Pumpkin Rolls

      This is the story of 3 little pumpkins and how they went from cute orange pumpkins to yummy Pumpkin Roulades, also known as Pumpkin Rolls!
       First things first, what type of pumpkin to buy.  I went to the Etna Farmers Market this past week and picked out a giant pumpkin.  It was huge -- probably 20 lbs or more.  I walked up to the man, paid for it, and then asked him if this was good for baking.  He looked at me and laughed and then politely pointed out the type I should buy... "baking pumpkins".  They are smaller than normal pumpkins.  He told me that there are other kinds that he didn't have that could also be used. The nice man then let me exchange the giant pumpkin for three little baking pumpkins.

My Three Little Pumpkins!

         Now I was always told that from pumpkin to pumpkin puree was a big hassle.  Well to me, it was just time consuming.  First, you have to cut the pumpkin in half and remove the seeds.  Then place it in a shallow baking pan with 1/8 in of water in the bottom.  Put 1 tablespoon of butter and 2 tablespoons of sugar in each half of the little pumpkin. Then you have to cover it with foil and bake it at 350 degrees for about an hour, or until tender.  Then remove it from the oven and let it cool for a bit.  Lastly, remove the skin and puree the inside until smooth. Perfecto!
Ingredients
Roll

• 3 eggs
• 1 cup sugar
• 2/3 cup of fresh pumpkin puree (see directions above)
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour

Cream Cheese Filling

• 8 oz cream cheese, softened
• 4 tablespoons butter, softened
• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions

1. Make the puree as directed above. (You can always use store bought canned pumpkin, but its not as fun! )
2. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
3. Beat the eggs and sugar together for about 5 minutes or until it doubles in volume.  Then, in a separate bowl, combine the baking soda, cinnamon, and flour.  
4. Fold the pumpkin into the egg-sugar mixture.  Then fold in the flour mixture and mix it until it is evenly blended. 
5. Pour this mixture into a greased and floured baking sheet. 
6. Bake for about 15 minutes, remove from oven, then let cool. **THIS IS SUPER IMPORTANT!!** If you don't let it cool completely, it is so hard to get out of the tray.  My first one didn't turn out very well because of this. The second one however, I let cool for about 20 minutes and it came out wonderfully!
7. In a new bowl, blend together cream cheese, butter, powdered sugar, and vanilla.
8. Sprinkle the top of the cooled cake with sugar.  Then flip the cake over and spread the filling.  Roll the cake up into a cylinder. 
9. Refrigerate to set. Slice as desired to serve!

My Pumpkin Roll from Scratch!

       Needless to say, this is a very messy and time consuming recipe.  Also, it is very important to know that 1 little pumpkin yields about 7 cups of pumpkin.  I made all 3 pumpkins before I realized how much pumpkin I had.  Now I have a lot of pumpkin puree and I'm scouring the web for more ideas. Maybe a Pumpkin Pie or Pumpkin Cheesecake will be in the future. But that's another post for another day.

Until we eat again,

Amateur Chef Cheryl