Vegan Pumpkin Roll

This vegan pumpkin cake roll is the ultimate fall dessert. A tender, moist pumpkin spice cake is rolled up with silky, whipped brown sugar ermine frosting. Top with a bit more frosting and candied pecans for a pretty crown and easy presentation.

Thank you to Williams-Sonoma Canada for sponsoring this post. As always, all opinions are my own.

Cake rolls are a bit like an elevated version of a sheet cake in some ways. They serve a small-to-medium sized gathering of people, are simple to make but have a classic, show stopper look.

Also known as log cakes, cream rolls, and jelly rolls (when they contain jelly, of course!), dessert rolls are versatile. The sky is the limit for mixing and matching the cake and filling flavors. Despite their appearance, rolled cakes aren’t actually difficult to make. Once you get over the initial fear of rolling up a cake, making a cake roll is a really fun way to prepare a simple but showy dessert. This Vegan Pumpkin Cake Roll is perfect for Thanksgiving and other autumn special occasions.

To dress up my Pumpkin Roll, I featured it on a stunning scalloped marble cheeseboard from Williams-Sonoma Canada. It’s a practical piece, too, which is versatile enough to serve round layer cakes, cupcakes and other desserts on. And it goes without saying that it’s perfect for putting together a small vegan cheese or charcuterie board, as it’s intended. I’m a big fan of multi-purpose pieces, especially in our small space!

How to Make a Vegan Pumpkin Roll

I’m going to be a cake rebel here – I know that most cake roll recipes out there say to roll your cake up while it’s hot so that it sets and won’t crack. But I firmly disagree with this process, at least for eggless cakes, for a few reasons. It’s stressful, the beautiful sponge we’ve created compresses on itself (hot cakes don’t like weight on them even if it’s just their own from being rolled up) and they inevitably crack anyway when you unroll them to spread on the filling.

I’ve tested this recipe by rolling it hot out of the oven. I found the cake to be gummy from being compressed hot, and it cracked as I unrolled it to spread the frosting on. The key difference here, perhaps, is that we are venturing into egg-free baking. As equally delicious as it is, eggless baked goods can have structural differences from egg based ones. That said, after my own testing, I’ve spent a lot of time reading cake roll reviews (both vegan and traditional egg based ones), and cracking seems part and parcel of making a cake roll whether you use eggs or not.

The good news? Cracks in cakes don’t make any difference to how they taste, and they can easily be hidden with a bit of frosting or a generous dusting of confectioner’s sugar. Even better news? With the method I use, the cracks that may happen, do so at the inner part of the roll’s spiral which aren’t visible once the cake roll is completely rolled up.

Back when I shared my vegan chocolate yule log, I found success in simply sealing the cake in the jelly roll pan straight out of the oven without any pre-roll. This locked in the cake’s moisture until it cooled so it remained flexible for rolling. Once the cake was at room temperature, I spread on the filling and rolled up the cake without a glitch…or any cracks!

Step 1: Make and Bake the Pumpkin Sponge Cake

Vegan pumpkin sponge cake is easy to whip up – two bowls, one for your dry ingredients, one for your wet ingredients. Pour the wet ingredients into your dry ingredients, mix together, then pour into a parchment lined jelly roll pan and bake. A standard jelly roll pan is 15″ x 10″ x 1″, so it’s basically a cookie sheet with higher sides on it. In fact, I use a cookie sheet – its’ sides are about 1/2″ high but the cake ends up being about 1/2″ thick so it’s perfect. I’d avoid using a deeper pan though, like a large sheet cake tray with 2″ sides. It may be difficult to get the sponge cake out without tearing it.

While slightly overbaking most other cakes will yield a drier cake which may be forgiven with a generous smattering of frosting, overbaking can ruin a cake roll. As the cake overbakes and dries, it becomes more rigid and less flexible for rolling later. Start checking the cake at 11 minutes – it will be done when a toothpick inserted comes out clean or with only a couple of cooked crumbs. Remember that it will continue to cook once it comes out of the oven, as we’ll be sealing in the heat with foil.

Step 2: Wrap the Cake and Let It Cool

As mentioned, the second step for my pumpkin roll is a little less conventional. Most other recipes call for the classic towel method in which you roll the hot cake up with a towel (or parchment paper). Instead, I lightly dust the cake with confectioners’ sugar (to help prevent the cake from sticking to the foil), and then seal it up with foil which holds in the moisture, ensuring a flexible cake ready to be rolled with the lush filling.

Step 3: Make the Ermine Buttercream

You may have heard Ermine called boiled milk frosting, cooked frosting, or flour frosting . It is an old school type of icing which has the texture of a satiny whipped cream. Much less sweet than traditional American buttercream, ermine really is the ultimate frosting. It is perfect for thickly frosted desserts like this vegan pumpkin roll without being achingly sweet.

Vegan ermine frosting is easy to make, but a bit of planning is necessary. While the cake bakes, make the flour paste which is simply boiled plant-based milk, flour and sugar. This creates something like a really thick caramel texture or a thin pudding. Bring the flour paste down to room temperature by placing it in a bowl with piece of plastic wrap directly on top. This prevents a skin from forming. Once the paste has completely cooled, whip the room temperature vegan butter and slowly whip in the cooked flour mixture. This is where the name “Magic Frosting” makes sense – it’s the most lush cloud of silky frosting. It pipes well, too! Check out my Vegan Banana Cupcakes with Cinnamon Ermine for a delicious, pantry friendly dessert.

Step 4: Assemble the Vegan Pumpkin Cake Roll

Once your vegan pumpkin sponge cake has come down to room temperature and your frosting is made, spread about 3/4 of the frosting onto the cake. Roll the cake up starting on a short end, removing the parchment as you go. Wrap the cake roll in plastic wrap. Chill the cake in the fridge for at least a few hours or overnight before serving it. Once it firms up in the fridge, it will be easier to cut nice tidy slices.

This vegan pumpkin cake roll can be made a few days in advance and kept wrapped in the fridge. Within a couple of hours of serving it, unwrap it, pipe dollops of frosting on top and sprinkle with the candied pecans. Place it back in the fridge until serving time. Unless your home is really hot, the cake is fine left out for an hour or so.

More Vegan Festive Cakes:

• Rum Cake
• Pumpkin Cake with Butterscotch Swirl
• Chocolate Yule Log
• Berry Vanilla Layer Cake
• Chocolate Sheet Cake with Fluffy Espresso Frosting

If you make this Vegan Pumpkin Roll, please give it a rating in the recipe card and leave a comment below! Follow along on Instagram where you can tag me in your creations using my recipes! You can also follow me on Pinterest for vegan recipe inspiration and on Facebook. Thank you for reading!

The Nutrition Information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the Nutrition Information for any recipe on this site cannot be guaranteed.