If I had to name one recipe that reminded me of Thanksgiving it would not be the turkey, dressing, or sweet potato casserole, it would be this Pumpkin Spice Cake Roll! The marrying of the pumpkin, cinnamon, and nutmeg sponge cake with the decadent cream cheese filling is a must have on my Thanksgiving table. The stuffed cake makes an impressive presentation to wow any Thanksgiving gathering.
This dessert reminds me of home every time. I cannot remember a Thanksgiving where it was not served. It warms my soul and certainly makes my holidays so much brighter! Without a doubt this Pumpkin Spice Cake Roll is one thing I am certainly thankful for!
Food H & P for the Pumpkin Cake:
¾ cup of baking mix
1 cup of sugar
2/3 cup of canned pumpkin puree
3 eggs
2 tsp nutmeg
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp of pumpkin spice
1 cup of chopped pecans
H & P for Cream Cheese Filling:
8 ounces of cream cheese (at room temperature)
1 cup of powdered sugar
6 Tbsp of butter (at room temperature)
1 tsp of vanilla
Food Rx:
Mix all ingredients for the Pumpkin Cake together except for nuts. Pour mixture into a jelly roll pan (10×15 inch standard cookie sheet with a 1 inch lip all the way around) lined with wax paper. Sprinkle the chopped pecans on top. Bake at 350 degrees for 13-15 minutes until the cake is cooked through. Sprinkle a kitchen towel with powdered sugar. When the cooked cake is removed from oven lift it out of the pan using the wax paper and invert on the powdered dish towel. Roll the cake in the towel until it forms a log then allow it to cool on the counter until completely cooled.
(I usually leave the rolled cake cooling overnight then stuff the next morning. You can roll the cake either way. I used to always roll the cake so it’s short and fat causing more of a cream cheese curl. I recently have started rolling it into a long and skinny log since most of my family enjoys sampling many desserts!)
When the cake is completely cooled beat together all the Cream Cheese Filling ingredients with an electric hand mixer. Unroll the cake, spread the filling, and re-roll. Refrigerate until ready to eat.
As the cake sits in the refrigerator the powdered sugar absorbs into the cake. I have yet to make this Pumpkin Spice Cake Roll without the cake cracking, so don’t worry the filling binds everything together!
Nursing tip: Like the Pumpkin Cake Roll, on the outside it looks like the ER crew is running the show; however, that is very deceptive. It takes a village! From lab techs collecting labs on our “hard stick” patients, to respiratory therapists maintaining ventilators and breathing treatments, we rely on so many people and specialties. I feel like an ER crew is great at discovering an abnormal finding then outsourcing the knowledge of other specialties. In the end all the “flavors” meld together beautifully!
