🎃🧡🍂 This easy Cream Cheese Pumpkin Roll reicpe will make you feel like a pumpkin roll pro, thanks to my clear directions! With no dish towel required, this dessert is full of rich pumpkin spice and tangy cream cheese flavors. A fall favorite that all pumpkin fans will just ADORE, it freezes well and makes a great hostess gift!
Classic Pumpkin Roll Cake Recipe
If you’ve ever wanted to make a pumpkin roll but felt intimidated, this recipe makes it simple and approachable. No fancy equipment or messy kitchen towels required!
With a tender, warmly spiced cake and tangy cream cheese filling, it’s a timeless dessert perfect for pumpkin lovers of all ages. Pumpkin rolls are ideal for holidays like Thanksgiving, Halloween, or Christmas, and they freeze beautifully, making them a thoughtful gift for friends, family, teachers, or hosts.
Love this pumpkin bread roll with cream cheese?
Try my Christmas cake roll and chocolate rollup bread, too!
Ingredients in a Pumpkin Cream Cheese Roll
You’ll be surprised at how few ingredients you need to make a pumpkin roll and the frosting that goes inside that everyone will ooh-and-ahh over!
Get out the following ingredients:
Pumpkin Cake
- All-purpose flour – I haven’t tested this recipe with gluten-free flour and can’t guarantee your results if you do
- Baking powder – Helps the cake rise. Do NOT substitute baking soda
- Pumpkin pie spice – The recipe calls for 2 teaspoons of pumpkin pie spice, which is a mixture of cinnamon, ginger, allspice, cardamom, ginger, nutmeg, and cloves. If you like more boldly spiced pumpkin desserts like I do, I recommend adding 2 to 3 teaspoons pumpkin pie seasoning. Plus, I also add 1 teaspoon cinnamon, 1/2 teaspoon each ground ginger and cardamom, and 1/4 teaspoon each ground nutmeg and cloves. Of course, you can mix and match these spices to your personal taste preferences, but I always add more than just the 2 teaspoons of pumpkin pie spice because I love boldly flavored pumpkin desserts
- Large eggs – I do not recommend using egg substitutes
- Granulated sugar
- Canned pumpkin puree – not pumpkin pie filling
- Lemon juice – fresh is best
Cream Cheese Frosting
- Cream cheese – regular, classic, brick-style, and not low-fat
- Confectioners’ sugar (powdered sugar) – sifted so there are no lumps in your frosting; plus more for dusting, optional
- Butter – real, not margarine
- Vanilla extract – for enhanced flavor
Note: Scroll down to the recipe card section of the post for the ingredients with amounts included and for more complete directions.
How to Make a Classic Pumpkin Roll Recipe
Making a pumpkin roll with cream cheese filling isn’t as scary as you might think! Follow my instructions carefully, and you’ll be making pumpkin roll cakes in no time!
- In a small bowl, combine the dry ingredients, and in a large mixing bowl, whisk together the eggs and sugar before adding the pumpkin and lemon juice. Add the dry ingredients to the wet, and mix the cake batter until just combined.
- Pour the batter into your prepared 15-inch jelly roll pan, smooth it, and bake. Pumpkin rolls bake fast since you’re dealing with such a thin cake!
- While the cake is still hot, starting at a short side, roll the cake up into a roll, cool at room temp for 20 minutes, and then place in the fridge to cool for another 30 minutes.
- While your pumpkin roll is chilling out, make the cream cheese frosting.
- Roll the cake (see below), chill, and serve!
Tip: You can’t taste the lemon juice, and it does two things. First, it reacts with the baking powder to give a lighter, fluffier, springier cake so don’t omit it. And secondly, although you can’t taste lemon per se, it somehow accentuates the pumpkin flavor so just trust me on this one and go with it.
How to Roll Up a Pumpkin Roll
Although you rolled up the pumpkin roll already before chilling it, this time you’re going to remove the cooled cake and carefully unroll it.
- Spread the frosting evenly over the cake, spreading it out to the edges. Don’t be afraid to spread it all the way out to the edges.
- Roll the cake back up and cover it with plastic wrap.
- Place in the refrigerator for an additional 30 minutes or until you’re ready to serve it. It’s really just that easy!
- Take your time, and it’s okay if there are slight tears or tiny rips. Most of them are going to be covered and hidden as you continue rolling.
- Optionally dust with confectioners’ sugar, or add a sprinkle of chopped pecans or walnuts before serving.
Recipe FAQs
For this traditional pumpkin roll recipe, yes, you will need a 15x10x1-inch jelly roll pan. I have great luck with that pan!
If you’re wondering what else you could possibly make with that pan because you don’t like buying something for just one recipe – I am the same!
Make sure to make a batch of my Pumpkin Bars with Cream Cheese Frosting in the jelly roll pan. They are to-die-for!
Yes! If you’re not a fan of cream cheese frosting and prefer a classic buttercream, I recommend a double batch of this Buttercream Frosting.
Storing and Gifting Pumpkin Rolls
You can store a well-wrapped pumpkin roll in plastic roll in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
Pumpkin rolls also freeze well. Wrap it in plastic wrap, then place it in a jumbo ziplock bag with the air pushed out, place it in the freezer, and freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw at room temp to serve.
If you’re wondering what to give a hostess who has everything or are wanting to do something nice for teachers, coaches, or friends and family, pumpkin rolls make great gifts. Make ahead and freeze as many as you will need.
The recipients will remember being gifted with your stunning pumpkin roll forever.
Pumpkin Roll Recipe with Cream Cheese Frosting
Equipment
- 1 (15x10x1-inch) Jelly Roll Pan
- 1 Small Bowl
- 2 Large Bowls
- 1 Electric Mixer
Ingredients
Pumpkin Roll Cake
- ¾ cup all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice*
- 3 large eggs
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- ⅔ cup canned pumpkin puree
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
Cream Cheese Frosting
- 8 ounces brick-style cream cheese, well-softened to room temp (not lite or fat free)**
- 6 Tablespoons unsalted butter, well-softened to room temp**
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup confectioners sugar, sifted; plus more for dusting, optional
- confectioners’ sugar, for dusting
Instructions
Cake
- Preheat your oven to 375F and spray a 15x10x1-inch jelly roll pan with nonstick spray. Line the pan with parchment paper and then spray the parchment paper. Don't be shy with spraying it because you don't want your cake to stick!
- To a small bowl, add the flour, baking powder, pumpkin pie spice, any additional spices (see Notes below), and whisk to combine; set aside.
- To a large bowl, add the eggs, sugar, and whisk to combine.
- Add the pumpkin puree, lemon juice, and whisk to combine.
- Slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet, and stir until just combined.
- Turn the batter out into the prepared jelly roll pan, and bake for 15 minutes. Because this is such a thin cake, it bakes very fast. Start checking at 10 minutes and when it is set in the middle, springy to the touch, and a toothpick comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs, it's done.
- While the cake is still hot, starting at a short side, roll the cake up into a roll. Note – you are NOT rolling it up with the parchment paper, just the cake; let the parchment stay on the jelly roll pan. Also, no need to turn it out into a kitchen dish towel like many classic recipes instruct.*** (See Notes)
- Cool the cake for 20 minutes at room temp (you can let it sit on the parchment paper) and then place it loosely covered with plastic wrap and resting on the parchment paper in the fridge for 30 minutes. While the cake is cooling make the frosting.
Frosting
- To a large bowl with a handheld electric mixer, or the bowl of a stand mixer, add the cream cheese, butter, vanilla, and beat on high speed until well combined.
- Stop, scrape down the sides of the bowl, and slowly add the confectioners' sugar, beating on low speed at first and increasing to high after the sugar is incorporated. Beat until smooth and fluffy.
- Remove the cooled cake and carefully unroll it.
- Spread the frosting evenly over the cake, spreading it out to the edges.
- Roll the cake back up and cover it with plastic wrap.
- Place in back in the refrigerator for an additional 30 minutes, or until ready to serve.
- Optionally dust with additional confectioners' sugar.
- Slice into 1 inch slices and serve. Pumpkin roll will keep airtight for up to 5 days in the fridge or in the freezer for up to 3 months.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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More Easy Pumpkin Recipes:
My FAVORITE PUMPKIN RECIPES on my blog!
My cookbook, Cooking With Pumpkin: Recipes That Go Beyond the Pie is my second cookbook and there are over 50 pumpkin recipes including sweets, savory, drinks, and a photo for nearly every recipe. I’d be super grateful if you headed over to Amazon to check it out!
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Totally cracked on me! Not sure what I did wrong, I rolled it straight out the oven, should I have waited a minute?
Totally cracked on me! Not sure what I did wrong, I rolled it straight out the oven, should I have waited a minute?
I am sorry it cracked. Rolled cakes can be tricky and I don’t know at what point it cracked at. Did you see this note? For the first rolling (without frosting) keep the cake on the parchment paper and while the cake is still warm, roll the cake up, starting at the short end. Then in steps 11 and 12, you unroll it, and roll it up with the frosting applied.
I don’t know where things went wrong for you. If this was the first time you’ve ever made a rolled cake, don’t give up and I encourage you to try again!
I have not made a jelly-roll cake yet that was successful. I am going to try this, though, because I love a good pumpkin roll and you make it seem so easy.
I like to make at least 2 pumpkin rolls, Can I double the recipe without changing ingredient amounts ? thank you eleanorstefancic@yahoo.com
Yes.
Just as a tip – When you double a recipe, you double everything and can’t pick and choose what you double.
great