It’s October and that means its now socially acceptable to bake pumpkin things without getting an eye-roll from pumpkin haters. I had an extra day off earlier this week so I decided to see if the baking bug was still within my soul. (Hint: it was.) What did I bake? None other than Ina Garten’s Pumpkin Roulade with Ginger Mascarpone Filling.

Making It, Part One

This recipe needs to be completed in two parts. First, you make the sponge cake and bake it. Then you make the “filling” and assemble it once the cake has cooled.

The first part of the recipe, baking the cake, was quite easy and I didn’t run into any issues. It’s a standard sponge cake recipe with canned pumpkin and “pumpkin spices” added. You bake this batter on a large cookie sheet (similar to half sheet pans), just like making a Yule log. It also doesn’t take long to bake this cake. Only 10 to 12 minutes. Mine was done by minute 10. So super quick!

Much like when making a Yule log, once it comes out of the oven, you have to roll it in a towel almost instantly so that the cake will cool in a rolled form. This will ensure that the sponge cake can later be re-rolled into the intended shape once the filling was added. Unfortunately for me, I didn’t have a “tea towel,” so I had to use a regular kitchen towel. At the time, I didn’t think it would matter too much. It was only later when I went to remove the cake from the towel that I ran into problems. But more on that later.

Making It, Part Two

It had been quite a while since I made a cake in this style. So I forgot that it wouldn’t take nearly as long as I thought it would to cool completely. Remember this cake is quite thin. Even rolled around itself between layers of towel it didn’t take too long to cool. I think leaving it wrapped in the towel for too long contributed to some of the issues I had later on in the day when I went to move it for final plating.

After visiting the grocery store to buy some cream cheese and mascarpone cheese, I returned home to make the filling. This filling is very similar to the frosting I made for the Carrot Cake earlier in the year. It even used the crystalized ginger and everything! Thankfully for my wallet I didn’t need to buy more ginger.

Making the Ginger Mascarpone Filling

When I made the filling, I think I inadvertently made a “fatal” error. I let the cream cheese come to room temperature. Which isn’t something that would be unusual for making frosting, however it caused some issues for this filling. I added the mascarpone straight from the fridge and that was probably what saved me from having a runny mess overall. I also made sure to dice up the ginger pieces finer this time so it wouldn’t be too chewy like it was for the carrot cake frosting.

Once I combined all the ingredients in the mixer bowl, I unrolled the cake carefully. This was my first indication of some problems. The cake was cooled, but it was still very moist. So moist, in fact, that some of it stuck to the towel, despite dusting it with powered sugar.

I tried to work quickly with the filling, since it was quite thin and didn’t have as much “body” as I thought it would. I did my best to evenly spread it over the cake without digging into the cake layer or adding “thin” spots.

Rolling the Cake

Next came the tricky part. Rolling the cake into the roulade shape. This is always tough because you have to be gentle. The cake is very thin and prone to splitting. Plus, parts of the cake layer remained stuck to the towel, even with the powered sugar. Perhaps I needed more than I used, but it was also a 1/3 of cup. I think it had to do with the thickness of the towel and the amount of time I allowed the cake to “cool.”

Eventually the cake was rolled. I knew I needed to get it off the towel, so I went to pick it up and almost immediately, I knew it wouldn’t work. The filling had softened too much and became soupy. The cake itself, still super moist, was at risk of more splitting and I wanted to avoid that. Thinking quickly, I decided to put it in the fridge for a couple of hours so that everything could “firm up.”

Plating and Tasting

A few hours later, I pulled the roulade from the fridge and gingerly tested it for firmness. It would now be much easier to work with. First, I decided to trim the edges to give the roulade a cleaner shape. (This allowed me to sample my creation.) I knew as soon as I moved the knife through it that I made the right choice by allowing it to set up for a time.

I then moved the cake to a nice platter, albeit an unseasonable one.

Tasting It

In true Ina Garten fashion, this cake takes a basic idea and gives it more complex and interesting flavors. The flavor of the pumpkin is quite pronounced and combined with the spices its great alternative to pumpkin bread. The filling would have been better if I used the entire amount of mascarpone required, but I didn’t want to spend over $13 on two containers. That’s why I replaced one third of the mascarpone with cream cheese. Dicing the crystalized ginger into smaller pieces was also worth the effort. The flavor was there, but they were less likely to get stuck in your teeth.

This cake would make an excellent alternative to pumpkin bread or pumpkin pie at Thanksgiving or Christmas. However, it is easy enough to make for any occasion. I plan to bring my roulade to work!