Pumpkin sponge cake rolled with a lightened up cream cheese frosting. What can be prettier on your Thanksgiving table!
One day I had some extra cream cheese frosting laying around my kitchen. I also had some fat free Greek yogurt in my refrigerator and my wheels started turning; what would happened if I mixed the two? Well, all I can say is it was fabulous! I let a few others taste it to see what they thought, and they all agreed. So when I had all these requests to make over a pumpkin roll, I knew this would be my filling! I added some crushed walnuts to the filling and it was delicious! You can make it without the nuts, you'll save one point. I find Fage to be the thickest Greek yogurt, so that is what I recommend here.
For best results, if you're planning on making this, it's best to make it the day before and keep it refrigerated until you are ready to serve it. You can even make it up to 2 days ahead.
Can you use egg whites? I'm not sure, this has no butter or oil so I think the fat in the yolks is essential. Can you use Splenda? I'm sure you can, but I have not tested it, if anyone makes it with good results, please let me know!
Pumpkin Roll, Lightened Up
Adapted from Joy of Baking
Skinnytaste.com
Servings: 13 • Size: 3/4" slice • Old Points: 5 pt • Points+: 5 pts (4 pts no nuts)
Calories: 198.3 • Fat: 7.1 g • Carbs: 42.7 • Fiber: 0.8 • Protein: 5 g • Sugar: 21
Sodium: 133.9 mg
Ingredients:
For the cake:
- 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
- 1/4 tsp ground allspice
- 1/2 tsp vanilla
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 3 large eggs
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 2/3 cup canned pumpkin
- non-stick spray (I used Smart Balance)
- 1/4 cup powdered sugar (to sprinkle on towel)
For the filling:
- 6 oz light cream cheese, at room temperature (NOT fat free)
- 3/4 cup powdered sugar
- 6 oz fat free Fage Greek Yogurt
- 1/2 cup chopped walnuts (optional)
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- powdered sugar (optional for topping)
Directions:
Pumpkin Roll: Preheat oven to 375°F and place oven rack in the center of the oven. Spray a 15 x 10 inch baking pan with non-stick spray, line it with parchment paper, then spray a little more non-stick spray and lightly flour the parchment paper.
Sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice, allspice, and salt into a large bowl.
Beat the eggs and sugar together in your electric mixer or hand mixer. Beat on high speed for five minutes, or until thick, pale yellow, and fluffy. (When you slowly raise the beaters the batter will fall back into the bowl in slow ribbons.) Beat in the vanilla extract and pumpkin puree. Using a spatula, gently fold in the sifted flour mixture. Pour the batter into the prepared pan, evenly spreading the cake batter with a spatula or knife.
Bake about 13 - 15 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean and the cake, when lightly pressed, springs back.
Sprinkle a clean dish towel with confectioners' sugar.
Immediately upon removing the cake from the oven invert the pumpkin roll onto the clean dish towel. Carefully remove the parchment paper from the bottom of the cake and sprinkle lightly with confectioners sugar; roll the pumpkin roll up with the towel, while it is still hot and pliable. Place on a wire rack to cool.
Filling: Beat the cream cheese, yogurt, and vanilla extract until light and fluffy. Add the sugar and beat until smooth; fold in the walnuts. Refrigerate at least one hour.
To Assemble: Unroll the pumpkin roll, spread with the filling, and re-roll. Transfer to your serving platter; cover and chill in the refrigerator for a few hours or overnight. (You can serve this cake immediately but chilling it overnight sets the filling and makes it easier to slice.) Just before serving, lightly dust with powdered sugar.





















Thank you for this recipe! I love pumpkin rolls, but I know that a regular one is loaded with sugar and fat. I will be trying out your recipe for Thanksgiving.
ReplyDeleteI was at my Weight watchers meeting on yesterday and we were sharing tips on how we were going to survive the holiday. I told them about your site and how you'd been doing Thanksgiving recipes for the past couple of weeks. In a room of about 40 people none of them knew about you.. I'll go back on Friday and see if any of them checked you out and cooked anything. :-)
ReplyDeleteI am VERY excited about this. Definitely trying it out! Pumpkin everything = delicious.
ReplyDeleteLooks beautiful and delicious, and I'm sure it tastes that way too! Can't wait to try it!
ReplyDeleteI put the recipe into the WW recipe creator, and the point value did not change if you use splenda and/or egg beaters. Still 4 points without the nuts. Thanks for all of the great recipes! I love the website!
ReplyDeleteWoo! This classic pumpkin roll is seriously yummy looking. Love you you lightened this up :)
ReplyDeleteThanks Kenyards!
ReplyDeletedoes "cream cheese" mean the frosting or regular cream cheese? looks great!
ReplyDeleteThis looks amazing I am going to try this hopefully within the week ;)
ReplyDeletedo you think we could just fill it with the greek yogart and no cream cheese?
ReplyDeleteCould you do this in a 9x13 pan as a regular cake???
ReplyDeleteI love cake rolls, especially pumpkin! Great lightened up recipe.
ReplyDeleteI never made a pumpkin roll cake or any other cake for that matter, it seems intimidating but you make it seem easy. I want to try this recipe. I also really like that you made it low calorie, not bad for a cake!! Thank you! Love your blog!
ReplyDeleteI have a question, can we exchange the greek yogurt for something else? I am not a big yogurt fan and am severely lactose intolerant!
ReplyDeleteI LOVE your site. I know any receipe I make will be delicious!! Pumpkin Cake Roll showed up on the day my family asked if I would be making the traditional pumpkin roll, I hesitated until I saw your post! Thank you for all the time you put into keeping us healthy with delicious food!!
ReplyDeleteI don't think only using Greek yogurt would work, I don't think it's thick enough and it would come out.
ReplyDeleteI don't think this would work out in a regular baking pan, the thickenss would change and it may break when you roll it.
Maria, you can use 10 oz of light cream cheese and skip the yogurt if you wish, points will change.
Thanks Gina! This looks delicious. Can I substitute whole wheat pastry flour, for all purpose flour?
ReplyDeleteLooks and sounds amazing as does everything on your site.
ReplyDeleteI think Im really going to have to attempt this.
I've never made one either but I've always wanted to. Here's to good eating!! Thanks!
oh, I made a similar thing.. a sponge chestnut cube with pumpkin and cream filling... delicious!
ReplyDeleteyes! this makes me so excited. pumpkin roll is my favorite and i was wondering how on earth i was going to enjoy it this year! thank you!
ReplyDeleteLooks delicious. Your recipes are great and I don't even feel guilty eating my favorite foods from you site. Can't wait to try this one. Thanks Gina!
ReplyDeleteThose look SO good!!! :D
ReplyDeleteCarolyn, I don't see why not! Let me know how it works out if you do!
ReplyDeleteJust made and it's amazing!! I would highly recommend making it ahead of time, like a day or so, to allow for it to set-up. But awesome recipe!!
ReplyDeleteThis really does look delicious! I adore pumpkin and will have to try making it with y friends.
ReplyDeleteI want to try this recipe. I also really like that you made it low calorie, not bad for a cake!!
ReplyDeleteThanks
OMG I have always wanted to make one of these and now I don't have to feel so guilty. Taking ingredients on the road with me to make at Mom's!!!
ReplyDeleteThanks!
That looks seriously delicious, thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteWow! I think you just gave me the perfect idea of what to bring to my friend's house for a Thanksgiving dessert. This looks delicious and, since we're all on Weight Watchers, seems like the perfect treat. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteHi! I was hoping you had the nutritional breakdown of just the filling. I want to use it for my carrot cupcakes. ;)
ReplyDeleteGINA!!!! You rock!!!!!!!!!! Thank you so much for making this :)
ReplyDeletedoes your nutrition info include the walnuts?
ReplyDeleteI'm making this for my hall in my dorm. We gotta get in the holiday spirit! Thanks :)
ReplyDeleteYes the n.i. Includes the walnuts.
ReplyDeleteSorry I don't have the info for just the cream any longer.
Jade, happy holidays!
I was wondering if you have any other variations of this recipe. I'm very excited to try it. It looks amazing but my family is full of chocolate junkies.
ReplyDeleteHi! I'm wondering if you think the cream cheese/Greek yogurt filling would work well as a frosting over a pumpkin muffin. Like, would it be solid enough and not just drip off the sides? It sounds really great! :) FYI, I would be doing it without nuts, since I'm allergic.
ReplyDeleteI love your website and recipes...i visit daily! thank you for all your hard work to help me stay healthy!!
ReplyDeletePumpkin Roll is my husband's favorite dessert so i make it several times a year. Recently i attempted to substitute the sugar with splenda. I found that it makes the pumpkin cake less firm. It also did something very weird with the cream cheese filling. It was runny but i do not understand why the filling was affected b/c there is no regular sugar in the filling recipe! I thought i had just done something wrong, so i did it again with splenda and got the same results, runny filling, less firm cake. by now, i'm frustrated. so I made a pumpkin roll again the next day using regular sugar and voila...perfect. the ONLY thing changed in the recipe was regular sugar to splenda. nothing else was different. it did not matter how long the splenda version was refrigerated either - it did not set right.
if you try it and get different results, let me know!!
Thank you again!! Selena S.
A great tip for pumpkin rolls is to freeze them and then cut with an electric knife. The slices come out very clean and neat. Set the sliced pieces out at room temp to thaw for about 15 minutes before serving.
ReplyDeleteOoh I wish this was gluten free!
ReplyDeleteSherri, not yet!
ReplyDeleteTabitha, I think so! Make sure all liquid is drained from yogurt, or use Fage, it's thicker. Don't use fat free cream cheese, it will be runny.
Selena, I don't use Splenda but good to know!! Same happens with fat free cream cheese, it becomes runny!
Thanks for putting up this recipe. I have been avoiding looking at the pumpkin rolls in the stores because they are so many points. I will have to make this next week to give it a try for Christmas. Have a wonderful Thanksgiving. I'm so thankful that I found your website, you have helped me so much.
ReplyDeleteJessica
I whipped this up with help from my step dad for Thanksgiving tomorrow. After going to Weight Watchers and hearing about the 11 pt. pumpkin pie I'd be facing, I knew I needed to arm myself with something delicious that wouldn't completely put me over the edge. So far everything turned out perfectly and it's chilling in the fridge until tomorrow. I can't wait to try it!
ReplyDeleteI made this last night & it was yummy & easy to make. I am a weight watcher and love your site & recipes; thank you!
ReplyDeleteHi again! I just made the frosting and it tastes soooo good. I used 1/3 fat cream cheese and Fage fat free (THE best thing ever), plus I added 1/4 tsp of pumpkin pie spice. We'll see how well it sets up, but I think it'll be great atop my pumpkin muffins! :)
ReplyDeleteGina - I'm ignorant. Can you make this using regular "cake" (other than the pumpkin)? The boyfriend does not like pumpkin but is wild about this type of filling. Can you use a carrot cake or chocolate cake mix instead? Or do you have any other suggestions?
ReplyDeleteThis Pumpkin Roll was a huge hit with everyone at our Thanksgiving lunch. I used 8 oz. of light cream cheese and 4 oz. of non-fat Greek yogurt so I would not have 2 oz. of cream cheese leftover. This was delicious and will be adding it to our annual fall/Thanksgiving recipes.
ReplyDeleteGreat!
ReplyDeletePeggy, Yes I plan on making variations of this soon!
YUMMY! The frosting is so good!!! Thanks for all the great recipes!
ReplyDeleteGina, this was a huge hit at Thanksgiving. Easy to make and delicious. I added a bit of pumpkin pie spice and some grated clementine peel to the filling (the bowl was sitting on the counter!). Everyone raved, and the leftovers are even better. Thank you for such delicious recipes!
ReplyDeleteThis was absolutely delicious! We shared it with friends and it disappeared in no time. My friend kept commenting that he didn't believe it was diet. You should make a cookbook! Everything we try from your site is amazing. I would buy a copy if you make a book!
ReplyDeleteThis was absolutely delish! Thanks!!
ReplyDeleteI made this and it is delicious!!!!
ReplyDeleteI made this for the first time for a friend Thanksgiving and one of my guests commented that this might be better than the pumpkin roll up his mom makes every year! :)
ReplyDeleteWe made this with egg beaters and splenda in the batter, and truvia in the filling, it was FABULOUS!!!! EVERYONE LOVED IT. Am making again today!!!
ReplyDeletedo you think i could substitute the pumpkin for pureed sweet potato?
ReplyDeleteI'm sure that would work.
DeleteGina, you are a god-sent. Thank you so much for your recipes. I didn't lose during the holidays - but I didn't gain back any weight either. I'm starting to take my family recipes and seeing how they might be lightened up in a similar manner by incorporating some of your tricks.
ReplyDeletei see someone already asked this but i wasnt to sure on the answer. i only have a 12x17 and 9x13 baking pan. which should i use since theres no way i can go buy a new one??
ReplyDeleteI don't think it will roll if you change the pan. You can of course make it into a cake with one of your other pans and just put the icing on top.
DeleteGina, I was wondering if you could suggest a different sweetener other than white processed sugar. I have a real sensitivity to white sugar. This is one of my favorite deserts. I would really appreciate your help.
ReplyDeleteUse raw sugar, I've replaced all my white sugar with sugar in the raw.
DeleteCan you use egg beaters in place of the eggs?
ReplyDeleteOh my goodness, I started changing my eating habits almost 2 years ago now (lost 75 lb!), and I cannot BELIEVE that I just happened on this site a month ago. I have made at least 10 of your recipes and all turned out wonderfully. Pumpkin roll is one of the things I crave during this time of year, and this recipe is delicious!
ReplyDeleteI made the cake in a jelly roll pan (15 x 10) and it rolled well right out of the oven, but when I re-rolled with the filling the cake stuck to my powdered dish cloth and cracked... any ideas why? Solely the fault of my dish cloth? :-P It's not the prettiest unfortunately, but tasted heavenly!
ReplyDeleteMy whole family loved it! Loved the Pumpkin Cheesecake Shooters too. Oh my, both were awesome. So happy to have some lighter holiday dessert recipes. As a matter of fact, every recipe for our Thanksgiving dinner was from this site - except for the gravy. I know how much effort I spent preparing this meal, so Gina, thank you so much for all the effort YOU put into developing these recipes you share.
ReplyDeleteI tried making a roll cake via a different website and it turned out like cardboard. I was scared to try this and wanted to for so long. Tonight I tried it and it turned out sooooooooooo GOOD! The only thing is that I didn't have this size baking pan. I had to use a larger one which makes the pumpkin roll obviously very thin but still really delicious though! Thank you so much for this great recipe :) Can this recipe be used with whole wheat flour? I would really love to find one with whole wheat. :)
ReplyDelete