Easy Cream Cheese Pumpkin Roll Recipe (How To Freeze)

It’s that time of year again to make a delicious homemade pumpkin roll! I don’t know about you, but a cream cheese pumpkin roll is a weakness. When I see the pumpkin roll just sitting in the store, ready to eat, I have to get one. But, once you learn to make your own, there is no going back. There is also, there is no comparison between store-bought and homemade. 

So, continue reading on to see how you can make your very own cream cheese pumpkin roll! I’ll also be showing you how you can freeze it so you can keep it around longer. This recipe is one of the best pumpkin desserts for the fall time, too.

How To Make The Cream Cheese Pumpkin Roll

So, there are only a few ingredients and tools you will need to create this magical, sweet treat.

Tools you will need:

A stand mixer

Parchment paper

Sheet pan/baking sheet

Medium bowl 

Large bowl

Ingredients you will need for the cake roll:

All-purpose flour

Baking powder

Pumpkin spice

Sea salt

Eggs

Granulated sugar

Fresh pumpkin puree

Cinnamon

Ingredients you will need for the sweet cream cheese filling:

Powdered sugar

Butter (salted)

Vanilla extract

Cream cheese

Step 1: preheat the oven and prepare

So, to start off, you’re going to preheat your oven to 350 degrees. After that, take your sheet pan and line it with your parchment paper. If you don’t have parchment paper, you can use cooking spray. Set this aside while you prepare your pumpkin roll.

Step 2: mixing the dry ingredients

For this step, you’re going to take the medium mixing bowl that you have prepared and mix your dry ingredients together in it. 3/4 cup all-purpose flour, 1/4 tsp sea salt, 1 tbsp pumpkin spice (or pumpkin pie spice), 2 tsp cinnamon, and 1 tsp baking powder. Whisk all of these ingredients together until they are well incorporated. Set this aside momentarily.

Step 3: mixing the wet ingredients

Now, in your large mixing bowl, mix the wet ingredients. So, combine 1 cup granulated sugar, 2 tsp vanilla extract, 3 slightly beaten eggs, and 2/3 cup pumpkin puree. Mix thoroughly until well incorporated. 

Step 4: combine and bake

Next, pour the dry ingredients into the wet and combine well. Then, transfer the batter onto the prepared sheet pan and use a spatula to smooth out the pumpkin batter. Bake for 13-15 minutes at 350 degrees. 

Step #5: roll it up

While your pumpkin roll cake is baking, prepare a dishtowel or kitchen towel and set aside. This will be for when you transfer your cake onto the kitchen towel.

Once your cake is finished baking, place the pumpkin cake onto the kitchen towel and roll the pumpkin cake up into the towel, leaving the parchment paper in place.

NOTE: You will know if the cake is finished by sticking a fork lightly into it and it comes out clean.

Place pumpkin roll on a wire rack to completely cool

How to make the cream cheese filling for the pumpkin roll:

Now for the part that brings it all together! Making the cream cheese filling.

To start, in a separate bowl add 1 cup of sugar (powdered), 6 tablespoons of butter (room temperature), 1 pack of cream cheese (room temperature), and 2 tsp vanilla extract. Mix it all together in a stand mixer until fully incorporated. 

Once the pumpkin roll is completely cool, unwrap the pumpkin roll from the towel and remove the parchment paper.

Then, smooth on the cream cheese frosting on the cake (scrape off all the cream cheese mixture from the sides of the bowl) and roll it back up. Place the roll in aluminum foil or plastic wrap, and place into the fridge an hour before serving. 

Before serving, sprinkle on confectioners sugar on top, you can use a flour sifter for this part to sprinkle it on evenly. 

Honestly, it’s not the most perfectly swirled pumpkin roll, but it is realistic! It’s so yummy and that’s what matters.

How to store your pumpkin roll:

If you’re not planning on freezing and want to store it short term, you can place it in these large ziploc bags or an airtight container of your choice. It will last up to 5 days in the fridge in either of these airtight options.

How to freeze your delicious pumpkin roll:

There are a couple of different ways you can freeze your pumpkin roll, to start you can use a reusable freezer bag or, you can just use regular freezer bags. So, if you want to freeze your whole pumpkin roll or leftover pumpkin roll, you can slice it or keep it whole. You will need some plastic wrap for this as well. I have things linked down below just for freezing!

Now, what you will want to do for this is, place the pumpkin roll on a plate or serving tray, and place it into the freezer. If you’re freezing the whole roll, leave it in for an hour. If you’re freezing individual slices, leave them in the freezer for 20 minutes. The reason why we’re doing this is just to make the filling freeze first. Then, wrap up your pumpkin roll in a couple of layers of plastic wrap and place them in your bag.

You can leave this in the freezer for up to three months. Just let your frozen pumpkin roll thaw on your kitchen counter for 1-2 hours before serving. 

You can also tightly wrap it with plastic wrap and then cover it with tinfoil. Just be sure to write the date on the outside of the tinfoil so you know when you placed it in the freezer.

​Additionally, you can store it with plastic wrap and tinfoil, then add it into a freezer-safe, airtight container. This will prevent freezer burn and is a great way to save your perfect pumpkin roll for a later date.

printable cream cheese pumpkin roll recipe:

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Yield: 12

Cream Cheese Pumpkin Roll

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This cream cheese pumpkin roll is so delicious, easy, and a great sweet treat for the fall season. Only a little bit of your time and a few ingredients. You definitely can't go wrong with homemade treats.

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 13 minutes

Total Time 23 minutes

Ingredients

• For the pumpkin cake:
• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tbsp pumpkin spice
• 1/4 tsp sea salt
• 3 eggs
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 2/3 cup fresh pumpkin puree
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• For the cream cheese filling:
• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 6 tbsp butter (salted and room temp)
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 8oz block cream cheese

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2. Prepare a baking sheet with parchment paper, leaving a little extra paper on the sides to easily lift the cake out of the baking sheet.
3. Mix the dry ingredients in a medium mixing bowl. Flour, sea salt, pumpkin spice, cinnamon, and baking powder. Whisk until thoroughly incorporated.
4. Mix wet ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Granulated sugar, vanilla extract, eggs, and pumpkin puree. Mix until combined.
5. Pour dry ingredients into wet and combine well. Transfer the batter onto the prepared baking sheet. Smooth out with a spatula. Place into oven at 350 for 13-15 minutes.
6. While the cake is baking, place a kitchen towel flat on the counter.
7. Once the cake has finished baking, transfer the cake to the kitchen towel. You can leave the parchment paper on and roll up the cake. Let it completely cool in the roll before the next step.
8. While the cake is cooling, prepare the cream cheese filling. To do so, mix butter, powdered sugar, vanilla, and cream cheese into a stand mixer. Be sure that the butter and cream cheese are at room temperature before mixing. Mix well until thoroughly combined.
9. Once the cake has cooled, un-roll the pumpkin cake roll and smooth the cream cheese filling onto the cake and roll it back up.
10. Place into the fridge for an hour or more before serving.

Notes

*See post for ways to freeze

*Lasts in the fridge in an airtight container for up to 5 days

I hope y’all found this to be the easiest pumpkin roll recipe! It’s so delicious and has the perfect amount of sweetness. Let me know in the comments how you freeze your classic pumpkin roll recipe. Thanks for stopping by y’all!

SHOP THIS POST:

Reusable freezer bags

Sheet pan / jelly roll pan

Parchment paper

Organic pumpkin puree

Regular freezer bags

Freezer airtight container

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Homemade vanilla extract

Pumpkin spice coffee sauce

Mini pumpkin spice bundt cakes

Pumpkin cornbread muffins