Pumpkin Spice Roll

Christoph — Mon, 26 Nov 2018 17:51:33 +0000

I have been on sort of a roll lately, a pumpkin roll (sorry about that). I guess it was a little over a year ago that we traded our hundred year old craftsman bungalow for a 1960’s tri-level ranch, and by the time we got settled we were headed off to Europe for Christmas and didn’t really experience holidays in our home. So this year I find myself embracing the era of our new-old house cranking up the Rat Pack Christmas album and pulling out cooking treasures from my childhood looking for fun recipes to prepare this holiday season.

I had never attempted making a rolled cake of any type before, guess it was the fact that I needed to prepare a dessert for an upcoming office pot-luck and a new jelly roll pan that inspired me. I like baking cakes almost as much as I enjoy eating them, and have always loved a classic pumpkin roll cake but had never attempted one myself. Not sure why, I guess I must have thought there was some magic trick to it. Like anything else it is easy when you know how, and these cakes are no exception. As I began pumping out pumpkin flavored sponge logs at an almost bakery production level it also occurred to me to experiment with different fillings as well. So now not only am I not afraid to make a jelly roll type of cake, but I have a freezer full of holiday treats.

There are a couple of tricks I discovered in my quest for the perfect sponge that I would share with you. The first is the pan and the preparation. If you can’t get the cake out of the pan easily and in one nice piece, well…… pan prep really is important. A regular cake pan really doesn’t work, you do need the right tool for this. Jelly roll pans are typically around 10″ x 15″ x 1″. The pans are not very expensive and you can find a nice quality one for about twelve to fifteen dollars. If you are purchasing one I would recommend one with ears or handles that will make the turning a bit easier. The one I purchased did not have them and now I see how that would have been a helpful feature, however I have been able to flip many a cake out successfully. Start by lightly greasing the pan, bottom and sides, then lay a sheet of parchment paper over the pan. Working from the center out stick the paper to the greased pan forming it up the sides leaving the corners for last. Locate the corner of the pan with your finger and using scissors make one cut down to the corner. This will allow you to fold the paper into the corner covering the entire pan, then lightly grease the paper.

One of the things I like about this cake is there are relatively few ingredients and no oil or butter, the cake or sponge as it is called is mostly comprised of beaten eggs. Getting a nice sponge-like tender cake starts with beating the eggs. Begin by breaking the three eggs into a mixing bowl, and with a hand mixer beat the eggs for about five minutes. Really, just the eggs all by themselves for about five minutes. Some recipes skip this step and add other ingredients from the get go, but I will tell you this really is the secret to the best sponge. It is crucial to get as much air into the eggs as possible before adding the sugar. This is what will give you the best spongy sponge. You are looking for the eggs to quadruple in volume and be light yellow and full of bubbles before adding the sugar. Once the sugar is added you will beat the mixture until it becomes very light yellow and slightly stiff, another four or five minutes. From there all the hard mixing is done, simply fold in the rest of the ingredients gently to keep as much air in the batter as you can.

The batter for this cake is rather thick and takes a bit of coaxing to spread, I use a large offset knife for this. Spread the cake into the corners and along the sides as even as you can. This will help make a nice even roll. Avoid pounding the cake on the counter to try to level it as that will only remove air from the sponge.

Bake the cake for 13 to 16 minutes, every oven bakes differently so check the cake by pressing in the center lightly with your finger, if the cake springs back it is done. While the cake is baking you will need to prepare a towel to turn the sponge onto. I use a flour sack t-towel, but any lint free light weight towel with a smooth finish (no terry towels) will work. Use a sifter or mesh strainer to dust a heavy coat of confectioner’s sugar over the towel. Cover an area somewhat larger than the size of your pan, it is rather hard to drop it exactly. Do not skimp on the powdered sugar since this is what will keep the sponge from sticking to the towel. And of course any time you are working with powdered sugar it is a bit of a mess, so just be prepared for that. This is why I prep the towel while the cake bakes so I don’t drag sugar all over the entire kitchen while I am mixing.

When the cake is done remove it from the oven and let it stand for only a minute, I find the time it takes me to fold the paper back and to get a grip on the pan is about as long as you should wait. Aim for the powdered sugar landing pad and as gently as you can set the cake pan upside down. There will be a bit of a blizzard when the cake hits the sugar so be prepared. Lift the pan off and carefully peel back the paper. Then while the cake is still hot, gently roll the towel up with the cake and set it on a wire rack to completely cool, which can take up to an hour, the center will hold heat so don’t rush it.

When the cake has completely cooled mix your filling. Slowly unroll the cake, it will have formed a curl, don’t force the cake flat let it lay as it will. It will relax a bit once it is unrolled. Before filling I like to separate the cake from the towel. Gently roll the cake back up, not tightly but just to make sure it has not stuck to the towel. Go slow and gently pull the cake away from the towel in any areas it has stuck. Once the cake feels free of the towel, roll it back out to fill. Spread your filling out in an even layer staying about a half an inch back from the edges. Then gently roll the cake back up (without the towel) and tightly roll in cling wrap, then place in the fridge for about two hours to set. For serving remove the plastic wrap and cut about an inch of both ends to expose the beautiful roll, a serrated bread knife works well for slicing. Dust with powdered sugar and slice the roll in 1″ thick pieces.

These cakes freeze extremely well and are a great item to make ahead of time and have on hand for any unexpected holiday visitors. I double wrap the cake with plastic wrap, then with foil. Unwrap the cake and allow to thaw for about an hour before serving.