A pumpkin roulade is a delicious and elegant dessert that is perfect for fall.
This recipe features a light and fluffy pumpkin cake filled with light and airy ginger buttercream, and it's sure to impress your guests.
The cake is then rolled up, making it the perfect size for sliced servings. This pumpkin roulade is sure to do the trick if you're looking for a show-stopping dessert to impress your guests.

⬇️ Table of Contents
Is a Pumpkin Roll the Same as a Pumpkin Roulade?
A pumpkin roll is not the same as a pumpkin roulade. A pumpkin roll is a cake made from a sheet of pumpkin-flavored cake that is swirled with a creamy filling and then rolled into a spiral. On the other hand, a pumpkin roulade is made from a sponge cake filled with buttercream.
Watch How To Make
How To Make Pumpkin Roulade With Crystallized Ginger Buttercream
Step 1: Begin by adding room temperature eggs and sugar to an electric mixer and creaming the ingredients together. It takes about 2 minutes.
Wet Ingredients
- ¾ cup Pumpkin Puree, NOT Pumpkin Pie Filling
- 1 cup White Fine Sugar
- 3 X-large Eggs at Room temperature
- 1 extra Egg Yolk
Then, add the pumpkin puree to an electric mixer.
Tip: Do not use pumpkin pie filling.

Dry Ingredients
Add the following ingredients using a sifter on top of the electric mixer.
- ¾ cup All-Purpose Flour
- 1 teaspoon Ground Cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon Ground Ginger
- ½ teaspoon Baking Powder
- ½ teaspoon Baking Soda
- ⅓ teaspoon Fresh Ground Nutmeg If using jar nutmeg, reduce to ¼teaspoon
- ½ teaspoon Kosher Salt
- 1 Pinch Cayenne Pepper Optional
Add ⅓ teaspoon of Fresh Ground Nutmeg / Use ¼ teaspoon if using Nutmeg from a jar.

Add 1 teaspoon+ of Cinnamon

Add ½ teaspoon Baking Soda & ½ teaspoon Baking Powder

Add 1 teaspoon of Ground Ginger
Chef TIP: Purchase new ground ginger at the grocery store for maximum flavor. Over a short period, the flavor softens.

Next, add the flour and salt, and sift the ingredients until everything moves through the mesh strainer.
Now add the dry ingredients to the mixer with the wet ingredients. Add a little bit at a time to avoid lumps.
Using a cookie sheet, add a piece of parchment paper that fits, and spray with a non-stick spray. Spray the cookie sheet as well before laying down the parchment paper.
Pour the batter on top of the parchment paper and smooth it out to the edges. Lastly, tap the cookie sheet on the counter a few times to release extra air bubbles.

Bake in the preheated oven at 375 degrees for around 12 minutes, or until you can touch the pumpkin roulade and no indention appears.

I like to remove the cooked pumpkin roulade from the cookie sheet as soon as I can handle touching it. Find a place on the counter and lay it down, do not remove the underneath parchment paper yet.
How to Roll a Pumpkin Roll Without Breaking It
While the pumpkin roulade is baking, lay out a kitchen towel. Place a piece of parchment paper in the middle and crimp the edges so the paper lays flat.

Sprinkle powdered sugar all over the parchment paper. Cover completely.

Lay the baked pumpkin roulade on top of the parchment paper with the powdered sugar. Parchment paper side up.

Move the pumpkin roulade to the very front edge of the parchment paper.
Then, move the parchment paper to the edge of the kitchen towel.

Slowly roll the kitchen towel, making sure the first roll is tight. The compact rolling will ensure a nice clean presentation and swirl.

Set it to the side and make the cream cheese crystallized ginger filling while it sets up and cools a bit.
Once the filling is complete, unroll the pumpkin roulade and add the crystallized ginger buttercream filling. Fill it almost all the way to the edges. Try not to overfill, or the filling will squeeze out the sides.

For a clean presentation, cut off the edge pieces with a knife. I like using a serrated knife.

KEY to a nice swirl: - When you begin the rolling, make sure to keep it tight with the towel.
Can You Freeze a Pumpkin Roll?
Pumpkin rolls are a popular dessert, and many wonder if they can be frozen. The answer is yes! You can freeze pumpkin rolls, and they will still be delicious. Just be sure to wrap them tightly in plastic or aluminum foil so they don't dry out.
📖 Recipe

Pumpkin Roulade with Crystallized Ginger ButterCream
Suggested Equipment
Ingredients
Dry Ingredient Combination
- ¾ cup All-Purpose Flour
- 1 teaspoon Ground Cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon Ground Ginger
- ½ teaspoon Baking Powder
- ½ teaspoon Baking Soda
- ⅓ teaspoon Fresh Ground Nutmeg If using jar nutmeg reduce to ¼tsp
- ½ teaspoon Kosher Salt
- 1 Pinch Cayenne Pepper Optional
Wet Ingredient Combination
- ¾ cup Pumpkin Puree NOT Pumpkin Pie Filling
- 1 cup White Fine Sugar
- 3 X-large Eggs Room temperature
- 1 extra Egg Yolk
ButterCream Filling
- 12 ounces Cream Cheese / Room temperature
- 1 ⅓ cups Powder Sugar
- 2 Tablespoons Heavy Cream / Or Eggnog
- ½ cup Crystallized Ginger / Place into freezer before using / easy to chop
- ½ teaspoon Kosher Salt
- 2 T EggNog / Replace the Heavy Cream with
Instructions
Mixing The Dry & Wet Ingredients
- Sift the dry ingredient to remove any lumps
- Using an electric mixer, cream the eggs and sugar together (about 2 minutes). Then add in the pumpkin puree, not pumpkin filling.
- Once the ingredients are combined, start adding in the rest of the sifted dry ingredients a little at a time. Mix to combine, then stop. Tip: Do not over mix or risk developing gluten. Overmixing will result in a tough roulade Add to the mixer:1 teaspoon Ground Cinnamon1 teaspoon Ground Ginger½ teaspoon Baking Powder½ teaspoon Baking Soda⅓ teaspoon Fresh Ground Nutmeg / If using jar nutmeg reduce to ¼ teaspoon½ teaspoon Kosher Salt
Baking The Roulade
- Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper, then spray with non-stick on both sides. Spraying both sides will help with no sticking.
- Next, spread out the mixed batter over the parchment paper. Smooth out and tap on the counter a few times to remove any air bubbles.
- Bake @ 375 degrees for about 12 minutes or until the pumpkin roulade sets up. Has taken me up to 14 minutes before. Every oven is a little bit different. Begin checking after 10 minutes.
Rolling The Roulade Without Cracks
- Watch video on how to finish the roulade WITHOUT any cracks
- Layout a kitchen towel flat. Then lay a clean piece of parchment paper in the middle of the towel the same size as the parchment paper you cooked the roulade. Fold back the parchment paper edges so it will lay flat. Then sprinkle powder sugar on top of the parchment paper and cover the entire piece. Be generous and cover well.
- Place the cooked pumpkin roulade cake on top of the parchment paper with the powder sugar. Peel away the parchment paper stuck to the cooked cake.
- Line up the cooked cake to the edge of the parchment paper with the powder sugar. Line it up close to perfect. Next, slide the parchment paper up to the very edge of the kitchen towel.
- Begin rolling, with the kitchen towel and parchment paper-lined up, roll somewhat tightly to create a nice spiral presentation. The very first part of the roll will determine how nice the spiral presentation will look.
- Once rolled up, allow to rest/cool down for about 5 minutes. Afterward, unroll the log and begin adding the buttercream filling. Try to not add too much filling or when you do the final roll-up for the presentation part of the filling will squeeze out the sides and end. Place in the freezer or refrigerator awhile to set up
- Presentation: Cut off a piece from both ends for a clean plating appearance.Then sprinkle as much powder sugar as you want all over the top.
Plating
- Suggestion: Use a dark color plate for visual contrast. You can add the powder sugar first then move the roulade to the serving plate with a large pastry knife.
Video

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