Pumpkin Roll with Cream Cheese Filling

"Just when I thought you couldn't possibly be any dumber,
you go and do something like this...

[photo from here]

...and TOTALLY REDEEM YOURSELF!"

This here is a story about redemption. And about not letting the world your kitchen have the last word.

For reasons unbeknownst to me, "control-z" doesn't carry over to real life. But don't let that stop you. Found the melted butter in the microwave and realized you forgot to put butter in the brownies? No biggie. Homemade Chocolate Cake looked like a hot mess by the time you were able to de-pan it? Ain't no thang. Pumpkin Bread with Cream Cheese Ribbon overflowed in the oven? Doesn't phase me. [All spoken from experience.]

Still bruised from my latest kitchen snafu, while at home for Thanksgiving, I decided I would have the last word when it came to pumpkin desserts. No one wants to be a prisoner in their own kitchen. That ain't right. So I say, go out and conquer a recipe/ingredient/technique that has otherwise eluded you. You might be surprised at the outcome.

This pumpkin roll is simple, elegant, and is a definite crowd-pleaser. The best part is it is effortless. Just a little rolling and confidence is all that's required. If you're trying to get a few more holiday recipes in before 2012, this is a great place to start.

Pumpkin Roll with Cream Cheese Filling

my mom's recipe

Ingredients

For the Roll
1 c. white granulated sugar
2/3 c. pure pumpkin puree
3/4 c. all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. cinnamon
3 eggs, large

For the Filling
1-8 oz. package cream cheese, at room temperature
4 tbsp. butter, at room temperature
1 c. powdered sugar
1/2 tsp. vanilla

Instructions

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees, then bring it down to 300 degrees.

In a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, mix together all of the dry ingredients for the roll (sugar through cinnamon). Once combined, add the eggs one at a time to the dry ingredients.

Easy peasy.

Grease or spray (really well!) a baking sheet and evenly spread the mix in the sheet. I used a 9x13" sheet pan, which was a little too big. No biggie. This batter is pretty thick and will stay put, so you don't need to fill the entire pan with batter. (I didn't.)

 Bake for 15-18 minutes or until deeply golden.

While your batter is baking, set out a long piece of aluminum foil that is a bit longer than the baking sheet you used.

Now comes the time to flip the cake onto the foil. Also known as the moment of truth. Or, simply, "The Flip." Are you ready? You can do this. You're totally in control.

Flip the cake onto the aluminum foil. Gasp/hold your breath/squint and look away/curse as you slowly lift the pan from the roll.

Hooray! You totally did it!

Now tightly roll the foil (and the thin cake that's sitting on top of it) into a log.

Refrigerate the log for about half an hour.

While your log is chilling, go ahead and make the cream cheese frosting.

For the cream cheese frosting, simply combine and mix all of the cream cheese frosting ingredients. Whip on medium-high speed, or until thickened.

Once the log is chilled, carefully unroll it and spread the frosting over it. Slowly re-roll the log (without the foil this time) and there you have it - your very own pumpkin roll.

A modern day kitchen victory. Just in time for Christmas.

Chill in the refrigerator until ready to serve. Dust with powdered sugar if you'd like. Do a victory lap in your kitchen if so compelled. Just sayin'.