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This Pumpkin Roll Cake is an easy and beautiful dessert to make in the fall. It’s a pumpkin spice cake rolled with a cream cheese buttercream filling.

My kitchen right now is a pumpkin and squash explosion, and I’M SO HAPPY.

My husband tells me that no one in the world likes squash or pumpkin as much as I do, and I think he might be right.

There are currently 6 different varieties in the fridge, and they are being eaten in a variety of ways. I’ve got fresh pumpkin pie, a chickpea and butternut squash curry, kabocha squash soup, roasted buttercup squash, spaghetti squash with bolognese sauce, and some roasted acorn squash.

Phew! That’s a lot of squash.

Last week I made this Pumpkin Cake Roll, which is adapted from a recipe that’s fairly old and well-loved around the country. It’s a recipe from the back of the Libby’s Pumpkin can, but one I’ve tweaked ever so slightly over the years that I’ve made it.

It’s a spiced pumpkin cake rolled with a cream cheese frosting, and it’s really easy to make too. Quite possibly the easiest roll cake ever.

(And psssst, if you’re looking for a chocolate cake roll, the below one is my favorite. It’s not as easy to make as the pumpkin roll, but very doable).

To start, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, ground cinnamon, ground ginger, ground allspice, and ground cloves:

In a separate bowl, combine eggs, granulated sugar, and pumpkin. Canned or fresh both work great, but I like the flavor of fresh more when I have it readily available.

Whisk until smooth:

Add the dry ingredients to the wet, and stir until no flour streaks remain, and you have a smooth batter:

Spread into a large rectangle on a silicone mat or parchment lined half sheet tray:

Bake for about 13 minutes until springy when touched:

While the cake is still warm, dust the top with confectioner’s sugar, then place a piece of parchment on top of the cake. Flip it over, then peel the silicone mat off and roll the cake in the parchment paper:

Just like with any roll cake, this gives the cake “muscle memory” and makes it more likely to hold the roll shape and less likely to crack later on.

While that cools, make the cream cheese filling.

It’s just room temperature cream cheese and butter, confectioner’s sugar, and vanilla:

Spread the filling evenly over the cake, leaving room at the edges (because as you roll the filling will spread a little bit):

Roll the cake back up, tightly, and refrigerate for 30 minutes:

Refrigerating is important for firming up the frosting, so you get clean slices.

Trim the ends off, then cut into thick slices:

Enjoy! The full recipe is below, and here’s a full video on how to make the pumpkin roll as well.

Enjoy!

Pumpkin Cake Roll

Yield: 1 roll, serves 8

Prep Time:15 minutes

Cook Time:15 minutes

Total Time:30 minutes

This Pumpkin Roll Cake is an easy and beautiful dessert to make in the fall! It’s a pumpkin spice cake rolled with a cream cheese buttercream filling.

Ingredients:

For the cake:

• ¾ cup flour
• ½ tsp baking powder
• ¼ tsp baking soda
• ½ tsp ground cinnamon
• ¼ tsp ground cloves
• ¼ tsp ground ginger
• ⅛ tsp ground allspice
• ¼ tsp salt
• 3 large eggs
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 2/3 cup fresh or canned pumpkin puree
• confectioner’s sugar, for sprinkling

For the filling:

• 1 (8-ounce) block cream cheese, at room temperature
• 1 stick (8 tbsp) butter, softened
• 1 cup confectioner’s sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 375F. Line a half sheet pan with a silicone mat or parchment paper.
2. In a small bowl, whisk to combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves, ginger, allspice, and salt.
3. In another bowl, whisk to combine the eggs, sugar, and pumpkin.
4. Add the dry ingredients to the wet, and mix until no flour streaks remain.
5. Spread into a rectangle about 15×10 inches on the sheet pan, then bake for 13 minutes, until the cake springs back to the touch.
6. While the cake is still warm, sprinkle the top with confectioner’s sugar flip it into a piece of parchment paper. Peel the silicone mat off the cake, then roll the cake up. While it cools, make the filling.
7. With a hand mixer, whip together the cream cheese, butter, confectioner’s sugar, and vanilla extract. Unroll the cake, then spread the filling evenly, leaving a border at the edges. Roll the cake up and refrigerate for 30 minutes. Then trim the edges off, slice, and serve!

Adapted from the famous Libby’s Pumpkin Roll.

All images and text ©Fifteen Spatulas.