I’ve made Pumpkin Cake Rolls every November for years. I’ve tried every recipe and had a lot of problems with them cracking or falling apart and then I found this recipe at Taste of Homes for Butternut Squash Cake Roll. Thank you Elizabeth Nelson!! (no relation to me, Stacy Nelson by the way) I went back into her recipe and even found a review that I left in 2012 so I’ve been making this recipe for 5 years now.
I noticed a couple differences from this recipe than the other recipes I tried; one big difference was that it had roasted Butternut Squash instead of canned pumpkin and the other major difference was the time that I whipped the eggs and sugar. All I know is that I have never had this cake crack and fall apart. The Best Pumpkin Cake Roll in my opinion doesn’t have Pumpkin at all.. it has Butternut Squash!
Bake Extra Cakes and Share the Love!
When I make Pumpkin Cake Rolls I usually make 6. I buy a box of cream cheese from Sam’s Club, which has 6 boxes of cream cheese, that is where the magical number of 6 came from. I bake 2 Butternut Squash to make Butternut Squash Soup and then I bake one more squash for my cake rolls. A 3 pound butternut squash makes 4 cups of mashed squash = 6 cake rolls. Also the magical 6 number. I actually weigh the squash at the store and make sure to buy them weighing over 3 lbs.
I mix one cake, put it in the oven and then I start the next cake while it is baking. I put the rolled cake in the fridge to cool while I bake the next cakes. The timing easily flows and I have 6 cakes baked in no time. (well it actually takes about 1 1/2 hours to bake 6 cakes, which doesn’t include the time it takes to bake the squash) I have let the cakes sit in the fridge until later that day to put the filling but I found if I let the cakes sit overnight then that’s when the cake will crack because the cake became too hard and dry. You can fill a cracked cake anyway if the crack is on the inside of the roll but don’t bother filling the cake if the crack is on the outside edge of the roll.
When making the filling for the cakes I mix all of the ingredients for all 6 cakes in one batch. I use to measure the filling into separate bowls to make sure I was filling the cakes with the same amount of filling but last time I made cakes I was smart enough to measure one of the bowls = 2 cups. Now I just take the filling from the mixing bowl and measure 2 cups of filling on the cake roll. You will have about 1/3 cup of filling left over at the end so you could put a little bit of extra filling in the last two cake rolls.
The cake rolls have 10-12 servings so I cut the cake rolls in half when I want to give the smaller cake to a smaller family.
The Best Pumpkin Cake Roll doesn't have pumpkin in it at all, it has roasted Butternut Squash!- 3 eggs
- 1 cup sugar
- ⅔ cup mashed cooked butternut squash
- ¾ cup all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 cup finely chopped walnuts
- Confectioners' powdered sugar
- FILLING:
- 1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, softened
- 2 tablespoons butter, softened
- 1¼ cup confectioners' powdered sugar
- ¾ teaspoon vanilla extract
- Additional confectioners' sugar, optional
- Line a 15-in. x 10-in. x 1-in. baking pan with waxed paper or parchment paper; Spray the pan and paper with non stick spray. Spread 1 cup of chopped walnuts or pecans evenly over paper.
- In a mixing bowl, beat eggs on high for 3 minutes. Gradually add sugar; beat for 2 minutes. Mixture will be thick and lemon-colored. Stir in squash. Add flour, baking soda and cinnamon. . Spread batter evenly into prepared pan.
- Bake at 375° for 13-15 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. The cake will start to pull away from the sides of the pan. Cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes and then loosen cake around the edges with a butter knife.
- Turn cake onto a kitchen towel dusted with confectioners' sugar. Gently peel off parchment paper. Roll up cake in the towel, jelly-roll style, starting with a short side. Store in the fridge while making the filling.
- Filling: In a mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese, butter, confectioners' sugar and vanilla until smooth. Unroll cake; spread filling evenly over cake to edge. Roll up again, removing towel.
- Cover and refrigerate for 1 hour. Just before serving, dust with confectioners' sugar if desired. Yield: 10 servings.
1 Butternut squash that is 3 pounds will give you 4 cups of mashed squash, which will make 6 cakes. Make sure the butternut Squash weights a little more than 3 lbs.
Good Freezer Recipe!
I make cake rolls in November and placed them in the freezer to give to neighbors for Christmas. If you plan of freezing the cake roll longer than a month then you will want to wrap it with the plastic wrap then then with freezer paper.
We talk about this recipe in the “Frozen with Love” class about freezer recipes
Link to the “Frozen with Love” class about freezer meals
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