This variation of the classic jelly roll cake is ubiquitous in Pennsylvania in the days leading up to Thanksgiving – a spiced pumpkin cake is rolled around cream cheese filling and allowed to firm up overnight – the result is rich, decadent, filling, and utterly beautiful. In our house, we use Daiya brand diary free cream cheese substitute for the cream cheese. Follow the instructions carefully for best results.

Cake

3 eggs
1 cup sugar
2/3 cup canned pumpkin
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
3/4 cup (3oz or 85g) Better Batter Gluten Free Flour

Filling

1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened (we recommend Daiya as a dairy free sub)
4 tablespoons butter, or non dairy margarine, softened
1 cup powdered sugar (Better Batter Corn Free Powdered Sugar, coming soon!)
1 teaspoon vanilla

For best results you will want to gather all ingredients together and have everything ready to assemble as you go.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 10″x15″ jelly roll pan. Line pan with parchment paper, then grease and lightly flour the parchment paper. Lay out a tea towel – this is NOT a terrycloth towel, with ‘nubs’ but rather the tightly woven, ‘smooth’ towels. You can generally find these at a home goods store or in a restaurant supply store or club store. Sift a generous layer of powdered sugar over the tea towel.

In a large bowl, beat eggs and sugar over medium speed until the mixture turns light yellow and becomes smooth and ropey. Beat in remaining cake ingredients until the mixture is smooth, about 2 minutes. Do not use too high a speed, as you want to incorporate as few air bubbles as possible, for the finest texture.

Pour batter into the pan and spread evenly. Bake at 350F for 15 minutes. *Cake cooks fast so watch carefully to avoid burning the edges!*

When the cake is finished cooking, remove and immediately flip the hot cake over onto the prepared tea towel. Peel off the parchment paper, then – using a ver sharp knife or pizza cutter and a straight edge- trim off burnt or crusty edges – this will help the cake roll.

Working quickly, sift more powdered sugar generously over the surface of the hot cake, then quickly roll up the cake from the short side – rolling across the length of the long side, using the towel as support and separation (you should roll the hot cake up with towel wrapped around it on all layers, as it cools, so that it is in a spiral inside the cake). Let cake cool completely, about 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, prepare filling by beating together all filling ingredients until smooth and creamy. It is important for the filling to be as soft and creamy as possible, so do not use cold ingredients!

Unroll cooled cake very gently. Spread the cake with the filling mixture., then – without using the towel as a separator! – roll up the cake so that the filling is on the inside. Dust lightly with more powdered sugar, then wrap tightly in waxed paper and then foil. This will allow all the extra moisture from the filling to absorb into the cake.

Refrigerate or freeze, at least 8 hours, or overnight. To serve, slice cake about 1/3 inch thick and sprinkle with powdered sugar. Note – cake cuts most neatly when still slightly frozen. To cut from frozen, remove from freezer for 30 minutes, and then slice with a very sharp knife.