Bake, Rattle, and ROLL {Pumpkin Roll}

Pumpkin, Pumpkin, Pumpkin.  It is everywhere.  Your lattes, your M&Ms, your muffins, and your wax melt warmers.  My husband doesn't have much of a sweet tooth, but he has no control when there is a pumpkin roll in the house.  So of course, I indulge him (for his sake only).

I have only been making this for a couple of years, but I think the recipe is pretty much perfect.  Not nearly as intimidating as I thought to make and so worth the effort.  It is a show stopper, folks.

Pumpkin Roll

3 Eggs

1 Cup Sugar

1 Tsp. Cinnamon

2/3 Cup Pumpkin Puree

3/4 Cup Flour

1 Tsp. Baking Soda

Filling

2 Tbsp. Butter, Softened

8 Oz. Cream Cheese, Softened

1 Tsp. Pumpkin Pie Spice
1 Tsp. Vanilla
2 or more Cups Powdered Sugar

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Butter a 10x15 inch jelly roll pan.  I also line the bottom with a sheet of parchment paper, to help with no stick removal.

In a mixing bowl, blend together the eggs, sugar, cinnamon, and pumpkin. Add the flour and baking soda and blend until smooth.  Evenly spread the mixture in the prepared jelly roll pan.  It'll be thin, don't panic.

Bake for 18 minutes in a preheated oven.  Remove from the oven and let it cool enough to handle.

Place a cotton tea towel (not terry) on the counter and flip the pan over onto the towel, peel the parchment off and roll the cake and the towel up and place seam side down on the counter to cool completely.

In the meantime mix together your filling.  Add the butter and cream cheese to the mixer and mix until creamy and light yellow in color (three to four minutes) scrapping sides of the bowl often.  Add the pumpkin pie spice, vanilla, and one cup of the sugar.  Mix well.  Contine adding sugar until it is at your desired consistency.  I will let it mix on medium for a good five minutes or more.  The flufflier, the better.  I typically use three (or four) cups of sugar per batch.  As a reference, if I double the recipe I use an entire bag of sugar.

When the cake is cool, unwrap from the towel.  It may feel slightly sticky, that's okay.  Spread the frosting over the cooled cake and roll up again without the towel.  I then wrap it tightly with plastic wrap and place in the fridge until I'm ready to serve it, or my husband finds it.

For a lovely presentation, trim the ends, place seam side down on a platter, and sprinkle with a dusting of powdered sugar.

These freeze very well.  Just wrap the plastic wrapped roll in foil before freezing.  I am pretty sure we enjoyed a forgotten half of pumpkin roll around Easter and it was marvelous!