrow end. Cool on wire rack.

FOR FILLING:
BEAT cream cheese, 1 cup powdered sugar, butter and vanilla extract in small mixer bowl until smooth. Carefully unroll cake. Spread cream cheese mixture over cake. Reroll cake. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate at least one hour. Sprinkle with powdered sugar before serving, if desired.

COOKING TIP:Be sure to put enough powdered sugar on the towel when rolling up the cake so it will not stick.

OTHER TIPS:   I eliminate the cloves  because my family doesn't like cloves and it still turns out fine. I also put the cream cheese filling right  after I take the   cake out of the oven. I find  it easier to  roll when its  hot and  the tendency to break  is almost slim to none so I don't  have to unroll it again to spread the cream cheese. If you do the cream cheese  filling ahead of time and put it  in a  refrigerator  before the cake is done it will be nice and cool that  when you put it on the cake  it melts   slightly and makes it easy to  spread  too  so it spreads evenly very nicely  and you don't have to do the extra step of  the re-rolling.  If you decide to add  nuts be sure to  chop the  nuts a bit finely, otherwise when you roll the  cake it can  crack.