Chocolate Pumpkin Roll with Cream Cheese Filling

This Chocolate Pumpkin Cake Roll pairs a rich chocolate cake with pumpkin cream cheese filling and whipped topping, then tops it with warm chocolate ganache. It's a spin on the classic swiss roll that guests will be thrilled to see!

Steps for Making It

This chocolate pumpkin roll comes together in three main parts: the chocolate cake, the pumpkin cream cheese filling, and the warm chocolate ganache that goes on top!

Adding the whipped topping after the pumpkin filling is optional. I used store-bought, so it isn't listed below.

Chocolate Cake

This first step is quick to mix and bake. For the chocolate cake, gather these ingredients:

• All-Purpose Flour
• Unsweetened Cocoa Powder
• Baking Powder
• Salt

• Domino® Golden Sugar
• 4 Large Eggs
• Unsalted Butter
• Vanilla Extract

Once everything is just combined, scrape the chocolate batter into your prepared 15″ x 10″ x 1″ jelly roll pan and spread it into every corner with an offset spatula. Bake at 350ºF for 15-18 minutes, until the cake springs back when touched.

As soon as the cake comes out of the oven, roll it up and let it cool completely in that shape on a wire rack. Doing this helps the roll keep its curve once you add the pumpkin filling. A kitchen towel can help you start the roll, but don't roll the towel up inside the cake!

Pumpkin Cream Cheese Filling

You can make the pumpkin cream cheese filling while the cake bakes and cools. Once it's ready, cover the top tightly with plastic wrap and chill it in the fridge for about an hour, or longer if you like. For this filling, you'll need:

• Full-Fat Cream Cheese
• Unsalted Butter
• Domino® Confectioners Sugar
• Canned Pumpkin Puree
• Vanilla Extract
• Cinnamon
• Nutmeg

Nothing too tricky here, but make sure the cream cheese and butter are at room temperature and the powdered sugar is sifted. You only need 1/8 cup of the canned pumpkin, so seal the rest in a container and refrigerate it for up to a week.

Chocolate Ganache

The last piece is the chocolate ganache! It's quick to make and easy to pour over the chilled cake roll. Set the roll on a wire rack over a jelly roll pan to catch any drips. You'll need these ingredients:

• Semi-Sweet Chocolate (bar or chocolate chips)
• Heavy Whipping Cream
• Vanilla Extract
• Light Corn Syrup

You can pour the ganache straight down the middle of the roll or do a small pour from side to side. It doesn't need to look perfect, and you can smooth any extra with an offset spatula.

Adding ganache is completely optional, and a simple dusting of powdered sugar works just as well. Still, I have to say the ganache is reaaaaallly good!

Cake Roll Troubleshooting

Rolling this cake is pretty easy. The part that frustrates many bakers, me included, is unrolling the cake and finding it covered in cracks. Cracks don't ruin anything, but here are a few reasons they might show up.

• Mix the batter only until combined. That means stopping once you can no longer see dry ingredients in the bowl. Overmixing makes cake denser, which can get in the way of rolling.

• Underbaking or overbaking. A chocolate cake that's underbaked or overbaked can crack when unrolled. The recommended bake time is 15-18 minutes. In my oven, 18 minutes gave me a crack-free cake. Every oven behaves differently, so start checking at the earlier time.

• Letting the rolled cake cool fully. If you unroll the cake before it has cooled completely on a wire rack, cracks can form.

Storage and Freezing

After assembling the pumpkin roll, wrap it tightly in plastic wrap and then aluminum foil. Refrigerate it for at least 4 hours so the filling can set.

You can keep the roll in the fridge for 3-5 days or freeze it for 1-2 months. I prefer freezing because it's much easier to slice later.

When you're ready to serve, take it out of the fridge or freezer and let it sit at room temperature for 30 minutes first. Then top it with warm chocolate ganache or powdered sugar.

Helpful Tips

• Line your 15″ x 10″ x 1″ jelly roll pan with a pre-cut sheet of parchment, then spray it heavily with a flour-based baking spray. This step matters a lot when baking the cake. Don't skip it!
• Roll the cake up right after it comes out of the oven and let it cool in that shape on a wire rack. This makes it far easier to roll again later, once the filling, whipped topping and ganache are added!
• When the cake is done, pull the parchment up along the sides and slide it onto a clean, dry surface or kitchen towel to roll. The towel helps start the roll, but don't roll it up with the cake!
• Some recipes use a kitchen towel and powdered sugar to roll the cake, but I skip that here. After testing this chocolate pumpkin cake roll more than 5 times, I found parchment paper and flour-based baking spray worked best.
• You need only 1/8 cup of pumpkin puree for the filling, so store the leftovers in a sealed plastic or glass container in the fridge for up to a week.
• The pumpkin cream cheese filling should be fairly thick but still spreadable. If it turns out too thin, mix in a little powdered sugar to firm it up.
• When you spread the pumpkin filling and optional whipped topping, leave a 1/2″ border of cake all around. The filling will push toward the edges a bit as you roll.
• For a neater look, trim the ends of the cake roll before serving.

Baking Tools You'll Need

These 3 baking tools made the biggest difference for this chocolate pumpkin cake roll:

• 15″ x 10″ x 1″ Jelly Roll Pan – this size is ideal for this recipe. A bigger pan would make the cake too thin!
• Parchment Paper Sheets – I like these because they come pre-cut and are a bit larger than the pan, so the paper rises up the sides. I crease it so the sides stand up.
• Flour-Based Baking Spray – useful when peeling off the parchment as you roll the cake a 2nd time. I spray only the top of the paper, and I spray it generously!

If you make this Chocolate Pumpkin Cake Roll or any other recipe from my site, please leave a star rating and tell me how it turned out in the comments below. Thanks for stopping by!