Friday, October 8, 2010

Autumn Pumpkin Roll with Marscapone Filling


(Balsam Moutain, Catskills, New York)

Living in Los Angeles I truly miss the east coast autumns. I remember it being the most romantic time of year. Sweaters, colorful leaves crunching under foot, the first hint of a chill as you catch the smell of smoke from wood fires. It is the perfect time for walking hand-in-hand, kissing and curling up together. Yes, romance burns in autumn like the blazing leaves spreading across the Hudson Valley and Catskill Mountains in New York.

Apple picking and pumpkin picking are the order of the season. Now let's use some of that great pumpkin!

Ingredients:


Cake:

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
2 cups granulated sugar
6 egg whites
1 1/3 cups pureed pumpkin
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp pumpkin pie spice (or use 1 tsp each of cinnamon & ground cloves)
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda

Filling:

8 oz marscapone cheese
2 oz light cream cheese (Neufchatel is perfect here!)
2 Tbsn pureed pumpkin
2 cups powdered (confectioner's) sugar
2 tsp vanilla

For finish touches & pan prep:

(2) 1/4 cup powdered (confectioner's sugar)
1 clean dishtowel


Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Line a rimmed cookie sheet with parchment paper, oil/flour and then, using a sifter, coat with 1/4 cup powdered sugar. Set sheet to the side.




Mix all cake ingredients together until smooth and then pour onto paper-lined cookie sheet. Bake for 15 minutes in preheated oven.





When done (cake will feel springy to touch), remove from oven and flip onto clean dish towel. Carefully peel parchment paper off. Now it's time to roll it up.. it's going to be hot.. so be prepared!

Starting at one end roll the cake length-wise. It will roll easiest when hot, so this is the best time to do it. When it cools it may break. You will notice when you're rolling that the towel is rolling up with it. That's good and keeps the cake from sticking to itself. Place the towel-wrapped cake on a wire rack to cool - about 1 hour.






While you're waiting, mix all of your filling ingredients together until very smooth. I used the whisk on my electric mixer for about 4 minutes for this. Place this in the refrigerator until about 15 minutes before you're going to use it. You don't want it too cold when you use it.




Once your cake has cooled carefully unroll it. It will retain its curl and you will now spread your filling as evenly as possible over the entire inside roll of the cake. Don't try to flatten the cake as that will cause it to crack. Once you've spread it evenly roll the cake back up so that you now have a log. You'll see the lovely spiral of cake and filling from the side.


Now set it on a plate and sprinkle with 1/4 powdered sugar. If you want to be fancy outfit the plate with seasonal items like pinecones, acorns or even some cleaned colorful autumn leaves.


Slice width-wise about 1/2" wide (or however big makes you happy) and serve!

Enjoy!

0 comments: