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This classic pumpkin roll recipe is made with a delicious pumpkin cake and heavenly cream cheese filling…and it’s surprisingly easy to make. See the video below for a visual on how to assemble your pumpkin roll!
Happy fall, everyone! In honor of the calendar officially flipping over to the new season this week, I thought I would bump my favorite fall dessert recipe to the top of the blog again.
Yep, I’m talkin’ about a good, old-fashioned, deliciously-indulgent, classic pumpkin roll. ♡
I have had a tradition of making pumpkin rolls every fall for at least a decade now, and always look forward to the cozy, comforting, delicious fall vibes that they bring. But I have to say that this year, during our first September living abroad, this small tradition has been especially nostalgic and comforting.
Even though it now requires making a special trek across town to the one store in Barcelona that sells canned pumpkin puree, plus an extra trip to a different store to purchase a brick of “Philadelphia” (the name for cream cheese here in Spain, so cute), and some major tinkering with my tiny Spanish oven — the rhythms and feels and smells and flavors of this ritual feel just as familiar as ever. And the second I slice off a beautiful round of that perfectly-paired pumpkin cake swirled with cream cheese filling, it tastes just delicious as ever. And the world feels wonderfully, magically, comfortingly small for a moment. Feels like fall.
Anyway, if you also happen to have a nostalgic craving hit this season for a classic pumpkin roll, this recipe has been my go-to for years. It calls for all of the classic ingredients (thanks, Libby’s!), but it’s updated with my method for rolling up the cake in parchment paper, which I have found to be simpler and more reliable than the classic towel method. If this is your first time making a pumpkin roll, don’t fear — it’s much easier than it may seem. Plus, I’ve included a handy step-by-step video below to take any of the guesswork out the equation. And if your friends and family are anything like mine, they are going to love it.
Let’s make a pumpkin roll!
Classic Pumpkin Roll Recipe | 1-Minute Video
Pumpkin Roll Ingredients:
To make this classic pumpkin roll recipe, you will need the following ingredients:
Flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, eggs, vanilla, granulated sugar: For the base of the pumpkin cake.
Pumpkin pie spice: For seasoning the cake. (You can either use store-bought pumpkin pie spice, or I’ve included measurements for ingredient amounts for ground cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and cloves.)
Pumpkin puree: I have always used store-bought canned pumpkin puree, which is super simple. But you are welcome to make pumpkin puree from scratch, if you prefer.
Cream cheese, powdered sugar, butter and vanilla: For the cream cheese filling. I told you it was indulgent. ;)
You will also need:
10 x 15-inch jelly roll pan: The specific size of the pan is important here, so that the cake can be nice and thin.
Parchment paper: I like to buy these pre-cut sheets, but you can also definitely cut your own.
How To Make A Pumpkin Roll:
Alright, let’s begin with the pumpkin cake. Simply:
Make your pumpkin cake batter. You can either do this in a stand mixer, or by hand in a large mixing bowl. Whisk together the dry ingredients until combined, and set aside. Then in a separate bowl, whisk together the eggs and sugar until thick. Stir in the vanilla and pumpkin puree until combined. Then fold in the dry ingredients until they are just combined, being careful not to overmix the batter.
Transfer batter to the baking sheet. Cover your jelly roll pan completely with parchment paper, leaving some extra room on the long (15-inch) sides so that you can easily lift the cake out after baking. (If the parchment paper is sliding around, just sprinkle a few drops of water underneath it, which will help it to stick to the pan.) Then spread the batter evenly on top of the parchment.
Bake. This part goes quickly since the cake is so thin.
Remove cake from pan. This part needs to move quickly, so be ready. As soon as the cake comes out of the oven, run a knife around the edges of the pan (if needed) to loosen the cake. Then carefully grab the edges of the parchment paper to lift the cake out of the pan and slide it over to a flat, heat-proof surface. (I recommend using oven mitts since the cake will still be very hot.)
Roll the cake. Then holding onto the parchment, carefully roll up the cake — from short end to short end — until it forms a complete roll. (See video above for an example.) Transfer the rolled cake to a wire cooling rack and let it cool completely to room temperature, seam-side-down so that they cake does not unroll.
While the cake is cooling, make your cream cheese filling. To do so, simply:
Stir together your ingredients until smooth. It’s ok if there are a few tiny lumps of cream cheese. But in general, you want the filling to be pretty smooth. Also, it’s crucial that your ingredients are all room temperature so that the cream cheese filling can be nice and sturdy. Otherwise, the filling will be too thin and will ooze out of the pumpkin roll. (If it seems too thin, just add more powdered sugar.)
Refrigerate until ready to use. To keep it nice and fresh.
Once the cake has cooled, it’s time for the fun part. To assemble your pumpkin roll:
Gently unroll the cake. Place the cake back on a flat surface and gently unroll it until the cake is mostly flat again, going slowly so that the cake doesn’t break. (If it does a bit, don’t worry, it will still taste delicious.)
Spread on the cream cheese filling. Using a spatula, spread the cream cheese filling out evenly on top of the cake, leaving a 3/4-inch border around all sides of the cake so that the filling doesn’t spill out while the cake is being re-rolled.
Re-roll the cake. Then go ahead and roll the cake back up again, carefully peeling off the parchment paper as you roll until it until it is completely released.
Wrap the cake. Wrap the finished pumpkin roll tightly in plastic wrap, and refrigerate it for at least an hour until chilled.
Dust with powdered sugar. When you’re ready to serve the cake, remove and unwrap it. Then lightly dust the entire roll with powdered sugar. Then…
Slice and serve! I like to take a small slice off of the ends just before serving, to reveal those beautiful swirls and make it a bit prettier. Then voila! Your homemade pumpkin roll will be ready to enjoy!
How To Store + Freeze A Pumpkin Roll:
Great news! Pumpkin rolls keep well in the refrigerator and freezer, so they’re the perfect dessert to make ahead of time if you’d like. To store your pumpkin roll, wrap it up tightly in plastic wrap. Then you can either refrigerate it for up to 5 days, or freeze for up to 3 months. If you choose to freeze the pumpkin roll, be sure to let it thaw in the refrigerator for 1 day before serving. (If you try to warm it up in the microwave or oven, it can dry out.)
Variations:
Love this pumpkin roll recipe? Be sure to try these other dessert rolls too:
This classic pumpkin roll recipe is made with a delicious pumpkin cake and heavenly cream cheese filling…and it’s surprisingly easy to make. See the video above for a step-by-step visual tutorial for how to assemble your roll.
optional: powdered sugar (to sprinkle on at the end!)
Cream Cheese Filling Ingredients:
1 (8 ounce) brick cream cheese, room temperature
1 cup powdered sugar, sifted
6 tablespoons butter, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
To Make The Pumpkin Roll:
Preheat oven to 375° F. Line a 15 x 10-inch jelly roll pan with parchment paper, leaving an extra 1-inch of parchment sticking up on both 15-inch sides of the pan so that you can easily lift the cake out after baking. (If you’d like the parchment to stick to the bottom of the pan more easily, sprinkle a little bit of water on the pan and then press the parchment paper on top of it. You can also lightly mist the top of the parchment paper with cooking spray for easier cake release afterwards, although it’s not required.)
Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, pumpkin pie spice and salt in a large mixing bowl until combined.
In a separate bowl, whisk eggs and granulated sugar for 1 minute until thick. Add in the vanilla and pumpkin, and whisk until just combined. Fold in the flour mixture with a rubber spatula, and stir together until just combined.
Spread the batter evenly into prepared pan. Bake for 13 to 15 minutes, or until top of cake springs back when touched. Carefully lift the parchment paper and cake out onto a flat (and heat-safe) surface. Then slowly, use your hands to roll the cake — rolling from the short end to the short end — until it is completely rolled up. Transfer the cake roll to a wire rack, and cool until it reaches room temperature.
While the cake is cooling, make the cream cheese filling (see below).
Once the cake has reached room temperature, transfer the cake roll to a flat surface, and carefully it until it is flat again (or mostly flat, it’s ok if the ends curl up a bit). Spread the cream cheese mixture evenly over cake, leaving a 3/4-inch border on all sides. Then carefully re-roll the cake, gently peeling away the parchment paper as you roll until you can completely remove and discard it. Tightly wrap the pumpkin roll in plastic wrap and refrigerate at least one hour.
Remove and unwrap the pumpkin roll and transfer it to your serving dish. Lightly dust the pumpkin roll on all sides with powdered sugar, if you would like. Then slice* and serve.
If you have leftovers, just re-wrap the pumpkin roll in plastic wrap and store in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. Or freeze for up to 3 months.
To Make The Cream Cheese Filling:
Whisk together cream cheese, powdered sugar, butter and vanilla extract in a mixing bowl until smooth. If the filling is too thin, add more powdered sugar. If it is too thick, add a half teaspoon or two of water. (You want a medium consistency so that the filling is easy to spread, but not too warm or thin that it will ooze out of the cake when you’re rolling it up.)
*If you do not already have a jar of pumpkin pie spice, you can use the following:
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
**If you want the cake to be pretty on the very ends, I recommend slicing off about 1/2-inch of the cake on both ends before serving. Then you’ll definitely see those pretty cream cheese swirls!
Recipe is very slightly adapted from Libby’s. Cooking time listed above does not account for cooling time.
First time making a pumpkin roll, family loves it and super easy. I did use the measurements for the spices instead of pumpkin pie spice, but it turned out great!
Rolling the cake in the parchment paper was magical. I didn’t have powdered sugar all over the kitchen. Thanks for the tip. Very easy. Haven’t tried it yet…looks delicious. Thank you.
So much easier using the parchment paper to bake and roll up when it comes out of oven. It saved me several steps! I used to stress over flipping it out of the pan onto the powdered sugar Tee-towel. It didn’t always go as planned and I would always have a mess. I will definitely do this from now on! They turned out great! Thank you!
I love this recipe! I’ve been making this roll for thanksgiving for the last three years. It is always a hit with the family and preferred over pumpkin pie.
This is my ONLY pumpkin roll recipe! It is a family favorite, just made it today, the day before Thanksgiving! It is so good the day after, thank you so much! Happy Thanksgiving to All!
Gena —
Great recipe. But where is the video? Are all those ads really necessary? That was the only turn off about this site! Way too many ads and no instruction video.
Soo I plan on making this tomorrow morning, but sadly I wasn’t able to find a jelly roll pan would a cookie sheet work? I think we have other pans but those are taller I’m not too sure if their long enough…
The cake turns out perfect per these instructions, but I cannot get the filing thick enough to not run everywhere. I’ve doubled the powdered sugar, and I chilled the filing while the cake was cooling but the filing still poured out of the sides when I rolled up the cake.
Thanks! Great recipe! Spot on! I use gluten free flower (just whatever I happen to pick up) as a 1-to-1 substitute and it works perfect. Love the parchment paper suggestion! Video, I don’t know, maybe I’m a more accomplished baker than I thought, but I didn’t use the video. However, after all the comments I felt compelled to view it – it’s there, it’s good, thanks! ;-)
This is delicious. The filling consistency was just right. Maybe the people with runny filling had melted the butter or the cream cheese was too soft. My only suggestion is that the directions should be a little more clear in step 4 that you are rolling the cake with the parchment still attached. It says “…use your hands to roll the cake”, implying you are only rolling the cake. I was unclear and initially I didn’t notice that you don’t peel away the parchment until step 6.
Your recipe is so easy and absolutely delicious. The only question I have is how do you keep the parchment paper from making creases in the cake batter? The last time I made it the creases were so bad they literally make cuts in the cake. I’ve thought about maybe ironing out the paper first and then using non stick spray on the pan to hold down the paper.
Great recipe. The only problem I’m having is the parchment paper is sometimes the paper gets wrinkles and puts a dent in the cake. Sometimes the dent is deep enough it cause a break in the cake. I’ve thought of ironing the paper and using cooking spray so it doesn’t move. Any ideas?
Laura Stout —
I usually spray the parchment paper very lightly with oil. Helps a lot. Also, Make sure you put a little bit of water under the parchment paper to help it smooth out on the pan. Hope this help.
I have made this recipe for years!! I get requests whenever we go to a party, or any type gathering, all year round..
This year, I could not find my recipe ANYWHERE!!! I have one certain place that I put my favorites and it was not there! I was devastated! Then, I remembered I had shared the recipe with my sister-in-law that lives in another state. I got her to send me a copy. She took pictures of the page and your website was showing at the bottom.
It was a blessing that I had lost the original!! I now have Chocolate and Carrot Cake to make!!!!
Can’t wait to get into the kitchen and make more!!
This is so easy to make and delicious!!
Great recipe however I had to double it for one pan and it’s the exact size they call for do def double the recipe if you want it to work out if not use a smaller cookie sheet or jelly roll pan.
Everything was great, nice instructions, great pictures. Appreciated the video for rolling purposes HOWEVER…either you have hands that are 350 degrees tolerant or I’m a sissy ! Rolling up in the parchment paper right out of the oven was HOT on my fingers, i had to use a towel to assist me. It is cooling right now, not sure how it will turn out as I think it’s rolled a bit too loose because I couldn’t get a good grip on it with it being so hot & having to use a towel. Maybe once I re-roll after filling I can roll it more snug. Any “ouch it’s hot” rolling tips for next time ? Thanks !! :)
This is the best pumpkin roll recipe I’ve ever made! I make them every holiday season and everyone raves about them. Using parchment paper makes constructing the roll a breeze.
It would be nice to see the video. All I see are commercials.
no video
Video?????
First time making a pumpkin roll, family loves it and super easy. I did use the measurements for the spices instead of pumpkin pie spice, but it turned out great!
So where is the video
I thought it was really really good!
There was no video. Just a lot of adds and how to cook beans.
It’s in the bottom right corner of the browser page.
whisk together cream cheese, butter, sugar and vanilla………that would not be room temp; it would be runny.
Rolling the cake in the parchment paper was magical. I didn’t have powdered sugar all over the kitchen. Thanks for the tip. Very easy. Haven’t tried it yet…looks delicious. Thank you.
Easy to make and the directions were point on. Came out great.
So much easier using the parchment paper to bake and roll up when it comes out of oven. It saved me several steps! I used to stress over flipping it out of the pan onto the powdered sugar Tee-towel. It didn’t always go as planned and I would always have a mess. I will definitely do this from now on! They turned out great! Thank you!
I love this recipe! I’ve been making this roll for thanksgiving for the last three years. It is always a hit with the family and preferred over pumpkin pie.
This is my ONLY pumpkin roll recipe! It is a family favorite, just made it today, the day before Thanksgiving! It is so good the day after, thank you so much! Happy Thanksgiving to All!
Great recipe. But where is the video? Are all those ads really necessary? That was the only turn off about this site! Way too many ads and no instruction video.
Soo I plan on making this tomorrow morning, but sadly I wasn’t able to find a jelly roll pan would a cookie sheet work? I think we have other pans but those are taller I’m not too sure if their long enough…
I was thinking about making some ahead and freezing them – would it taste just as delicious? Hi
The cake turns out perfect per these instructions, but I cannot get the filing thick enough to not run everywhere. I’ve doubled the powdered sugar, and I chilled the filing while the cake was cooling but the filing still poured out of the sides when I rolled up the cake.
Thanks! Great recipe! Spot on! I use gluten free flower (just whatever I happen to pick up) as a 1-to-1 substitute and it works perfect. Love the parchment paper suggestion! Video, I don’t know, maybe I’m a more accomplished baker than I thought, but I didn’t use the video. However, after all the comments I felt compelled to view it – it’s there, it’s good, thanks! ;-)
L’aura
Best recipe for making pumpkin logs I have seen, and the easiest. Will be trying this one in the next few weeks.
Thanks Linda for sharing!!
This is delicious. The filling consistency was just right. Maybe the people with runny filling had melted the butter or the cream cheese was too soft. My only suggestion is that the directions should be a little more clear in step 4 that you are rolling the cake with the parchment still attached. It says “…use your hands to roll the cake”, implying you are only rolling the cake. I was unclear and initially I didn’t notice that you don’t peel away the parchment until step 6.
My family raves about this pumpkin roll ever year for thanksgiving and Christmas. Always a hit!
Your recipe is so easy and absolutely delicious. The only question I have is how do you keep the parchment paper from making creases in the cake batter? The last time I made it the creases were so bad they literally make cuts in the cake. I’ve thought about maybe ironing out the paper first and then using non stick spray on the pan to hold down the paper.
I ate a Pumpkin Roll recently & the cream filling was whipped with a mixer.What is your opinion on the outcome of whipping rather than blending??
Great recipe. The only problem I’m having is the parchment paper is sometimes the paper gets wrinkles and puts a dent in the cake. Sometimes the dent is deep enough it cause a break in the cake. I’ve thought of ironing the paper and using cooking spray so it doesn’t move. Any ideas?
I usually spray the parchment paper very lightly with oil. Helps a lot. Also, Make sure you put a little bit of water under the parchment paper to help it smooth out on the pan. Hope this help.
My cake has a dome in it so when I roll it , it is not even…help please
I have made this recipe for years!! I get requests whenever we go to a party, or any type gathering, all year round..
This year, I could not find my recipe ANYWHERE!!! I have one certain place that I put my favorites and it was not there! I was devastated! Then, I remembered I had shared the recipe with my sister-in-law that lives in another state. I got her to send me a copy. She took pictures of the page and your website was showing at the bottom.
It was a blessing that I had lost the original!! I now have Chocolate and Carrot Cake to make!!!!
Can’t wait to get into the kitchen and make more!!
This is so easy to make and delicious!!
Great recipe however I had to double it for one pan and it’s the exact size they call for do def double the recipe if you want it to work out if not use a smaller cookie sheet or jelly roll pan.
Can’t wait to try much easier then one I have used in the past😋😋
Why does my crack in the middle
Everything was great, nice instructions, great pictures. Appreciated the video for rolling purposes HOWEVER…either you have hands that are 350 degrees tolerant or I’m a sissy ! Rolling up in the parchment paper right out of the oven was HOT on my fingers, i had to use a towel to assist me. It is cooling right now, not sure how it will turn out as I think it’s rolled a bit too loose because I couldn’t get a good grip on it with it being so hot & having to use a towel. Maybe once I re-roll after filling I can roll it more snug. Any “ouch it’s hot” rolling tips for next time ? Thanks !! :)
I use your recipe every year. Love it!
This is the best pumpkin roll recipe I’ve ever made! I make them every holiday season and everyone raves about them. Using parchment paper makes constructing the roll a breeze.