It’s officially pumpkin season!! Before I moved to the States, I wasn’t a fan of pumpkins in any way, shape or form. But then again, I don’t think I had the kind of pumpkin you have here. They were a different variety I suppose. Anyway, I love fall and am slowly warming up to all things pumpkin. It started with this delicious crumbly moist Pumpkin Bread with Pecan Streusel Topping and has slowly progressed to a love for pumpkin spice lattes, pumpkin spiced cheese cakes and this….

A Pumpkin Spice Roll With Maple Cream Cheese Filling….a recipe I first spotted on a can of Libby’s 100% Pure Pumpkin Puree. I just had to make it! Never mind that I had never made a roll cake before… I was suddenly obsessed! I had to try….and if it didn’t work (which it didn’t my first attempt, more on that later) I was determined to try again until I got it. I was going to make a pumpkin roll just as pretty as the picture on the can. And I’m proud to say I did! After a little research on cake rolling, I attempted the recipe just as it was on the can, but I didn’t have the right pan. I used a regular cookie sheet with a slightly raised lip (which technically would have worked) but it was much too big- 12×18 or something like that. So I ended up doubling the recipe to fill the pan and then mucked up the baking time and managed to undercook the cake so it had a funky almost gelatinous texture. It tasted alright…but the texture was not at all what it was supposed to be. The second mistake I made, was I got a little excited and too impatient to let the cake cool down all the way. So, I ended up filling a warm cake that hadn’t set all the way in its roll form, needless to say it developed a few big cracks in it. So I tried again…with a 10×15 inch jelly-roll pan and tweaked the recipe just a little. This time I paid closer attention to the texture of the cake before I pulled it out of the oven. It felt spongy and sprang back when I touched it in the center of the cake. That’s how I knew it was going to turn out well. Secondly, I let the cake cool down all the way. I had to just walk away and let it be, which was hard…but at the end I was happy I did.

I realized that rolling a cake isn’t as complicated as it may seem, if you get the basics right. Once you successfully make one, I can easily see how fun it would be to try out different cake/filling combinations. It sure is a beautiful way to present a cake and dazzle your friends or family, making it seem more complex than it really is. 🙂

Here’s how you can make a delightful and elegant Pumpkin Spice Cake Roll which is delicously moist and filled with a creamy sweet… maple cream cheese frosting….mmmm!