Pumpkin Roll
A perfect pumpkin roll packed with autumnal spices, filled with cream cheese frosting and dusted off with a sprinkle of icing sugar - the perfect autumnal dessert!
Ingredients
For the pumpkin roll
- 95 g gluten-free self-raising flour blend
- 200 g caster sugar
- 4 medium eggs room temperature
- 150 g pumpkin puree blotted
- ¼ tsp Xanthan Gum
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 2 tsp ground cinnamon
- ½ tsp ground ginger
- ½ tsp ground cloves
- ½ tsp ground nutmeg
- ¼ tsp salt
- ¼ tsp vanilla paste
- 4 tbsp icing sugar
For the cream cheese filling
- 250 g plain cream cheese
- 75 g unsalted butter room temperature
- 250 g icing sugar
- ½ tsp vanilla paste
Instructions
- For the roll
- Preheat the oven to 180 ° C Fan and line a Swiss roll baking tray with baking paper.
- Whisk together the eggs and sugar until lighter and paler in colour.200 g caster sugar, 4 medium eggs
- Add the pumpkin puree and vanilla paste and whisk until completely combined.150 g pumpkin puree, ¼ tsp vanilla paste
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, Xanthan Gum, baking powder, salt and spices, and whisk until combined. Sift into the wet ingredients and whisk until no lumps remain.95 g gluten-free self-raising flour blend, ¼ tsp Xanthan Gum, 1 tsp baking powder, 2 tsp ground cinnamon, ½ tsp ground ginger, ½ tsp ground cloves, ½ tsp ground nutmeg, ¼ tsp salt
- Pour the mixture onto the lined Swiss roll baking tray and spread evenly into each corner with an offset spatula, gently shaking the tray from side to side when finished to ensure the mixture is distributed evenly.
- Bake on the middle shelf for around 11-12 minutes or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.
- Whilst the cake is baking, lay a kitchen tea towel out onto a flat surface and dust generously with icing sugar.4 tbsp icing sugar
- After removing the roll cake from the oven, turn it over onto the powdered kitchen towel and gently remove the baking paper.
- Using the towel, roll up the cake slowly and tightly from one of the shortest edges, then set aside on a cooling rack to cool completely before preparing the filling.
- For the filling, combine all of the ingredients in a bowl or stand-mixer and whisk until thoroughly combined and no lumps remain.250 g plain cream cheese, 250 g icing sugar, ½ tsp vanilla paste, 75 g unsalted butter
- Once the roll cake has cooled, unroll carefully and spread the filling evenly onto it, leaving a 1cm border around the sides to allow for spreading.
- Gently roll up the cake and wrap in clingfilm before placing in the fridge to set for 1-2 hours.
- Remove from the fridge 10 minutes before serving and dust with icing sugar.
Notes
Tips and Tricks
Blotting or draining - It's imperative to blot or drain the pumpkin puree beforehand so as to remove any excess water before baking. Too much water will make the cake soggy and wet and has the potential to ruin the roll!
Rolling the cake whilst warm is essential if you want the cake to retain the roll shape. You can turn the cake over onto a kitchen towel dusted with icing sugar or leave it in the baking paper to roll.
Chilling or partially freezing the roll cake before serving will help the filling to set so you can cut the perfect slice without making a mess of your beautiful swirl.
Room temperature ingredients are essential for this recipe to work. Room temperature ingredients ensure that they can all be mixed together thoroughly. If you forget to take your eggs out of the fridge beforehand, place them in a bowl of lukewarm (not hot, you don't want to cook them!) water 15 minutes prior to baking to bring them to room temperature more quickly.
The toothpick test is a great way to check whether your cakes are done. As all ovens are calibrated differently, the baking times stated are always suggested as a rough guide. To check if the cake is done, insert a toothpick into the centre and if it comes out with no crumbs stuck to it, you can assume that the cake is baked through and ready to come out.
I use grams for weighing almost all of the ingredients in my recipes as it is what I am most used to when cooking and baking on a daily basis. I use measuring cups for simple ingredients such as spices or smaller amounts as it can be much easier to measure. I would recommend sticking to what the recipe suggests as there is no guarantee that converting into cup measurements or vice-versa will have the same outcome.