Pumpkin and Gingersnap Swiss Roll

The swiss roll. This was one of my late father’s favourite cakes, and I don’t blame him! Although, he had a preference for the traditional flavour with jam in the middle, occasionally chocolate. I thought I would go seasonal and use pumpkin flavour with a gingersnap cream cheese filling, it turned out to be delicious. Gingersnap was one of my grandmother's favourite biscuits and she had them ready for us as children when we would visit. This is just the kind of sweet treat you'll want at the table for dessert, and it's very fitting for autumn.

It may seem intimidating, but you can make it work for you! The most important thing is to be careful when you handle the cake. You don’t want it to crack or break to the point that it is unsalvageable.

Ingredients

Cake:

3 eggs

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup white sugar

2/3 cups pumpkin puree

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/4 teaspoon almond extract

3/4 cups flour

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 tablespoon pumpkin spice

1 teaspoon gingersnap spice (I used Primal Palate’s Gingersnap)

1/4 teaspoon ginger

1 teaspoon salt

Filling:

8-ounces Greek yogurt and cream cheese, room temperature

1 teaspoon pumpkin spice

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon salt

8 tablespoon butter, room temperature

4 tablespoons maple syrup

1 1/2 cups icing sugar + extra

1 teaspoon gingersnap spice + extra

Instructions

Beat the eggs, sugar, vanilla, almond extract, and pumpkin.

In a separate bowl, whisk the flour, salt, baking soda, baking powder, ginger, cinnamon, pumpkin spice, and gingersnap. Mix the spiced flour into the pumpkin mixture. Pour the batter into a baking tray lined with parchment paper (I used a 13 by 20 tray)  and spread evenly with a spatula - it doesn’t have to fill the entire pan.

Bake at 375F for 12 minutes. Remove the cake from the oven and allow to cool slightly. Holding the tray and the one side of the cake, place carefully on a dish towel and a cutting board to flip over. Remove the parchment paper from the back carefully, then roll the cake in the towel and set the log aside.

In a separate bowl, whisk the cream cheese, butter, vanilla, salt, pumpkin spice, ginger, gingersnap, icing sugar, and cinnamon until well incorporated. Unroll the cake, then use a spatula to spread the cream filling evenly to your desired thickness. Sprinkle with the extra gingersnap.

Now for the tricky part! Using the towel, roll the cake back into a log as tightly as you can without breaking it then refrigerate overnight or for at least 3-4 hours.

Sprinkle with extra icing sugar, slice and serve.