Episode 23 – Pumpkin Rolls

Episode 23
November 6, 2010
Pumpkin Rolls

As I explain in the video, when I was younger, my mom would make these pumpkin rolls every year for Thanksgiving and Christmas.  I remember the first year we had them my brother and I chowed down and ate almost every piece.  We weren’t the only ones that loved them – her friends and co-workers were in love.  For a good three years (at least) my family and I thought it was some big secret family recipe – my mom is notorious for not giving out family recipes, even to her family members.  One year my sister, who was out of town at the time, asked my mom for the recipe and she handed me a strip of paper and told me to e-mail her the recipe.  You can imagine the shake my head moment when my sister and I found out the big family recipe was Libby’s brand pumpkin puree’s pumpkin roll recipe.  My mother still makes this recipe, albeit not as often since we’ve all left the nest, and now so does my sister.

So funny story: this video is the first time I made it.  I’m not ashamed to admit it!  Usually around this time of the year I would be making an apple pie, a shoofly pie, and my ultra famous Pumpkin Mousse Pie (those pie episodes are coming this month!) – pumpkin rolls would be a bit of an overkill, yes?  Though, to be honest I didn’t do a lot of home baking before this year.  Why?  Well for two years at school I was in intensive labs – I was lucky if my dinner didn’t come out of the freezer or a box.  The next two years I was in business classes so I baked a little bit more, but for a good year and a half I worked in a bakery – then after I graduated I worked for Wegmans for a year and a half-ish (I worked two Christmases that’s all I can really remember timeline-wise).  Translation: It’s hard to want to bake at home when you do it for a living.  However, this past year working in an office has really made me miss baking (actually 6 months if you want to go to the beginning of this blog) so I decided to take up home baking again, start up this website to help teach others the joys of baking at home, and to help improve my skills as well as prevent myself from getting rusty.

So I’m sure you’re wondering why I’m using Libby’s recipe instead of using my own creation or some fancy culinary school recipe.  Well for one, we didn’t make a pumpkin roll at school, although my text book is pretty extensive and it may have a recipe in there.  The real reason: If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.  This recipe is a super easy recipe.  What qualifies as easy for me? (I go over this in last week’s Peanut Butter Pie post too) Few and readily available ingredients, few steps, and relatively quick bake and prep time.  Your recipes don’t have to be from some elitist recipe book or magazine – the important thing is that the recipe works for you and that you can make it your own.  That means either you alter it some special way for yourself or, even if you don’t alter it, you can bake it with pride and confidence (like my mother did).  I firmly believe that a true chef, a true baker, draws his or her inspiration from several different sources.  If you eliminate an option because it doesn’t come from a fancy source you could really be doing yourself a disservice!  Keep your mind open because inspiration can come from anywhere.  Hm, I have a tendency to jump on a soap box don’t I?  Sorry!  I just get so passionate about food and I get carried away.

Since I’m already on a passionate food high I’d like to share another food belief I have.  I strongly believe food is the great equalizer.  Food transcends class, gender, ethnicity, age, and any other characteristic.  Everybody eats food!  We need food to survive!  That’s why I believe food is the gateway to understanding others.  People talk around the dinner table.  We share recipes, cooking tips, and we ask questions.  Of course, getting to know somebody new (whether its the person as an individual or the background of the cuisine) shouldn’t stop at food.  Like I said, food is the gateway to understanding, meeting, and learning about others – food is the beginning.  Plus how exciting is it to try a new restaurant, a new cuisine, or a new take on an old classic?

I’m just going to say it: To refuse food is to cause insult.  Even if you’re on a diet or the food isn’t appealing you really should just take a little nibble.  The important thing is you tried it – and the preparer will be eternally grateful for that.  Besides how do you know if you like it or not?  What did our mothers always say: Try it, you might like it!  Now I’m not going to sit here and judge anybody.  I’m not going to lie and say I’ve tried every food and I love it all – there are foods I find downright repulsive.  Pickles?  Gag.  Some Japanese pickled vegetables and some kimchi I can handle, but pickles by way of cucumbers? I’ll pass.  Does that mean if somebody I knew owned a pickle factory and wanted me to try one of their family’s pickles I wouldn’t take a nibble?  I sure would take a nibble.  Their pickles may be the first pickles I actually might like, and how insulting would it be to my friend if I were to refuse?

Yowza, what a tangent.  Weren’t we just talking about Pumpkin Rolls?  How did I get on pickles?  Well let’s get back on track!  I didn’t have any major issues while making this recipe except for a couple minor things.  First, I didn’t realize how much time it would take for the cake to cool off once it was rolled up.  It probably sounds like common sense now but it just didn’t cross my mind at the time.  When it’s rolled up the center is insulated.  I definitely recommend sticking the rolled up pumpkin cake in the refrigerator to speed things along however try not to forget about it too long.  I haven’t really been able to prove this yet, since this is my first time making it myself, but I think the refrigerator dries it out.  You need the moisture in the cake to be retained since that helps with flexibility.  Too dry means too brittle and if you unroll/reroll the cake it may just crumble or snap.  I’m wondering if that ‘pre-roll with a towel’ trick works with all roulades – like the previous Jellyroll sponge episode.  That would be a neat and easy trick to help ensure success.

The other issue I had was the cake sticking to the towel.  The powdered sugar works the same way flour does for pie dough – it helps prevent it from sticking.  Go a little heavier than you think you need – you can always brush off the excess.

I wonder if this would make a great pumpkin cake recipe with a few alterations?  That would be an interesting investigation especially since the cream cheese filling recipe was so great.  Imagine this roll as a cake instead – filled and iced with the cream cheese filling.  I’d have to test it out but I bet a little more flour and/or a little less egg might be all it takes.

Anyway, I hope you enjoy the videos below and here’s the recipe for the pumpkin rolls.  Remember that it freezes well so feel free to make double and freeze a log for Christmas!  Thanks for watching!