I wanted to do a more spoopy/silly Halloween item as well, so I decided to do a patterned pumpkin roll! This is a great technique that I use all the time, and you can really make any design you please.
You’ll need a pattern guide if you want to replicate this. I used a hand-drawn one, but I made a printable version in case you’d prefer that! I still did it by hand to make it look appropriate spoopy (i.e. a little stupid). You can download it here in all its MS Paint-y glory. It’s 10″ in width but it’s repeating, so you can print out whatever fits on your paper and move it when needed. If you draw your own, remember to mirror the text so it’ll be oriented correctly on the cake.
SPOOPY PUMPKIN DECO ROLL
Deco Paste
Scant 1/2 cup (55g) butter, softened
Generous 1/2 cup (55g) powdered sugar
2 egg whites
1/2 cup (55g) cake flour
1 tbso (15g) cocoa powder
Black food coloring, gel or powdered
Pumpkin Roll Cake
3 eggs
1 cup (200g) sugar
2/3 cup (160ml) canned pumpkin
1 tsp lemon juice
3/4 cup (90g) cake flour
1 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
Cream Cheese Pecan Filling
1 cup (240ml) heavy cream
8 oz. (230g) cream cheese
1/4 cup (50g) vanilla sugar (or 1/4 cup sugar + 1 tsp vanilla extract)
1 packet whipped cream stabilizing powder such as Dr. Oetker’s Whip-It (can be omitted if the cake will be served immediately)
Scant 3/4 cup (100g) pecans, toasted and chopped
1. Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C). Line a 10″x15″ (9″x13″ would also work) sheet pan parchment.
2. Prepare the deco paste. Cream together the butter and powdered sugar until light and fluffy. Mix in the egg whites one by one. Stir in a small amount of black food coloring. Sift the flour and cocoa powder into the butter mixture and mix until just smooth. Fill the deco paste into a piping bag fitted with a #2 tip.
3. Put your guide underneath the parchment and pipe over the design. When you’re done piping, place the parchment back on the cookie sheet and freeze the sheet for 10-15 minutes.
4. In the meantime, prepare the pumpkin batter. Sift together the flour, pumpkin pie spice, baking powder and salt, then set aside. In a large mixing bowl, beat eggs on high speed for 5 minutes or until very fluffy, firmed up and light yellow. Add the sugar little by little and continue to beat for another 3 minutes. Mix the pumpkin with the lemon juice and fold it into the egg mixture. Finally, fold in the flour mix until just incorporated.
5. Remove the deco paste pattern from the freezer and pour the pumpkin batter on top. Spread it lightly (careful not to disturb the deco paste). Knock the sheet hard on your counter 3 times to remove large air bubbles and get the batter in the small spaces between deco paste lines.
6. Bake cake for 10-15 minutes or until the center springs back when lightly touched. Remove from oven, release the roll from the sides of the pan with a knife while it’s still a bit warm. Turn the cake out onto another sheet of parchment and peel off the bottom sheet of parchment. Roll out a length of saran wrap longer than your cake and flip your cake onto the saran wrap. Starting at one end, loosely roll up the cake with the saran wrap and allow to cool completely.
7. Make your filling. In a mixing bowl, beat together the cream cheese and sugar until smooth. Add the cream and whipped cream stabilizing powder and beat until firm and spreadable. Fold in the toasted pecans.
8. Unroll your cake, keeping it on the saran wrap. Spread your cream cheese filling evenly onto the roll, keeping a 1″ lip on one end. Now, beginning on the edge without the lip, roll the cake up with the filling. Use your saran wrap to lift it, but remember not to roll your saran wrap up into the final cake. 😉 Once it’s rolled up all the way, use the saran wrap wrap around the cake and tighten the roll a bit. Chill in the fridge until ready to serve. If you’ll be chilling it for a while, be sure to cover the ends with saran wrap as well.
9. When you’re ready to serve the roll, remove the saran wrap and slice off the two ends to make the roll look nicer. Serve and enjoy!
