LEgen... wait for it.... DARY.

Barney Stinson

My mom is nothing short of legendary when it comes to baking. Growing up, I can remember multiple times when she brought home top prize for a community baking contest and then there was that one time when someone paid $100 at an auction for one of her pies. Baking was part of our family culture. We were the Borries family and we were good at baking. We all had our own aprons and were taught how to wield a spatula from the time we were knee-high, boys included. We made fresh pies, tortillas, cookies, and desserts all from scratch on the regular. I actually didn't even know what the term "from scratch" meant until I was about 16 because that was normal for us.


The only downside to this is that it makes a lot of store-bought things taste like cardboard comparatively.


While I have absolutely RELIED on ready-made things at certain points in my life as a busy parent (and still do), there really is nothing like the feeling of pulling a freshly baked item out of the oven and serving it to friends and family, especially when it is a tried and true recipe passed on from the (literal) mother of baking. I truly enjoy the experience when I have the time.


So when I was asked to make something for a small dessert night this fall, I turned to my mom's pumpkin roll recipe and it did not disappoint. One of my friends may or may not have picked up a bite of it that had fallen on the floor and popped it in his mouth....and they have a DOG. You can't waste that goodness!

Let's dive in, shall we?


This recipe involves two parts. First, you make the pumpkin cake and wait for it to cool, then you slather it with cream cheese filling, roll it up and allow it to chill in the fridge. Each step isn't laborsome but it does take some time to get the whole thing together. I divided the parts into two days.

Part One

Step 1


Preheat oven to 375.


Gather your ingredients (listed below). Beat the eggs on high for five minutes until they look frothy, then keep your mixer running on high while you slowly add in the sugar. Add the rest of the ingredients and mix until combined. Easy peasy!

Step 2


Trim a piece of parchment or waxed paper to fit a 10x15 rimmed cookie sheet. Spray the pan with non-stick spray, then lay down your parchment paper and spray it again. Now pour in your pumpkin batter and spread it around evenly.


Note: It's important to have the right-sized baking sheet or else your pumpkin roll will be a different length and the baking times and amount of filling you need will be different.


Bake at 375 for 10-15 minutes, watching it carefully because it dries out quickly if you overbake it. Use the toothpick test to determine doneness.

Step 3


Take a tea towel and lay it on the counter. Sprinkle it heavily all over with powdered sugar. When your pumpkin roll is finished baking, flip the hot pan over face-down onto the tea towel, remove the pan, and pull the parchment paper off the top. I apologize in advance for the amount of sugar dusting that you will need to clean from this step!


Trim the edges with a butter knife if they feel crusty and dry at all.


Starting from the short side, roll the warm pumpkin roll up--towel and all--then place on a wire rack and allow to cool completely. You want it to look like a short and fat warm pumpkin burrito.

Part Two

Step 1


Beat together the four ingredients for your filling--butter, cream cheese, vanilla, and powdered sugar.

Step 2


Carefully unroll your cooled pumpkin roll, slather on the cream cheese goodness and roll it back up--this time without the towel!


It may stick a bit to the towel. That is ok, just gently peel it off and don't worry if it cracks a little. It'll still taste just as good!

Final Step


Place your pumpkin roll edge side down on a plate or serving tray, cover, and chill for a few hours before serving. I dusted mine with some confectioner's sugar to make it look pretty. Bon appetit!

Pumpkin Roll Recipe

These freeze well, so if you feel like making multiples for later, go for it!

1 Roll


PUMPKIN CAKE

3 eggs

1 cup sugar

2/3 cup pumpkin

1 tsp lemon juice

3/4 cup flour

1 tsp baking powder

2 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp nutmeg

1/2 tsp pumpkin spice or cloves

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp ginger

Powdered sugar for sprinkling


FILLING

1 cup powdered sugar

8 oz cream cheese (softened)

1/2 stick butter (softened)

1/2 tsp vanilla

3 Rolls


PUMPKIN CAKE

9 eggs

3 cups sugar

2 cups pumpkin

1 Tbsp lemon juice

2 1/4 cups flour

1 Tbsp baking powder

2 Tbsp cinnamon

1 Tbsp nutmeg

1 1/2 tsp pumpkin spice or cloves

1 1/2 tsp salt

1 Tbsp ginger

Powdered sugar for sprinkling


FILLING

3 cups powdered sugar

3 - 8oz cream cheese (softened)

1 1/2 sticks butter (softened)

1 1/2 tsp vanilla

5 Rolls


PUMPKIN CAKE

15 eggs

5 cups sugar

3 1/2 cups pumpkin

5 tsp lemon juice

3 3/4 cups flour

5 tsp baking powder

10 tsp cinnamon

5 tsp nutmeg

2 1/2 tsp pumpkin spice or cloves

2 1/2 tsp salt

5 tsp ginger

Powdered sugar for sprinkling


FILLING

5 cups powdered sugar

5 - 8oz cream cheese (softened)

2 1/2 sticks butter (softened)

2 1/2 tsp vanilla

DIRECTIONS

  1. Grease and line a 10x15x1 baking sheet with waxed or parchment paper. Set oven to 375.
  2. Beat eggs on high 5 mins until frothy. Slowly add sugar, then remainder of ingredients. Mix well. Pour mixture into pan and spread evenly. Bake for 10-15 mins checking often for doneness (it can overbake quickly).
  3. Turn out onto a thin towel sprinkled liberally with powdered sugar. Immediately peel of parchment paper, trim any crusty edges, and roll up towel and all while the cake it still hot. Roll up from the short side so that it's short and fat. Cool completely for several hours on a wire rack.
  4. Combine and beat all filling ingredients until smooth.
  5. Unroll cooled cake, spread with filling, roll back up without the towel and place on serving plate with the loose edge down. Refrigerate until well chilled or freeze for later.

Now everybody say it together... "Thanks, Mom!" :-)