Pumpkin Roulade

I made a pumpkin roulade for Thanksgiving and despite it looking like one of the hardest desserts to make, it was actually one of the simplest....or maybe I just got lucky. You do have to be fearless though, no second guessing yourself on this one!

There really is nothing to it. I used Libby's recipe, a good standby. I like to substitute organic pumpkin instead of Libby's pumpkin, but the rest works great. You just mix everything together, poor the batter in a large (10X15in) jelly-roll (casserole pan is fine) pan, bake for the exact lower range time (not a minute more!) and immediately when you take it out of the oven, carefully flip it onto a dishtowel covered in powdered sugar. Then carefully roll it up slowly from short end to short end, using the towel to help you roll by lifting it up and curling the cake with it. If all went well it rolled up perfectly without cracking or crumbling. Let it cool for a couple hours. When it's completely cool, carefully and slowly unroll it and frost it liberally with a vanilla buttercream. Any flavor would work here though. Cinnamon? Maple? Frangelico? Whatever you think is good with pumpkin. It should be pretty sticky on the inside, like it's slightly underdone. Helps it to roll better. Then roll is back up carefully (I know....it requires a lot of redundancy) and if you like, you can pipe along the swirl to make it look a little prettier and perhaps pipe on the top. Sift on some powdered sugar and it's done! Pretty easy overall as long as you work slowly and carefully. Just go for it and if you mess it up, it still tastes the same right? And hopefully next time it will look a little better. I've never made anything like this before, I wasn't even in my own kitchen, and it went perfectly, so it can be done.

I apologize for the atrocious pictures. Collin wasn't around to take any of his amazing photos. It will have to do.

Endnote: I used organic powdered sugar for the first time in this recipe and I have to say, it was way better than regular sugar. It had this slightly different texture, way more powdery than powdered sugar and had a slight color to it. A richer cream, almost a gray, so pretty. Loved it! Give it a try! So good for the Earth...and you too!!