I love pumpkin but there are only a few pumpkin recipes I come back to and my Brown Butter Olive Oil Pumpkin Roll is one of them. This recipe is a spin off of my moms recipe that I grew up making every Thanksgiving and Christmas. It consist of a moist olive oil pumpkin sheet cake infused with lemon zest and juice that is rolled up in a delicious brown butter cream cheese frosting and dusted with powdered sugar. It is better than pumpkin pie in my opinion and is a must bake recipe for the holidays.
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Why You Will Love My Olive Oil Pumpkin Roll
- The sheet cake is packed full of seasonal flavors during the holidays like pumpkin, olive oil, lemon, pumpkin pie spice, brown butter and cream cheese.
- You don’t need a mixer. A hand mixer works perfectly to make the cake batter and frosting. Oh and use a good sheet pan. I like using USA Pans cookie sheet because it is non stick and made with quality aluminum. Which means the cake will easily slide out. There is no need to worry about the cake sticking.
- It is a recipe that will be written down and made year after year because it is too good not to remake.
Ingredient Notes to make the best Pumpkin Roll
- Make sure the pumpkin, eggs and olive oil are room temperature. If the liquid ingredients are too cold the cake may not rise properly when baking.
- Use a buttery extra virgin olive oil like My Land – Extra Virgin Olive Oil from Greece. If the olive oil is fruity then it might over power the pumpkin and taste a little off.
Recipe Variations
- If you don not like olive oil then try another neutral oil like avocado oil. It is almost flavorless like canola oil or vegetable oil but is rich in antioxidants and a great baking ingredient. You can also omit the oil and just add another egg.
- Try using vanilla extract instead of lemon juice.
- Instead of heavy cream use a milk of choice in the frosting. Start with one tablespoon and go from there.
- Not a fan of brown butter? Just add regular softened butter to the frosting for a yummy plain cream cheese frosting.
How to make my Brown Butter Olive Oil Pumpkin Roll
- Start by preheating the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Now line a cookie sheet with parchment paper and grease and flour.
- Next brown the butter for the frosting and pour it into a separate bowl to cool.
- Begin to prepare the cake batter by mixing the dry ingredients together in a small bowl and set aside.
- Then in another bowl beat together the sugar, eggs and olive oil until pale yellow.
- Add the pumpkin puree, lemon zest and lemon juice and mix until incorporated.
- Pour and fold the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until the last bit of flour disappears.
- Evenly spread the cake batter to the edges of the pan and bake the cake for 11-15 minutes at 375 F.
- Once the cake is baked, go around edges with a knife and slide the cake out onto a flat surface.
- Quickly sprinkle the cake with powdered sugar and roll it up either on the long side or short side.
- Allow the cake to cool and make the frosting.
- In a bowl add the brown butter, cream cheese and mix until smooth. Then mix in the other ingredients til combined.
- Unroll the cake slowly to prevent cracking or sticking the and frost it evenly to the edges.
- Roll the cake back up the same way as before, removing the outer parchment paper as you go.
- Take the cake and wrap it in plastic wrap to place in the refrigerator for at least 1-2 hours before slicing and serving.
- Dust the finished roll with powdered sugar if desired and enjoy!
Expert Tips
- Be careful not to over mix or under mix the olive oil pumpkin roll cake batter. Make sure the oil, eggs and sugar are mixed together until the sugar has dissolved. It should be thick and pale yellow. Then add the dry ingredients. Immediately stop mixing the moment the last bit of flour disappears. Over mixing and under mixing will result in a flat cake that can not roll up or will stick to the parchment paper and be too doughy.
- Be extremely careful sliding the cake out of the pan to avoid cracking. I like to use a wet knife around the edges of the hot cake to ensure the cake will loosen from the pan before sliding it out onto a flat surface.
- Do not pull the parchment paper off of the hot cake quickly when re rolling. Go slow. It is a thin cake. If you peel the paper off too fast the whole cake will peel apart leaving holes and you do not want that. A few cracks are ok though. Don’t panic. The frosting will glue the cracks back together. No one will ever know.
- The longer you chill the Brown Butter Olive Oil Pumpkin Roll after it’s assembled the better it taste. The fridge helps to marinate the flavors together into perfect harmony. I like chilling mine in the refrigerator overnight before serving.
- Before serving, dust the top of the pumpkin roll with extra powdered sugar and slice off a small piece on each end to reveal the beautiful swirls.
- Serve and enjoy!
Brown Butter Olive Oil Pumpkin Roll
I love pumpkin but there are only a few pumpkin recipes I come back to and my Brown Butter Olive Oil Pumpkin Roll is one of them. This recipe is a spin off of my moms recipe that I grew up making every Thanksgiving and Christmas. It consist of a moist olive oil pumpkin sheet cake infused with lemon zest and juice that is rolled up in a delicious brown butter cream cheese frosting and dusted with powdered sugar. It is better than pumpkin pie in my opinion and is a must bake recipe for the holidays.
Servings: 10 cake slices
Equipment
Ingredients
Pumpkin Cake
- ¾ cup organic cane sugar or regular granulated sugar
- 2 eggs room temperature
- ¼ cup 100% pure virgin olive oil I love Kalamata Olive Oil
- 1 zested lemon optional
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
- ⅔ cup 100% pumpkin puree not pumpkin pie filling
- 1 cup all purpose unbleached flour
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice or ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon sea salt
- ¼ cup powdered sugar for dusting
Brown Butter Frosting
- 6 oz unsalted butter if using salted butter omit the salt
- 8 oz cream cheese softened
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- pinch sea salt
- 1-2 tablespoons heavy cream or milk use more as needed
Instructions
- Start by preheating the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Next line a 10×15 baking sheet with parchment paper and then grease and flour.
- Now brown the butter for the frosting. Add 6oz butter to a small sauce pan over medium heat. Once the butter has melted, stirring frequently allow the butter to foam and form amber bits on the bottom of the pan. The aroma will be delightfully nutty. Then pour the browned butter into a bowl and let it cool.
- Let's make the cake! In a small mixing bowl combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, pumpkin pie spice (or cinnamon) and salt. Gently mix the dry ingredients together with a fork.
- In a large mixing bowl add sugar, eggs and olive oil. Mix them together 2-3 minutes until thick and a pale yellow.
- Beat in the pumpkin puree, lemon zest and lemon juice.
- Fold in the flour mixture with a rubber spatula until smooth. Stop mixing the moment the last bit of flour disappears.
- Pour the cake batter onto the greased pan, spreading the batter evenly to the edges of the parchment paper.
- Bake the cake at 375 F for 11-15 min until the cake is set to touch. If the cake springs back it is done. If crumbs stick to your finger it needs to bake longer.
- Loosen the edges of the hot cake with a knife and slide the cake onto a flat, heat proof surface.
- Quickly sprinkle the top of the warm cake with powdered sugar. This prevents the cake from sticking to the parchment paper when rolling. .
- Then roll the cake up starting at the long end or short end. It doesn't matter which way you roll. Just remember to re roll the cake the same way later.
- While the cake rests make the frosting.
- Place the brown butter into a mixing bowl, along with the softened cream cheese and cream together with a hand mixer 2-3 minutes until combined.
- Mix in the powdered sugar, the vanilla extract, salt and heavy cream another 2-3 minutes until the frosting is light and fluffy. Add more cream if needed.
- Take the cooled cake and unroll it carefully. Dollop and spread the frosting all the way to the edges with an offset spatula.
- Re roll the cake the same way you rolled it up the first time, peeling the parchment paper away as you roll. Then wrap the finished pumpkin roll in plastic wrap to refrigerate for at least an hour until chilled. I prefer to let it sit overnight.
- When you are ready to serve, remove the cake from the fridge, unwrap it, and sprinkle with extra powdered sugar if desired.
- That is it! Cut into your homemade pumpkin roll and enjoy. I like to cut a small piece off of each end to reveal the beautiful swirls.
Notes
Store leftovers in an airtight contain in the refrigerator for up to a week.
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!
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