Enjoy the warm spices and tender cake of this fragrant gluten-free pumpkin roll, sweetened naturally with raw cane sugar. The recipe is specially designed to work with gluten-free flour. It can easily be made dairy-free, too, if you swap out the filling.
I'll walk you through the baking and rolling steps, so the process is surprisingly simple. This is an impressive dessert to serve for Thanksgiving or anytime during the holidays, and it doesn't need any ice cream or extra whipped cream prepared at the last minute.
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In keeping with my goal of simplicity in the kitchen, you can make this with ingredients that you may already have mixed up and on hand.
My gluten-free all-purpose flour is great for cakes, cookies, and muffins. I have another gluten-free flour blend that's more suitable for breads. I haven't tested this recipe with any other flour.
Pumpkin pie spice is readily available, but it's easy to mix your own.
Ingredients and Substitutions
- Pumpkin - Use pure 100% pumpkin, also called pumpkin puree. Don't use pumpkin pie filling in this recipe.
- Gluten-free all-purpose flour - I use my Cathy's Gluten-Free All-Purpose Flour Blend. It's similar to the Better Batter Original Blend, but you can make your own. You'll have lots left for other baking projects. It contains xanthan gum, but there's more in this pumpkin roll recipe.
- Pumpkin pie spice - Any pumpkin pie spice should work, but it's easy to make your own. If you don't have pumpkin pie spice and want just enough for this recipe, ½ teaspoon cinnamon, ½ teaspoon nutmeg, ¼ teaspoon ginger, and ¼ teaspoon cloves would come close.
- Pumpkin roll filling - I like this pumpkin roll filled with my Cream Cheese Frosting. You could also fill it with whipped cream with a little sugar and pumpkin spice added to it.
See recipe card for quantities.
Instructions
Whisk dry ingredients together.
Beat eggs and sugar well.
Gently mix in pumpkin and flour.
Spread the batter and bake the cake.
Cover tightly with foil to cool.
Spread filling over the pumpkin cake.
Roll with tight, but gentle, pressure, starting at a short end. Use the parchment paper to help you, but don't include it in the roll. Wrap it up well in plastic and refrigerate the pumpkin roll before slicing and serving.
Carefully remove the plastic wrap. Slice the lovely gluten-free pumpkin roll and serve. No extra frosting, whipped cream, or ice cream is needed to make this a complete dessert that's easy to share with family and friends.
Hint: Covering the cake in foil while it cools helps to seal in moisture to prevent your cake from cracking as you roll it.
How to Shape a Gluten-Free Pumpkin Roll
- Cool the pumpkin cake flat with foil sealed over it to keep it from drying out.
- When the cake has cooled completely, carefully slip it out of the pan by tugging on a corner of the parchment paper liner.
- Spread filling over the cake, but not quite to the edges. The cake should still be sitting on the parchment paper.
- Start at a short end to roll the cake. Use the parchment paper to support the cake as you roll it, peeling it back just in time to keep it from getting caught into the roll.
- Continue to roll carefully, with gentle pressure, until the rolling is complete.
- Remove the remaining parchment paper.
- At this point, you could slice and serve your gluten-free pumpkin roll immediately. For neater slicing, wrap the pumpkin roll snugly in plastic wrap and refrigerate for an hour or even overnight.
Variation
For a gluten-free pumpkin roll with no cream cheese, replace the cream cheese filling with 3 cups of whipped cream.
- Start with 1 ½ cups heavy whipping cream.
- Add 1 teaspoon of sugar and
- ½ teaspoon of pumpkin pie spice.
- Beat it until stiff peaks form, and spread it out before rolling as with the cream cheese filling.
Dairy-Free Gluten-Free Pumpkin Roll
Since this refined-sugar-free gluten-free pumpkin roll cake recipe is already dairy-free, it's easy to make the whole roll free from dairy. Simply swap out the cream cheese or whipped cream filling for a dairy-free whipped topping. You'll need about 3 cups.
Meal Prep
When you're planning ahead to make this gluten-free pumpkin roll, make sure that you have gluten-free all-purpose flour and pumpkin pie spice on hand. Remember to allow time for the cake to cool completely before you frost it.
You can make the cream cheese frosting earlier in the day and keep it in the refrigerator.
You can also make and assemble the whole pumpkin roll and keep it wrapped in plastic wrap overnight in the refrigerator.
Storage
Store gluten-free pumpkin roll, sealed in an airtight container or plastic wrap, in the refrigerator for two or three days.
Leftovers can be frozen to enjoy later. I would recommend slicing the roll before freezing.
Top tip
Don't overbake your gluten-free pumpkin roll, so it doesn't have a tendency to crack when you roll it up.
FAQ's
Prevent your gluten-free pumpkin roll from falling apart by
1. Using xanthan gum as called for in the recipe,
2. Not overbaking it,
3. Sealing it in foil as it cools flat, and
4. Using parchment paper to assist you as you roll it with gentle pressure.
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Equipment
While I love my stand mixer, a hand mixer is really all you need for this recipe.
An offset spatula is handy for spreading out the batter in a flat pan and also for spreading the filling over it, but it's not essential.
Looking for more pumpkin recipes?
Recipe
Gluten-Free Pumpkin Roll
Equipment
- 1 mixer
- 1 offset spatula optional, but nice to have
Ingredients
Cake
- ¾ cup Cathy's Gluten-Free All-Purpose Flour Blend
- 1½ teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
- ¾ teaspoon xanthan gum
- ¾ teaspoon baking powder
- ¾ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
- 4 large eggs
- 1 cup raw cane sugar
- ¾ cup 100% pure pumpkin puree NOT pumpkin pie filling
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Cream Cheese Filling
- ¾ cup heavy whipping cream chilled
- 1 cup cream cheese (8 oz) at room temperature
- ¾ cup raw honey in liquid form
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
Cake
- Line a 12x17-inch baking pan with parchment paper, making sure that there is enough to extend over all sides. Preheat the oven to 350℉ (180℃).
- Whisk the dry ingredients together in a medium mixing bowl.¾ cup Cathy's Gluten-Free All-Purpose Flour Blend1½ teaspoons pumpkin pie spice¾ teaspoon xanthan gum¾ teaspoon baking powder¾ teaspoon baking soda½ teaspoon fine sea salt
- Beat the eggs and sugar together on medium speed until the mixture becomes thick and paler in color and the beaters leave tracks. (about 3 minutes)4 large eggs1 cup raw cane sugar
- Add the pumpkin puree and vanilla and mix on low speed for about 10 seconds.¾ cup 100% pure pumpkin puree1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Add the dry flour mixture and mix on low speed only until everything is combined.
- Spread the batter into the prepared baking sheet in an even layer.
- Bake in the middle of a preheated oven for 14 to 16 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
- As soon as you remove the cake from the oven, cover it with foil, sealing it around the edges, to keep the moisture in while the cake cools on a wire rack.
- When the cake has cooled, prepare the filling.
Cream Cheese Filling
- Beat together the cream cheese, honey, and vanilla.1 cup cream cheese¾ cup raw honey1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- In a clean bowl, whip the cream until it's stiff.¾ cup heavy whipping cream
- Gently fold the whipped cream into the cream cheese mixture.
Assembly
- Once the cake has cooled completely, carefully pull off the aluminum foil. Grab an edge of the parchment paper and pull the cake from the pan onto a smooth surface, such as your counter.
- Spread the filling evenly over the cake, not taking it quite to the edges.
- Starting at a short end, carefully roll up the cake, squeezing it as much as you can as you go. For best slicing, wrap the roll snugly in plastic wrap and refrigerate it until you are ready to slice and serve it.
Video
Notes
- If you don't want the cream cheese filling, you can whip 1 ½ cups whipping cream with a teaspoon of sugar and ½ teaspoon of pumpkin pie spice for the filling.
- For a dairy-free pumpkin roll, use a dairy-free whipped topping for the filling. You'll need about 3 cups.
- I have often sliced and served this pumpkin roll immediately after rolling, and that turned out not too badly. However, if time allows, refrigerating the wrapped roll helps it to slice more neatly.
Cathy Brak says
I've made this both with whipped cream and the cream cheese frosting. We love it either way!