At age 10, we saw our first roulade, as Aunt Leonore was rolling up a whipped cream-filled walnut roll for Thanksgiving. (Traditionalists, don’t worry: It was one of a half dozen dessert choices our family would dig into. The groaning board was groaning indeed.)

This recipe for Crushed Toffee Pumpkin Roll (roulade) brought back that memory of long ago and made us ask: Why is it always pumpkin pie? Why not a pumpkin cake?

Thanks to Golden Blossom Honey for this recipe. You’ll find many more recipes at GoldenBlossomHoney.com.

If you enjoy making this roulade, consider making a bûche de Noël for Christmas.

How about a pumpkin roulade for Thanksgiving. Photo courtesy Golden Blossom Honey.

Roulade (pronounced roo-LODD) is the French word for a rolled cake, what Americans think of as a “jelly roll.” There are numerous recipes for roulade, including many options for the famous, festive bûche de Noël, a Christmas cake that’s traditionally decorated to look like a log with meringue mushrooms, marzipan acorns and other garnishes.

Baked in a sheet pan (jelly roll pan), a delicate sponge cake or other cake is rolled with and filled with buttercream, fruit or fruit purée, ganache, jam, lemon curd, nuts, whipped cream, etc.

Ingredients

For The Cake

For The Filling

 
Cake Preparation

1. PREHEAT oven to 375°F. Spray a 15x10x1-inch baking sheet with vegetable spray.

2. SIFT flour, cinnamon, ginger and allspice into a small bowl. In another bowl, using an electric mixer, beat egg yolk, sugar and honey until thick. On low speed beat in pumpkin and dry ingredients.

3. BEAT egg whites and salt in a separate bowl with clean beaters, until stiff. Fold egg whites into pumpkin mixture in two additions. Spread batter evenly on baking sheet and cook for 15 minutes or until cake tests done.

4. PLACE a sheet of wax paper dusted with powdered sugar on counter top. Turn cake out onto wax paper. Roll up cake in wax paper starting with the longer side; this prevents sticking. Allow cake to cool seam side down.
 
Filling Preparation

1. POUR rum into a small pan and sprinkle with gelatin. Let stand until gelatin softens, around 10 minutes. After gelatin has softened stir over low heat until gelatin dissolves.

2. BEAT chilled whipping cream and 3 tablespoons of powdered sugar in mixer until peaks form. Beat in gelatin mixture. Fold in pieces of toffee.

3. SPREAD filling over cake. Starting at the long side, roll cake using the wax paper as a guide if needed. Place seam side down on a platter and sprinkle powdered sugar over the top. Slice and serve.