Pumpkin Roll

Cakes still aren't my first go-to, but I wanted something special for tea and had a can of pumpkin in the pantry.

While I was on the East Coast for the wedding, Techie Smurf loaded up an old episode of The Great British Baking Show.  One of the challenges was a Swiss Roll.  Some of them were very complex.  I agree with the judges that it's harder to pull off something simple and elegant.  Fancy designs and decorations distract from the quality of the product.  Some of the most successful rolls were basic and minimally garnished.

This recipe is from Libby's, the canned pumpkin people.  It's a basic jelly-roll cake recipe with pumpkin in it, then filled with a cream cheese paste and dusted with powdered sugar.

I know, you can buy these in October and November in the market for about $6, which is roughly what the ingredients cost, but if you want to make this off-season, here's the recipe.

Cake
3/4 C flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
*1/2 tsp cinnamon
*1/2 tsp cloves
1/4 tsp salt
3 eggs
1 C sugar
2/3 C canned pumpkin purée (not pie mix)
powdered sugar for dusting

1.  Preheat oven to 375º.  Grease a 15" x 10" jelly roll pan.  Line with wax paper, grease the paper, and dust with flour.  Get out a clean, thin kitchen towel and dust with powdered sugar.

2.  Sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and spices.  Set aside.

3.  Beat together eggs and sugar until pale yellow and fluffy.  Beat in pumpkin until smooth.  Stir in flour mixture until just combined.

4.  Pour batter into pan and smooth all the way to the corners.  You can shake and smack the pan a little without ruining the sponge.  Bake for 13 minutes, until top is springy but corners are not crisp.

5.  Immediately flip out cake onto sugared towel and remove wax paper.  Dust cake with more powdered sugar.  Starting on the short end, roll up cake with the towel inside.  Cool completely on a wire rack.  This is to prevent the cake from cracking when it's rolled later with filling.

Filling
8 oz (1 package) cream cheese, softened
6 Tb unsalted butter, softened
1 tsp vanilla
1 C powdered sugar

1.  Beat together cream cheese and butter until smooth, scraping bowl as needed.  Beat in vanilla and powdered sugar.  This is not frosting, it's filling, so don't expect that kind of consistency.

2.  Unroll cake and remove towel.  Spread filling evenly over the cake surface.  Reroll tightly, using plastic wrap if necessary.  Remove any filling that squishes out and store seam-side down.  You will get better slices if you chill the roll first.

3.  Before serving, slice off the two ends just enough to remove any crust.  Snacks.  Place on a serving plate and garnish with powdered sugar.

Serves 8-10, depending on thickness of slices

Difficulty rating  :)