Jimmy's Pumpkin Roll Cake is pretty much the only pumpkin roll cake I make these days. I got the recipe years ago from Sandra in Houston, but have changed it a little through the years. As far as roll cakes go, this one is hard to mess up. I mean, I'm sure you could find a way, but for the most part it's an easy cake. Thanks again to Sandra, wherever you are, for sharing this recipe! Here's the latest picture plus a few tips.
Pumpkin Roll Cake Tips
- If you don't have pumpkin pie spice, you can make it yourself. Just mix together ½ teaspoon cinnamon, ¼ teaspoon ginger, ¼ teaspoon nutmeg and ¼ teaspoon cloves. Measure out 1 teaspoon for the pumpkin roll.
- Can't find a 15x10 inch pan? This happened to me once and I realized that the broiler pan, which I hardly ever use, is 13x11 so just about the same size as a jelly roll. It worked perfectly.
- Roll cake are made with wax paper rather than parchment. Be sure to really grease and flour the wax paper well so that it will peel off the cake! If you are used to using parchment, you may not realize how much more grease wax paper needs. I speak from experience.
If you're now in the mood for a pumpkin roll cake but don't want pumpkin, this Red Velvet Cake Roll is also good. Or make both and freeze!
Recipe
Jimmy's Pumpkin Roll
Pumpkin roll cake filled with cream cheese. This came from a reader named Sandra. It was a little different originally as it did not contain any baking powder or baking soda, and it was still great. Later, I realized it's basically the same as the Libby's recipe, so I added the leavening agents back in for a lighter textured crumb.
Ingredients
Cake:
- 3 large eggs
- 1 cup granulated sugar (200 grams)
- ⅔ cup pumpkin (175 grams)
- ¾ cup all purpose flour (100 grams)
- ½ teaspoon each baking powder and baking soda Jimmy leaves it out
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon Jimmy uses 2, I prefer 1
- 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
- 2 tablespoons powdered sugar
Filling:
- 8 oz cream cheese softened, (240 grams)
- 6 tablespoons soft butter (84 grams)
- 1 cup powdered sugar (120 grams)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Grease a 15x10 inch jelly roll pan and line with wax paper. Grease and flour the wax paper.
- Beat eggs and sugar until very light and fluffy. Mix in pumpkin. Stir together flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon and pumpkin pie spice, then stir into batter. Pour into lined pan and bake at 375 degrees 12-14 minutes.
- immediately loosen the sides of the cake from the pan. Sprinkle powdered sugar evenly over the cake, then lay a clean dish towel over it. Put a large baking sheet over the towel, then invert the pumpkin cake onto the baking sheet with the towel. Remove wax paper cake. Roll the bread along with the towel into log shape and try not to break it as you curl it. Allow to cool at least 30 minutes.
- Filling: Mix together the softened creamed cheese, softened butter and powdered sugar. Beat until light and fluffy, then beat in vanilla.
- Unroll cake and towel. After mixing all the ingredients for the filling, spread the filling onto the bread and roll the bread in the same direction. Now cover with wax paper and chill to set for a few hours. Sprinkle with powdered sugar before cutting into slices. It really tastes good after sitting in the refrigerator for a day or so.
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!
tae says
wow!!! jim, i love your recipe it's great i made it for my family and they loved it!
Kristacular says
I found this recipe LAST thanksgiving.. and made it then, and then for christmas presents last year.. and here I am again! Just started my own blog... so I will be posting about this at some point!
THANKS!!!!!
K:)
Anna says
Martha, I loved this filling and wouldn't change a thing.
Martha says
I haven't tried this yet.
How do you think a filling made with a ricotta cheese base would do with this?
Any ideas or suggestions? Thanks.
Elisabeth says
I just "discovered" your blog from a link on Joe's Culinary in the Country...I love it! I'll be adding it to my own blog list, if you don't mind. 🙂 This pumpkin roll recipe looks fabulous - I've never attempted a roll cake, but this one looks good enough to be worth taking the plunge! Thank you!
Kim says
I make a similar pumpkin roll, but lately, instead of filling it with cream cheese frosting, I use vanilla ice cream. It's sooooo good. I just soften a pint of vanilla Haagen-Daaz (or other super premium vanilla), spread it on the cooled cake, and roll. I've even used vanilla frozen custard, which is super-decadent. I just store in the freezer, and put it on the counter to soften for about a half-hour to slice and serve. Deeee-lish!
Anna says
Sandra, I went ahead and noted that. I made mine as Jimmy did -- without the baking powder and salt. It would be interesting to do a side-by-side test and see what the difference is in texture.
Alicia, roll cakes intimidate me too. It felt good to make one, though.
Ah, Katie. If I were clever, I would have made the title of the post "On a Roll With Pumpkin!". I'm going to need to take a break from pumpkin pretty soon.
Katie says
Wow Anna you are on a pumpkin roll lately... haha so sorry for the pun! : ) I think out of all of the pumpkin recipes you've posted so far, this one looks especially good!
Alicia says
*sigh* There are so many pumpkin recipes that I want to make! Roll cakes intimidate me though.. I'm not sure if that's a reason to or not to try this recipe!
Sandra says
I checked his recipe...no baking powder, soda or salt in it. I hope your mom likes it and I hope Fuzz is feeling better.
Anna says
Hi Joe,
All of the pumpkin rolls seem similar. The basic formular is 3 eggs, 2/3 cup pumpkin and 3/4 cup flour. From there, things change. Some people use baking powder, others (like Libby) use soda. Spices are different, fillings are different, etc.
At any rate, making this helped get me over my weird fear of jelly roll cakes.
Now I want to go make a chocolate one.
Joe says
It certainly looks tasty!
I think this is the same as Libby's "famous" roll, except the spices are played around with - I see they have 1/2 teaspoon each of baking soda and powder though!