In celebration of Halloween and the beautiful leaves, I thought I'd share the recipe for one of my favorite autumn desserts. In our family, it takes a place of honor next to the pumpkin pie at Thanksgiving dinner (and sometimes Christmas, too).
Pumpkin Log
Cake:
3 eggs
1 cup sugar
2/3 cup canned pumpkin
1 tsp. lemon juice
3/4 cup flour
1 tsp. baking powder
2 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. ginger
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
1/2 tsp. salt
1 cup walnuts (finely chopped)
Filling:
1 cup powdered sugar
2 - 8 oz. packages cream cheese
4 tbsp. butter
1/4 tsp. vanilla
Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Beat the eggs on high speed for five minutes, then gradually beat in sugar. Stir in pumpkin and lemon juice, then fold in flour, baking powder, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and salt. Spread in a greased and floured jelly roll pan. Top with walnuts. Bake for 15 minutes then turn out onto a towel that has been sprinkled with powdered sugar. Roll in towel and cool. In the meantime, make filling by beating powdered sugar, cream cheese, butter and vanilla until smooth. When cake is cool, unroll it, spread with filling and re-roll. It's not unusual for the cake to crack slightly. Keep a little extra filling aside to fill in the ends of the cake roll and any large cracks. Chill for 3-4 hours or overnight before serving.
* * * * * * *
I haven't made this or pumpkin pie yet this year, but I'm looking forward to them both. Let me know if you try either of my recipes!