Chocolate Pumpkin Roll with Cream Cheese Filling

Pumpkin and chocolate might not be the most obvious pairing, but somehow they just work surprisingly well together. So, here’s introducing the creamy chocolate pumpkin roll dessert, with its soft rolled cake that is adequately spiced and filled with a smooth cream cheese. This recipe keeps things simple, so it's beginner friendly if this sounds intriguing to you. It has no over-the-top decorations or complicated steps, that’s easy to make and even easier to enjoy. It is made with a sheet cake which is baked like any other plain cake spiced with the familiar flavors of autumnal spices. If made right, this can be the perfect dessert that is good enough to be served to guests or even carried over to dinner parties! All you need to do is roll the cake up while it’s still warm, then roll it again with the filling. It will slice cleanly and hold its shape making for impeccable swirly slices trademark of Swiss rolls.

Pumpkin Chocolate Swiss Roll Cake

Equipment

• Jelly Roll Pan
• Mixing Bowls
• Offset Spreader
• Cooling Rack

Ingredients

For the Cake:

• ¾ cup all-purpose flour
• ½ tsp baking powder
• ½ tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• ½ tsp ground nutmeg
• ¼ tsp ground ginger
• ¼ tsp ground cloves
• ¼ tsp allspice
• ¼ tsp salt
• ⅓ cup mini chocolate chips
• 3 large eggs, room temperature
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• ⅔ cup pumpkin puree

For the Filling:

• 1 pack of 8-ounce cream cheese, room temperature
• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 6 tbsp butter, room temperature
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

For the Topping:

• ½ cup mini chocolate chips
• 1 tsp coconut oil
• Powdered sugar, optional garnish

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 190°C.
2. While the oven preheats, lightly spray a 15x10-inch jelly-roll pan with cooking spray or lightly grease it with butter. Then line the pan with parchment paper with some overhanging, then spray or grease it again. Set the pan aside.
3. Take a small bowl, add the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, cloves, allspice, salt and chocolate chips and whisk to mix. Set aside.
4. Use a stand or hand mixer and to a mixing bowl, depending on which kind of mixer you use, add the eggs and 1 cup granulated sugar and beat until pale and thickened.
5. Add the pumpkin and spicy flour mix into the egg bowl, folding to avoid deflating the batter.
6. Transfer the ready cake batter into the prepared pan and bake it for about 10-13 minutes. Press the top of the cake lightly and if it springs back, your cake is ready.
7. Once the cake is ready, immediately remove from the oven. Using the extra parchment paper overhanging, carefully lift the cake out of the pan and onto a chopping board.
8. You need to be quick. Using the parchment paper the cake was baked on, start carefully rolling the cake with the parchment paper. Start with the shorter end until completely rolled up. Press gently in places where cracks appear in the cake if any.
9. Carefully transfer it to a cooling rack, with the rack upside down, taking care it doesn't unroll itself. Let it cool down to room temperature.

1. Take a mixing bowl again, add the cream cheese, powdered sugar, butter and vanilla extract and using a hand or stand mixer, beat until smooth.
2. Carefully unroll the cake and check for cracks, fix if any, in the cake and any areas that are sticking to the paper.
3. Evenly spread the cream cheese frosting over the cake with a ½ inch border around the edges. This time roll the cake without the parchment paper, and wrap it in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for 2-3 hours or more, for the roll to set in its shape.
4. Add the chocolate chips and coconut oil in a microwave-safe bowl. Heat it for 1-2 minutes, pausing every 20 seconds to stir. Melt right until smooth. Set aside to cool slightly.
5. Remove the cake roll from the refrigerator after a couple of hours and unwrap it.
6. Sprinkle more powdered sugar on top of the cake roll and drizzle with the melted chocolate. You can use Cadbury chocolate bars, whether Cadbury Dairy Milk Chocolate, Cadbury Dairy Milk Silk Chocolate or Cadbury Bournville Dark Chocolate.