This sourdough pumpkin roll pairs fluffy, sweet, spiced sourdough cake with a delicious, cream cheese filling. Literally, the best fall treat.
I love pumpkin rolls and I think they are insanely delicious, but I wanted a long fermented option.
Creating sourdough recipes is one of my favorite things to do. It’s like adding a health benefit to ordinary foods.
Like, “Hey, Pumpkin Cake, lets make you healthier and more bioavailable with some fermentation. Thank you.” Then you top it with sweet, cream cheese filling.
All joking aside, this recipe hits the fall pumpkin spot. Everything you love about a fall recipe is right here.
The delicious pumpkin spice, the light tang of sourdough in a cake, all smothered with a naturally-sweetened, maple cream cheese filling and rolled up in a perfect spiral.
Plus, your house will smell amazing from baking the cake. Like a giant, spiced candle wafting through your home.
If you are new to sourdough, make sure to check out how to make a sourdough starter first.
Benefits Of Sourdough
Sourdough has many benefits. From better digestion to better nutrient absorption, it’s easy to see why it has regained popularity.
The fermentation process allows the natural yeasts in the starter to ferment the grain and break down the anti-nutrients. The anti-nutrient, phytic acid, breaks down and increases certain nutrients like folate, and helps other nutrients to be more bioavailable. (source)
Tips For Making Sourdough Pumpkin Rolls:
- To get the pumpkin roll to not crack when rolling, roll the cake up as soon as it comes out of the oven with the parchment paper and allow to cool in that position. Unroll, add icing, then roll back up.
- If you don’t have pumpkin spice, you can make your own by mixing together ginger, cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg. You could also just use cinnamon.
- The cake has 1/2 cup of sugar to make it a bit sweeter, but if you want a less sweet cake, you can just leave it out.
- Use sucanat, rapadura, or even coconut sugar for a more naturally-sweetened recipe. But if you don’t have these, regular sugar will work just fine.
- You can use an active sourdough starter or even sourdough discard.
- Don’t want to ferment the recipe? That is totally fine. Just mix and bake.
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Tools you may need:
Large bowl
Baking sheet
Parchment paper
Measuring cups and spoons
Grain mill (optional)
How To Make Sourdough Pumpkin Rolls With Cream Cheese Frosting
Make The Sourdough Pumpkin Cake
The night before, mix together flour, active sourdough starter, 1/2 cup pumpkin, and maple syrup. Cover and allow to ferment for at least 8 hours, or up to 24 hours.
The next day, add to the cake mixture the salt, eggs, vanilla, and sucanat. Mix until well incorporated. A stand mixer will make this much easier.
Sprinkle baking soda evenly and mix in.
Spread evenly on a 13 by 18 inch sheet pan lined with parchment paper.
Bake at 375 degrees for 15 minutes.
Roll The Cake
Once done, pull from the oven and test that it has baked through with a toothpick.
In order to avoid the cake cracking later when you roll it up with the cream cheese, roll it in the parchment paper as soon as it comes out of the oven (be careful, because it’s hot). Allow it to cool while rolled.
Create Maple Cream Cheese Filling
While the cake is cooling, combine the cream cheese frosting ingredients with a mixer until incorporated and smooth.
Put Together The Sourdough Pumpkin Roll
Carefully unroll the cooled cake, spread on the cream cheese filling evenly, and roll it back up.
Slice and enjoy.
How To Store A Pumpkin Roll
Store the pumpkin roll in the refrigerator until ready to serve. It will last 3-5 days in the fridge.
You can also freeze it for up to 3 months. Wrap tightly with plastic wrap and freeze.
Thaw at least 18-24 hours before serving.
Find More Delicious Sourdough Recipes:
- Cinnamon Maple Sourdough Apple Pie
- Einkorn Sourdough Bread
- Sourdough Brownies
- Easy Sourdough Banana Bread
- Sourdough Chocolate Rolls
If you try this recipe and love it, I would love if you gave it 5 stars! Thank you! Tag me on Instagram @farmhouseonboone
Sourdough Pumpkin Roll
Ingredients
Pumpkin Cake
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup puréed pumpkin
- 1/2 cup maple syrup or honey
- 1/2 cup sourdough starter, or discard
- 3 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 3 eggs
- 2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
Filling
- 8 ounces cream cheese, softened
- 1/4 cup butter, softened
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup powdered sugar, plus more for dusting
Instructions
- The night before, mix together flour, active sourdough starter, 1/2 cup pumpkin and maple syrup. Cover and allow to ferment for at least 8 hours, or up to 24 hours.
- The next day, add to the cake mixture the salt, eggs, vanilla, pumpkin spice and sucanat. Mix until well incorporated.
- Sprinkle baking soda evenly and mix in.
- Spread evenly on a 13×18 inch sheet pan lined with parchment paper.
- Bake at 375 degrees for 15 minutes.
- Once done, pull from the oven and test that it has baked through with a toothpick.
- Roll it in the parchment paper as soon as it comes out of the oven (be careful, because it's hot).
- Allow the cake to cool while rolled.
- While the cake is cooling, combine the cream cheese frosting ingredients with a mixer until incorporated and smooth.
- Carefully unroll the cooled cake, spread on the cream cheese filling evenly, and roll it back up.
- Slice and serve or place in the fridge until you are ready to serve.
Notes
- To get the pumpkin rolls to not crack when rolling, roll the cake up as soon as it comes out of the oven with the parchment paper and allow to cool in that position. Unroll, add icing, then roll back up.
- You can use homemade or canned pumpkin.
- Don’t want to ferment the recipe? That is totally fine. Just mix and bake
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Do you think that rye flour would work? I am a weirdo and I only have einkorn and rye flour that I bake with. I think I tried einkorn all-purpose before with this and it is just so sticky.. it doesn’t roll well.
Very good but a little too sweet. Has a great texture and I love that it’s fermented sourdough! The cream cheese frosting makes it!! Thank you for this wonderful recipe; will definitely be making again!
Really good but VERY sweet. Would definitely cut back on the sugar but other than that it’s great! I love that it’s sourdough and fermented too! The cake part has a nice texture and the cream cheese frosting makes it! Would definitely recommend 🙂
If I would multiply this recipe, would I need to add more flour?
Yes. Double each ingredient.
Let me rephrase that question. If your multiply the recipe, do you need to add any additional flour. For instance, if I am tripling the recipe, I would need 3 cups of flour. Since this is a greater quantity, do I need to add slightly more than 3 cups or would I be ok with just the 3 cups? I know sometimes people add more flour when increasing the quantity outside of the standard recipe.
Hi—is the “sucanat “ not shown in the ingredients?
Yes. It’s just sugar now.
So you add 1/2 cup honey or syrup And “suganat?
My son has an egg allergy, do you know if flax egg would work in this recipe ?
It should!
My son has an egg allergy too just wondering if the flax egg worked?
When you allow to ferment 8-34 hours should it be refrigerated? Thanks!
The first ferment is on the counter. Typically 8 ish hours, depending on the temperature and environment. Then you can ferment in the fridge after shaping your rolls for up to three days to long ferment. The second ferment is optional.
This response is a little confusing. It seems that maybe it was meant for rolls and not the the pumpkin roll as it would be impossible to ferment the shaped cake roll because it’s already baked at that point?
Can’t wait to try this recipe.
I’m assuming that “sucunat” in the recipe means sugar? It threw me off so I’m wondering if it’s just a typo.
It’s a type of sugar.
How long do I let it cool before icing?
Let it cool completely. Could take around 2 hours.
Wonderful flavor. Great way to use discard sourdough.