(15) comments
Add Your Reply
Menu
How to Make a Pumpkin Roll From Scratch
By Melissa Norris | Dessert
Some of the links below are affiliate links, which means I will earn a commission at no additional cost to you, if you click through and make a purchase. Regardless, I only link to products we use on our homestead or believe in.
Learn how to make a pumpkin roll from scratch with this recipe straight from Grandma’s kitchen and made with fresh pumpkin puree. This is an easy pumpkin roll recipe with cream cheese filling that brings you the marriage of a cheese cake with pumpkin spice… aka, the best thing you’ve ever had. No joke!
My husband’s grandmother is known for making these pumpkin rolls, in face, I think she could open a business and stay busy year round. She’s actually had people place orders for them, it’s that good.
The first time I decided to tackle this recipe myself, I packed up the kids and my pumpkin puree and went to Grandma’s house for a lesson. Because let’s be honest, the rolling part kind of intimidated me, and I wanted to learn how to roll a pumpkin roll without cracking straight from the get go.
Now, not everyone can hop on down to Grandma’s house for a lesson, but that would be one fun party! Lucky for you, I get to share her tips and recipe with you.
Want more of Grandma’s, my great-grandmother’s, and old-fashioned baking tips and recipes? (the answer is yes, one can never have too many time tested delicious from scratch recipes) then go here to get all of them in Hand Made: the Modern Guide to Made-from-Scratch Living, including our bonus videos on how to make homemade doughnuts from scratch!
Resources:
A jelly roll pan is a must, specifically a 15×10 jelly roll pan,and this one states its made from steel otherwise you’ll have too thick of a cake, or too thin, and Goldilocks, we want just right. (Sorry, I couldn’t resist the fairy tale pun)
While one doesn’t need an Instant Pot to make this, it makes cooking up a whole pumpkin to puree super easy. Just pop it in whole with 1 cup of water for 16 minutes, manually release (careful of the steam), once the pumpkin is cooled, slice it open easier than hot butter, scoop out the seeds, and you’ve got cooked pumpkin ready to toss in the blender.
I use about 2 cups of cooked pumpkin with a 1/4 cup water and blend it up!
Learn how to make it from scratch with ease with your copy of Hand Made: the Modern Guide to Made-from-Scratch Living just like having Grandma in the kitchen to make sure it turns our right!
You’ll never use store bought canned pumpkin once you see this method! The Easy Way to Make Pumpkin Puree FAST with Fresh Pumpkin
As soon as cake is out of the pan, place another clean flour sack towel on the short end of the cake and roll up like a sleeping bag. Cool on a wire rack for about 30 minutes.
Prepare your filling by creaming together the cream cheese, powdered sugar, softened butter, vanilla, and maple syrup. Unroll cooled cake and smear the filling evenly over the surface. Reroll the cake, cover, and allow to chill in fridge. Before serving, sprinkle with powdered sugar if desired.
Recipe adaptations and notes:
You can use fresh ground Spelt with this recipe, but you may need to increase the flour by 1/4 cup. For more info on grinding your own flour see our Fresh Ground Flour Guide
Feel free to play with the amount of sugar and cut it back, especially in the filling. I’ve been known to use half the sugar and wee bit of Stevia.
Extra tip, you can make this easy pumpkin roll recipe and freeze it ahead of time! Now that you know how to make a pumpkin roll from scratch and how to roll a pumpkin roll without cracking, when are you making it?!
Melissa K. Norris inspires people's faith and pioneer roots with her books, podcast, and blog. Melissa lives with her husband and two children in their own little house in the big woods in the foothills of the North Cascade Mountains. When she's not wrangling chickens and cattle, you can find her stuffing Mason jars with homegrown food and playing with flour and sugar in the kitchen.
