pumpkin roll

I was so worried that I would mess up on the Sunday dinner dessert again this week. Two weeks ago is when I dumped the cake in the floor. Last week, I made Chocolate Chip cookies and got mixed up and added too much flour, then tried to make adjustments to overcome that and ended up with very buttery cookies.  Everyone liked them like that though, and said I should always make them that way!

This week everything went fine, thank goodness. I made a Pumpkin Roll.

Pumpkin Roll

CAKE:
3 eggs
1 cup sugar
2/3 cup canned pumpkin
1 tsp. lemon juice
3/4 cup flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp. ginger
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. nutmeg

FILLING:
1 1/4 cup powdered sugar
8 oz. cream cheese,softened
1/4 cup butter, softened
1 tsp. vanilla
1 cup chopped pecans

In a mixing bowl, beat eggs for 5 minutes. Blend in sugar, pumpkin and lemon juice.

In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking powder,salt and spices. Fold this into pumpkin mixture.

Spread batter evenly in a well greased and floured jelly roll pan (or a large cookie sheet with sides).

Bake 9 to 12 minutes in a preheated 350 degree oven. Allow to cool slightly, then turn the cake out on a sheet of waxed paper...very carefully!

While the cake is still warm, gently roll it up together with the waxed paper...starting at one of the short sides.

The waxed paper will be rolled up with the cake. Allow to cool completely.

Meanwhile, make the filling by blending the powdered sugar with cream cheese, butter and vanilla.

When cake is cool, gently unroll it. Spread the filling completely over the top, the sprinkle with chopped pecans.

Now re-roll the cake starting at the same side, as tightly as possible.  Of course this time you do not roll the wax paper up with it!

Place the roll seam side down on a serving plate and dust with powdered sugar. Refrigerate until serving time.

Cut in slices to serve.

Well, I just now noticed the dusted on powdered sugar dissolved into the cake while I wasn't looking!

I guess you'd have to dust right before serving to avoid that.

 This recipe came from a lady named Martha, who brought a Pumpkin Roll in to work to share...back in the late 1980s!  It has been one of my favorite desserts ever since.

Her original instructions said to roll the cake in a clean dish towel sprinkled with powdered sugar.  The waxed paper works better, in my opinion, it holds the moisture in the cake...and not as messy.