Decorated Pumpkin Roll Cake with a Chocolate Inlay Design

A decorated pumpkin roll with a chocolate inlay pattern piped right into the soft pumpkin sponge. It looks fancy but pipes easier than you'd expect.

If you're a fan of pumpkin, you've probably made or seen the classic pumpkin roll: a soft pumpkin sponge filled with tangy cream cheese frosting and rolled into a swirl. It's in good company with my pumpkin bread with cream cheese frosting, which leans on the same pairing. This decorated pumpkin roll is that same cake with one upgrade. A chocolate inlay pattern is piped right into the sponge, so the design bakes into the cake instead of sitting on top.

Chocolate vines, swirls, and leaves on the outside make this patterned roll cake perfect for fall. I used a method similar to the one in my chocolate hazelnut entremet cakes, so if you've piped an inlay before, this will feel familiar.

For the cake itself, I use Libby's pumpkin roll recipe (from the makers of canned pumpkin) because there's no reason to mess with a good thing. It's soft, flavorful, and bakes with no issues.

Roll cakes look intimidating, but I promise they're not, and adding the design is the easy part. Let me take you through it.

Ingredients

Here's what you'll need to make this decorated pumpkin roll cake:

For the chocolate inlay paste (pate a cornet), you'll need cake flour, cocoa powder, unsalted butter, powdered sugar and egg whites.

For the cake you will need powdered sugar, all purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda, pumpkin spice, salt, eggs, granulated sugar, pumpkin puree and vanilla extract. 

And finally for the filling, you'll need cream cheese, powdered sugar, unsalted butter and vanilla extract.

How to Decorate a Pumpkin Roll

Before you start, clear a 10x15 inch spot in your freezer for the sheet pan. You'll chill the piped design in there before the batter goes on, so have the space ready. Watch my quick video on how to make a pumpkin roll before you start.

Make the Chocolate Inlay Paste

The design can be anything you want as long as you have a steady piping hand. Use the recipe card instructions to make a small batch of decorating paste, or pate a cornet, which is really just a small batch of chocolate batter. You'll also need a piping bag, preferably fitted with a small tip. I used a number 4.

Pipe Your Pattern and Freeze

Pipe your design onto a sheet of parchment lining the same pan you'll bake in. Any pattern works: vines, swirls, or leaves are great for fall, or pipe something spooky for a Halloween pumpkin roll.

Then slide the whole pan into the freezer to firm up the design while you mix the pumpkin batter.

Spread the Pumpkin Sponge and Bake

Gently spread the pumpkin batter over the frozen design. As long as the design batter is firm it won't smear, but take your time anyway. Bake as directed in the recipe card below, then come back here for the rolling.

Roll the Cake While It's Warm

As soon as the cake comes out of the oven, release it and roll it while it's still warm. This is the step that keeps it from cracking, since a warm sponge bends and a cooled one splits. Run a plastic knife along the edge to loosen it.

Sprinkle powdered sugar over the top, then flip the cake onto a fresh parchment-lined pan. Peel off the original parchment, dust lightly with more powdered sugar, and flip once more onto clean parchment. Roll it up slowly but tightly.

Make the Cream Cheese Filling

Let the cake cool completely in that rolled shape, seam side down, while you make the filling. Beat the cream cheese filling ingredients together until fluffy and smooth.

Fill, Roll, and Chill

Once the cake is fully cool, unroll it and spread the filling, leaving a 1 to 2 inch border so it doesn't ooze out when you re-roll. Roll it back up, wrap it in plastic, and chill it in the refrigerator for at least an hour before serving. That chill is what lets you cut clean, neat slices.

Make Ahead, Storing and Freezing

This is a good one to make ahead, which is part of why it shows up on so many holiday tables. Because the assembled roll keeps in the fridge for up to three days, you can bake, fill, and roll it a day or two before you need it, then just slice and serve. Wrap it tightly in plastic once it's rolled and keep it seam side down so it holds its shape.

To store leftovers, keep the roll wrapped in plastic in the refrigerator, where it stays good for up to three days. The filling is made with cream cheese, so it needs to stay chilled and shouldn't sit out.

This roll also freezes well for up to three months, which makes it easy to get ahead of a busy baking season. Wrap the finished roll tightly in plastic, then let it thaw in the refrigerator overnight before serving. Freezing the whole roll unsliced keeps the sponge from drying at the edges.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I make this pumpkin roll without the decoration? Yes. Skip the chocolate inlay paste entirely and you'll have a classic pumpkin roll. You can also flip the cake just once instead of twice before rolling it warm, since the double flip is only there to keep the design facing out.

Finish with a dusting of powdered sugar just before serving. And if you want a pumpkin bake with no rolling at all, my soft pumpkin chocolate chip cookies come together fast.

Why does my pumpkin roll crack? Pumpkin rolls crack when the sponge cools before it's rolled. A warm sponge is flexible and bends into the coil, but once it cools it goes stiff and splits along the fold. The fix is to roll the cake as soon as it comes out of the oven, while it's still warm, and to let it cool already in that rolled shape. If a few small cracks do appear, a dusting of powdered sugar hides them.

Do I need a special pan? You'll need a 10x15 inch jelly roll pan so the sponge bakes thin enough to roll without cracking. A deeper pan bakes the batter too thick and it won't coil cleanly.

This decorated pumpkin roll cake is a stunning twist on a classic recipe, with all the familiar flavors of pumpkin spice and cream cheese filling. Whether you add a chocolate design or keep it simple with powdered sugar, it's a dessert that's sure to impress at your next fall gathering.