Pumpkin Roll

Happy Thanksgiving! I, for one, had a very fun Thanksgiving. I spent the whole day hanging out and cooking up some delicious treats! First up, a classic pumpkin roll. I used the recipe from Libby's. I thought it was good on the day of rolling but the day after, after being refrigerated for a day, oh man. It just got better y'all.

I'm going to forewarn you now, I may not have as many pictures as I usually do for the next few Thanksgiving posts simply because I cooked five different things in one day and ya girl prioritizes eating over taking pictures.

I haven't made a pumpkin roll before but I was surprised and impressed at how similar this tastes and smells to a pumpkin pie. I have to assume that it's because of the cloves, because this recipe is very simple and honestly doesn't have that many ingredients or steps. As long as you have a clean kitchen towel and powdered sugar, this is really not any more difficult than making a regular cake.

Start off by mixing your dry ingredients and wet ingredients in separate bowls, then add dry into wet and stir gently until combined. Pour onto a lined baking sheet (mine did not fill the entire pan) and bake for just under 15 minutes.

Now here's where you have to move quickly. While the cake is baking, lay out a clean towel and sprinkle powdered sugar all over it. If you have a towel that has pumpkins on it, that'll work best. But if not, a non-pumpkin towel will work all the same. Once the cake is out of the oven, flip it onto the towel and peel off parchment paper. Then roll up the cake in the towel and leave it to cool all wrapped up on a drying rack.

When you're ready, make your cream cheese frosting. Then unroll from the towel, spread on frosting, and roll back up. Sans towel. Cut off the ends if you're presenting this to someone so that it looks all rolled up and beautiful. It's better if you chill it in the fridge for at least an hour. 

Gonna be eating this all weekend long but I'm not mad about it. Be on the lookout in the next few days for more yummy treats from my turkey day.

Recipe (from Libby's)

1/4 cup powdered sugar (to sprinkle on towel)

3/4 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp ground cloves

1/4 tsp salt

3 large eggs

1 cup granulated sugar

2/3 cup pure pumpkin puree

1 8-oz package cream cheese, at room temperature

1 cup powdered sugar

6 tbsp butter, softened

1 tsp vanilla extract

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Line a clean baking sheet with parchment or wax paper. Sprinkle a thin, cotton kitchen towel with 1/4 cup powdered sugar.

2. Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves, and salt in a small bowl. Whisk to combine.

3. Beat eggs and granulated sugar in a large bowel until thick. Beat in pumpkin. Stir in flour mixture. Spread evenly into prepared pan.

4. Bake for 13-15 minutes or until top of cake springs back when touched. Immediately turn cake onto prepared towel. Carefully peel off paper. Roll up cake and towel together (hamburger style -- left to right, not top to bottom). Cool on wire rack.

5. Beat cream cheese, powdered sugar, butter, and vanilla extract in a medium bowl until smooth. Carefully unroll cake. Spread cream cheese mixture over cake. Reroll cake. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate at least one hour.

Enjoy!