PUMPKIN ROLL TUTORIAL

If anybody is interested in making a Pumpkin Roll I took 

pictures this week while making a customer's order. The recipe 

is on the Libby's Pumpkin can, so I didn't type it here. This is the 

same technique for any kind of cake roll you want to make. A Yule 

Log is chocolate cake with chocolate frosting on the outside that is 

frosted to look like tree bark. It is a fantastic dessert to serve at your 

Christmas dinner and as you will see here, it's not that difficult!

I mix the dry ingredients thoroughly with a wire 

whisk many times over. You can also sift them, I 

just find this easier and more effective.

Beat eggs and sugar together thoroughly until thick.

Beat pumpkin into beaten egg mixture.

Grease your jelly roll pan completely with Crisco,

sides and everything.

Lay parchment paper down onto greased sheet, then grease the paper.

Sprinkle flour over the greased parchment paper, sides 

and all, then shake it out until just a fine film of flour remains

to cover the grease. I have found this assures that the roll will 

easily pop out after baking and the paper will slip right off 

without taking any cake with it.

Now mix the flour into your pumpkin mixture gently with a 

wire whisk. You need to incorporate air into the batter so it isn't 

tough and will roll easily without breaking. Just fold the whisk 

carefully through the batter and lift it a little to let the batter 

drop through until it is all mixed in.

Spread batter evenly into the prepared pan, making sure 

to get it into the corners and as even as possible so your 

cake will roll evenly.

Bake for specified amount of time and test for 

doneness by poking very gently with your finger 

into the middle of the cake. It should spring back 

when done. If it doesn't put back in but watch it 

carefully! It doesn't take much time for it to burn 

because it is so thin.

Put a generous amount of powdered sugar into 

your sifter and sift it over a clean cotton kitchen 

towel laid out flat on the counter. My recipe calls for 

1/2 cup, but I have found it's not nearly enough to 

keep the cake from sticking. I don't measure,

I just keep sifting until it's covered.

Tip the baked cake up on it's side and quickly

flip out of the pan onto the powdered towel. Just 

give it a quick push forward and it should easily 

land face down.

Remove the parchment paper...

And begin rolling the cake up with the towel into a small, tight roll.

Leave tightly rolled cake in towel on 

rack until completely cool.

In the meantime mix your frosting 

(filling) ingredients together.

Spread evenly over cooled cake that 

has been unrolled and flattened.

Cake should easily roll back up into a tight 

roll and then you can either sift powdered 

sugar over it or frost it at this point-just

remember to keep the seam side down! If

the edges are uneven I slice a bit off each

edge for a prettier presentation.

Here is the Pumpkin Roll I made that I sifted 

powdered sugar over and placed on a gold doily

 with some decorations for my customer. If you 

want a frosted roll like I showed a picture of this 

last week, then just leave some of the frosting from

 the filling out to cover the outside with. Then run a 

fork down the sides to look like tree bark. I keep 

these refrigerated until about an hour before serving

to keep the cream cheese fresh. Enjoy!