Have you seen my pumpkin ebook for 25 pumpkin recipe that aren’t pie and 1 that is? I think you would love it.
Pumpkin Cake Roll with whipped cream:
I made us a mini cake roll today! Just because we don’t bake large cakes here at Dessert for Two doesn’t mean we should be denied the pleasure of a good Fall cake roll. I use my brownie pan that measures 8x8" to make small cake rolls. This pumpkin sponge cake is filled with pumpkin spice whipped cream. I have a lemon cake roll with matcha cream in my third cookbook, Sweet & Simple: Dessert for Two. I’ve been wanting to expand on it and make other flavors, and decided a pumpkin cake roll would be perfect.
What is a cake roll?
A cake roll is a soft and pliable cake that is rolled immediately after baking. After it cools, you unroll it, fill it with frosting, and then roll it back up. In our case, the filling is pumpkin spice whipped cream. Do I have your attention? :) If you watched Great British Bake Off, you watched plenty of cake roll fails on the last season. In almost every case, it was because the baker didn’t beat the eggs long enough. Even if they did, the baker then added too many other wet ingredients that deflated the eggs. If you’re a Great British Bake Off fan, please tell me you know about the Masterclass with Paul and Mary! Have you seen the Masterclass episode that included Paul’s licorice cake roll? Maybe one day I’ll have the courage to dye half of the batter and give my cake roll stripes. At this point, though, I’m too afraid of deflating the batter!
How to make a pumpkin cake roll:
The reason a cake roll cake is soft and pliable is because it’s an egg-based sponge cake. The first and most important part of this recipe is beating the eggs and sugar for so long that it turns into a pale yellow super light and foamy mixture. When you pick up the beaters, the batter falls back on itself and makes a pattern before sinking into the rest of the batter. It takes about 5-8 minutes of beating on high with a strong hand-held mixer to achieve this. If you skimp on this step and don’t properly inflate and fluff your eggs, the cake won’t rise as high in the oven.
Ok, I’m acting like all you have to do is beat the heck out of some eggs and then you get a flexible cake. There’s one more important step: once you beat all of that air into the eggs, you have to be careful not to stir it out. We do this by GENTLY folding in the flour and other ingredients. The problem with gently folding in flour is that it takes about 5 minutes to do. That doesn’t sound like a long time, but call me after your next 5 minute arm workout. A cake roll is an arm workout, friends. But, then we have spare calories to eat the cake roll, right? Right!
How do you bake a roll cake?
This pumpkin roll recipe is made in an 8x8" square baking pan. I love making recipes for you in this pan because it’s such a common size–you probably already have it in your kitchen! It’s the pan you usually make brownies in, in case you didn’t know. It makes me so happy when you don’t have to buy a special piece of bakeware in order to make a small pumpkin cake roll.
A regular cake roll is made in a giant 15x10 pan. I adore that this pumpkin cake roll recipe is made in a tiny 8" square pan with just one swirl on the inside. Even I can admit that a huge cake roll with multiple swirls is beautiful. But, for the small batch lifestyle, a small cake roll with one petite swirl is perfect. Another reason I love a cake roll is that it’s frosting and cake, all in one. I hand these out like sandwiches at a party or tail gating event. While it’s a little hard to keep track of exactly how much cake you’re eating when it’s in a handy small slice, those are the little things in life that you shouldn’t worry about so much.
Tips for making a swiss roll:
If you’ve ever made a cake roll and haven’t had success with it, like maybe it cracked the whole time you were rolling or wouldn’t stay rolled, I have a few tips.
How to roll a cake without it breaking:
These four tips are the absolute only way I can guarantee you that your cake won’t break when rolling. If you follow all of these tips and it still breaks, it’s likely that you didn’t beat enough air into the eggs. Or, you deflated all the air you beat into the eggs by not folding in the flour carefully. Try again; even when a pumpkin cake roll cracks, it’s still edible.
If you make this pumpkin cake roll recipe, I’d love to hear about it! Leave me a comment below, or send me a photo on instagram.
8 inch Nonstick, Quick Release Pan
