For as long as I can remember, I have associated Christmas with one special treat.

Pumpkin roll!

Although I do prepare most of my own meals in order to eat healthy and save money, I do not spend a lot of time in the kitchen. I cook simple things.

But there is one day a year when I stock the pantry with baking ingredients (and end up having to make a second trip to the store because I don’t know the difference between baking soda and baking powder), put on an apron, and spend hours baking, destroying my kitchen in the process.

How did my pumpkin roll tradition start?

I’m not a big fan of the materialistic side of Christmas. A few years ago I decided I no longer wanted to do the Christmas gift thing. I can afford to buy myself the things I need and want (and so can my family and friends). Plus, I don’t like clutter or knick-knacks and lean towards minimalism.

This hasn’t quite caught on with the whole family yet, but spending Christmas in Latin America for the past three years has helped avoid the consumer aspect of the holidays. Instead of gifts, I decided it was more important to spend the time and go out of my way to make something special.

Pumpkin roll!

My mom made pumpkin roll when I was a kid, so I knew how much time and energy it takes.  But for some crazy reason, I decided I was going to do it on my own.  You know, like an independent adult.

And now it’s my thing.

Pumpkin Roll Recipe

Before you start this recipe, I will warn you that it is not easy and not quick. And you will have powdered sugar and pumpkin batter all over your kitchen floor.

To make it easier, I have included photos to illustrate some of the steps.

Pumpkin Cake

3 Eggs

1 Cup Sugar

2/3 Cup Canned Pumpkin

1 tsp Lemon Juice

3/4 Cup Flour

1 tsp Baking Powder

2 tsp Cinnamon

1 tsp Ginger

1/2 tsp Nutmeg

1/2 tsp Salt

Step 1 –  Beat together eggs on high for 5 minutes. Then gradually beat in sugar. Stir in pumpkin and lemon juice.

Step 2 – In a separate bowl, stir together flour, spices, and salt.

Step 3 – Fold flour mixture into pumpkin mixture.

Yes, that’s right…. FOLD.  Little by little.

(I think the point is to not lose the airiness.)

Step 4 – Spread batter onto cookie sheet lined with parchment paper (note that wax paper is NOT a substitute for parchment paper).  Do you best to make sue it is evenly spread across the surface, including sides and corners.

(Sorry.  I forgot to take a photo of this, but I think you can figure it out).

Step 5 – Bake at 375 degrees for 15 minutes.

Step 6 – Turn out onto a towel sprinkled with powdered sugar.

Tip: If you don’t have much counter space, you will need to get creative and use other surfaces…. like a storage cube top on a folding chair.

Step 7 – Peel off parchment paper.

If you did not heed my advice and used wax paper, you will spend a lot of time peeling it off of the pumpkin cake in tiny little strips, trying to salvage the baked goodness.

Step 8 – Start at narrow end and roll up towel and cake.

Step 9 – Set aside to cool for one hour (room temperature, not in the refrigerator).

Filling

Hello, calorie bomb!

1 Cup Powdered Sugar

6 ounces Cream Cheese (2/3 of a normal block) softened

4 Tbsp Butter (1/2 of a normal stick) softened

1/2 tsp Vanilla

Step 10 – Combine all ingredients and beat until smooth consistency.

Tip:  It helps a lot if you set the butter and cream cheese out an hour or more prior to this step, so they soften.  You don’t want to liquify them in the microwave.

 

Put together the roll

Step 11 – Unroll cake (it is okay if it is still slightly warm), and spread filling on top.

Tip: I start by putting large dollops evenly across it, and then spread it in a thin layer going for even coverage all the way to the edges.

Step 12 – Roll up (without the towel this time of course) and chill in the refrigerator about one hour.

Tip:  Your towel really will come clean after this mess.  Just machine wash in hot water with nothing else.

Step 13 – Cut the ends off to make the pumpkin roll look pretty.

Step 14 – Eat the ends!

This is your reward!!

If you are giving these as gifts, you can make them look pretty with a bit of colored plastic wrap and ribbon.

Half a pumpkin roll is an appropriate size for 2-4 people. I give one-third if it is for one person. Portion control is for their own good…. once they take a bite, they’ll want to eat the whole thing!

Do you bake for the holidays?  Do you think you can make pumpkin roll?