I love the fall season and I love baking with pumpkin! This year I thought I’d develop a Gluten-Free Pumpkin Roll recipe and I couldn’t have been happier with the results.
To make a vegan version of this delicious cake roll, simply replace the cream cheese and butter with vegan versions. Replace the eggs with ½ cup of applesauce and increase the pumpkin puree to ¾ cup.
A neighbor made this version and I couldn’t tell the difference!
The pumpkin roll was moist and delicious and the cream cheese-mascarpone frosting was not too sweet and oh-so creamy. I used a cup-for-cup gluten-free flour blend that you can find in your local grocer or online.
Cup for cup simply means that the blend has been created to mimic All-purpose flour so it can be used as a replacement in most regular recipes.
How do I store a finished pumpkin roll?
Once filled and rolled, wrap the finished pumpkin roll tightly in a piece of plastic wrap and then again in a layer of foil. Make sure that the ends are sealed well; this is important. After properly wrapping the pumpkin roll you can keep them in the refrigerator for 2-3 days or you can freeze them for up to a month.
When ready to serve the pumpkin roll, remove it from the freezer or refrigerator and allow the roll to come to room temperature before serving.
My pumpkin roll is pretty easy to make. The sponge bakes up nicely and rolling it up, using a towel is a lot easier than you may think. *Just remember to roll up your cake within a few minutes of it coming out of the oven, otherwise it will start to set and won’t roll without cracking.
Once rolled and cooled it’s pretty easy to simply add a layer of cream cheese-mascarpone frosting and re-roll this beauty back up. Roll it up in cling wrap and refrigerate for at least an hour before serving.
Chef Dennis Tip:
I recommend that the cake gets rolled into the towel as soon as it comes out of the oven. When the cake is rolled while warm, the heat and moisture will help keep the cake from cracking. The cake is much more likely to crack if it is rolled when cooled.
Then serve up some deliciousness with a cup of coffee or your favorite beverage and honestly tell me if you can tell that the Pumpkin Roll is Gluten Free!
If you’re looking for another amazing gluten-free recipe try my recipe for the most ah-mazing brownies you’ll ever have.
Feel free to change up the filling, making this pumpkin roll your own signature dessert. The recipe also works perfectly with all-purpose flour.
Just make sure to have the recipe handy to share with your family and friends. They’ll be asking for it for sure!
If you like this recipe you may also like these:
Gluten Free Pumpkin Roll
Ingredients
Pumpkin Roll
- ¼ cup powdered sugar to sprinkle on towel
- ¾ cup Gluten-Free Flour Blend (Cup for Cup) King Arthur, Bobs Red Mill or your favorite blend.
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ground cloves
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 3 large eggs
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- ⅔ cup LIBBY’S® 100% Pure Pumpkin
Cream Cheese Frosting
- 8 ounce cream cheese softened
- 8 ounces mascarpone cheese or cream cheese
- 2 cup powdered sugar
- 6 tablespoons butter softened
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon grated orange rind
- ¼ cup powdered sugar for dusting
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees
- Grease 15 x 10-inch jelly-roll pan; line with parchment paper. Grease parchment paper. Sprinkle towel with powdered sugar.
- Mix flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves and salt in a small bowl. Beat eggs and sugar in large mixer bowl until thick.
- Beat in pumpkin.
- Stir in flour mixture.
- Spread evenly into prepared pan.
- Bake for 13 to 15 minutes or until the top of the cake springs back when touched. Immediately loosen and turn cake onto prepared towel, and carefully peel off paper.
- Roll up cake and towel together, starting with narrow end.
- Cool on wire rack.
Cream Cheese Frosting
- Whip cream cheese, mascarpone, powdered sugar and butter until smooth and creamy.
- Add vanilla extract, sugar and orange rind and mix together until well blended.
- Carefully unroll cake; remove towel and spread cream cheese mixture over cake.***
- Re-roll cake, then wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate at least one hour.
- Sprinkle with powdered sugar before serving.
Patricia Demicke
Can I replace this recipe with 1 Tblp pumpkin pie spice to replace spices in this recipe?
Chef Dennis Littley
you sure can
Silvia
Not sure where to insert my comment. Followed the instructions, and my roll came out so good, taste and presentation. Thank you for the recipe and for all the tips on how to make this delicious dessert. St
Nikki
It should taste exactly the same!
I wouldn’t add 1 Tablespoon though;
The spices listed were 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon & 1/2 teaspoon cloves.
So replacing those 2 spices with 1 teaspoon (tsp) pumpkin pie spice should taste great!
Jennifer
I tried making the pumpkin spice roll with gluten free flour twice and each time it did not cook all the way through. I increased the cooking time but that did not help. I’ve made them with regular flour and they turned out great. Not sure what i am doing wrong
Chef Dennis Littley
did you use cup for cup GF flour?
Rex
Flavor was great but when I unrolled it from the towel it was cracked everywhere. I only cooked for 14 minutes. The sponge felt a bit dense. Should I have unrolled it before it was room temperature? Any advice on the cracking?
Chef Dennis Littley
I recommend that the cake gets rolled into the towel as soon as it comes out of the oven. When the cake is rolled while warm, the heat and moisture will help keep the cake from cracking. The cake is much more likely to crack if it is rolled when cooled.
As for being dense, is there a chance the baking soda or baking powder was old? You can add a little more of each to see if it will help it rise a little more.
Hope this helps
Nira
The recipe is amazing!! I used Bob’s Red Mills which doesn’t have xantham gum but has potato starch…not sure if they are the equal substitute lol. Either way the recipe came out amazing 🙂 Thanks
Chef Dennis Littley
you’re very welcome Nira, happy to hear you enjoyed the recipe!
Jessica
Do you use a GF flour with xantham gum in it? If so how much would you add for a GF cup for cup flour without xantham gum? I am getting used to being GF and so many of the recipes call for it.
Chef Dennis Littley
hi Jessica
the cup for cup Gluten Free flour blends that I have used includes xanthan gum. I would use either King Arthur, Bob’s Red Mill or Pillsbury Cup for Cup. They all include xanthan gum.
Janet Norway
Chef
Is it possible to freeze the pumpkin roll for a few days before serving?
Chef Dennis Littley
hi Janet
wrap the pumpkin roll tightly in a piece of plastic wrap and then again in a layer of foil – making sure that the ends are sealed well. You can store them in the refrigerator for a few days or you can freeze them for up to a month.
Remove the roll to room temperature about an hour or so before serving.
Lacy
The recipe says to use both wax paper and parchment paper. Is this a typo, or how do I use both? Thanks!
Chef Dennis Littley
thanks for pointing this out Lacy, it should just be parchment paper.
Wingrl
Would all purpose baking mix be the same as baking flour?
Chef Dennis Littley
no it is not. a baking mix can have fat, leavening agents and salt in it so it will completely change the recipe.
Nancy Pevets
Would a 12X17 jelly roll pan work, or will it be too thin?
Chef Dennis Littley
hi Nancy – it would be too thin using the cake recipe. I would increase the recipe by 1/3 to make up for the added size of the pan.
Nancy Pevets
This is my fourth year of baking pumpkin rolls using this recipe. The results are perfect every time. (As for the question l asked in 2017, l bought a 10” X 15” jelly roll pan that l only use for this recipe!) Thank you, Chef!
Chef Dennis Littley
You’re very welcome Nancy, I’m happy to hear you’ve been enjoying the recipe!
Alisha
My cake completely broke apart when I unwrapped it from the towel. What did I do wrong or what should I do to prevent it?
Chef Dennis Littley
my best guess would be that you baked it too long or did not coat the towel with enough powdered sugar. Here is a video I did that might help you https://youtu.be/4dmONicMl6U
Ginnie Higgins
I hate to sound dumb, but cup for cup please explain to me.
Chef Dennis Littley
hi Ginnie
not a dumb question at all. Cup for Cup is a designation used to show that a Gluten Free flour blend can be used with the same measurements as regular flour. If you’re mixing your own blends you sometimes need more or less depending upon the types of GF flours you use.
If you’re looking for a non GF pumpkin roll (using regular flour) you can find it here https://www.askchefdennis.com/classic-pumpkin-roll-recipe/
If you’re looking for a cup for cup blend of GF flour your grocer may carry it. King Arthur and Bobs Red Mill make them.
Carrie
I made this last night – I have gotten SO many compliments!! Excellent recipe!
A couple of quick questions which might help me when I make this again: How long should I whip the eggs and sugar for? The pumpkin portion was really thick when I pulled it from the oven – does this mean I overwhipped the eggs?
Also, I used a linen towel and sprinkled it with the powdered sugar, but the pumpkin roll still stuck quite a bit to the towel. Is the solution just to sprinkle with more powdered sugar?
Thanks for sharing this, it was easy and delicious!!
Chef Dennis Littley
hi Carrie
I’m happy to hear you enjoyed the pumpkin roll, I love them! As for sticking, yes more powdered sugar would help. Whipping will generally just lighten the mixture, so I don’t think that’s it. I usually whip the eggs for 5-7 minutes but on a lower speed building it up gradually until its thick. Pumpkin is dense and the end product will be a little heavy and sometimes a little wet. Hopefully next time will go a bit smoother.
MommaL
I have never made this before and it is my honey’s favorite childhood treat. His mother is gone so I can’t even ask her advice. So I just want to clarify: I’m going to grease the pan, then line it with wax paper, then put a greased parchment sheet on top of the wax paper?
We are also Dairy Free so I’m planning to use Kite Hill cream cheese and Earth Balance margarine for the filling.
Thank you!
Chef Dennis Littley
you only need one sheet of parchment, no wax paper. grease the pan and then the parchment.
I’ve never used non dairy cream cheese but if it whips and mixes well it should be no problem
I hope it turns out well and your honey enjoys it.
MommaL
Thank you!
I’ll let you know how it goes!
MommaL
This is delicious!
I wound up using only 8 oz. of the Kite Hill cream cheese (because it’s so expensive) with Spectrum Palm shortening for the filling. It was just the right amount and delicious!
My honey said the flavor was just right and his mother would have been impressed. 🙂
Thank you!
Vanessa Amor Vance
I used a silpat mat. Please listen to Chef Dennis and apply grease!! Novice mistake on my part!
I sampled the cake and frosting (yummy!). It is in the refrigerator cooling…I look forward to enjoying it tomorrow on Thanksgiving.
Chef Dennis Littley
thanks for your comment Vanessa, and I’m sorry the silpat mat didn’t work. Happy Thanksgiving!
tayland
it actually looks good
Chef Dennis Littley
Thank you
tayland
srry ive just been looking for a while for a recipe that actually uses pumpkin itself and not canned. i could just make puree.
Chef Dennis Littley
no worries, I understand your frustration.
tayland
why is it every time i look up log cakes from SCRATCH they all use canned pumkin. this is a flipping rippoff
Chef Dennis Littley
you can always use fresh pumpkin, but most people wouldn’t be able to, so I use canned. If you do want to use fresh make sure to get the smaller sugar pumpkins and you may want to let it drain for awhile to get some of the extra moisture out of the puree after its made.
Sage
I am very confused by the way you have written out the recipe. Does “cup 1/4” mean 1 cup and 1/4 or just 1/4 cup?
Thanks.
Chef Dennis Littley
I am very sorry Sage, I just converted to a new recipe plugin and it must not have transferred my recipes correctly. Thank you so much for pointing it out, I have gone in and adjusted the recipes. Please let me know if you have any other questions.
B Rizzonelli
Is this correct?
For Cream Cheese Frosting, it says:
1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
8 ounces mascarpone Cheese (or cream cheese)
It is on here twice, isn’t that alot of cream cheese or too much?
BR
Chef Dennis Littley
Yes it’s correct for my recipe. Feel free to make adjustments
B Rizzonelli
So it uses 16 ounces of cream cheese total? Isn’t that alot? Or is either cream cheese or mascarpone cheese?
Stella J.
Yes, I am wondering that too.
Chef Dennis Littley
that’s what my recipe calls for
Mary Frances
Your pumkin roll looks so good and easy to make!!
Chef Dennis Littley
it really is easy to make Mary Frances and amazingly delicious!