Little Pumpkins + Pumpkin Cream Cheese Cake Recipe
Last weekend we took the boys to the pumpkin patch. They had a ball crawling through the hay maze and choosing a pumpkin to take home. Last year Ace was afraid of the hay maze but this year he pretended to be a G.I. Joe and spent most of the time crawling around inside. Lucky was just a wee babe last year but this year he ran amongst the pumpkins and repeatedly attempted to pick up the biggest ones! It was so cute...
Despite the warm weather I managed to keep the pumpkin hat I knitted for Lucky on his head long enough to snap a few pics. He had quite an infatuation with the gourds and the pumpkins with the bumps all over them (scientific name someone?). We've been reading books and playing with blocks, etc that have different textures lately and I was surprised to see him noticing this on his own.We had so much fun! Ace was so interested in learning about the different types of pumpkins and he kept asking if I knew which pumpkin had the most seeds inside. He loves cleaning the pumpkin out and baking the seeds with cinnamon and sugar sprinkled on top.Here's a pic of DH and I. This is one of the very few photos of the two of us that we've taken since we started having children. It's so nice to have but it always feels like something is missing without our boys!
The next day I made another one of my favorite fall desserts. It's called Pumpkin Cream Cheese Roll. It is absolutely delicious and is fun to make. I love making rolls, it somehow feels almost crafty (except for when I mess it up) ;) I found this recipe a few years ago on a can of Libby's pumpkin puree.Here's the recipe:
Ingredients:
- CAKE
- 1/4 cup powdered sugar (to sprinkle on towel)
- 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 3 large eggs
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 2/3 cup LIBBY'S® 100% Pure Pumpkin
- 1 cup walnuts, chopped (optional)
- FILLING
- 1 pkg. (8 oz.) cream cheese, at room temperature
- 1 cup powdered sugar, sifted
- 6 tablespoons butter or margarine, softened
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Powdered sugar (optional for decoration)
Directions:FOR CAKE: PREHEAT oven to 375° F. Grease 15 x 10-inch jelly-roll pan; line with wax paper. Grease and flour paper. Sprinkle a thin, cotton kitchen towel with powdered sugar.COMBINE flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves and salt in small bowl. Beat eggs and granulated sugar in large mixer bowl until thick. Beat in pumpkin. Stir in flour mixture. Spread evenly into prepared pan. Sprinkle with nuts.BAKE for 13 to 15 minutes or until top of cake springs back when touched. (If using a dark-colored pan, begin checking for doneness at 11 minutes.) Immediately loosen and turn cake onto prepared towel. Carefully peel off paper. Roll up cake and towel together, starting with narrow end. Cool on wire rack.FOR FILLING:BEAT cream cheese, 1 cup powdered sugar, butter and vanilla extract in small mixer bowl until smooth. Carefully unroll cake. Spread cream cheese mixture over cake. Reroll cake. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate at least one hour. Sprinkle with powdered sugar before serving, if desired.COOKING TIP:Be sure to put enough powdered sugar on the towel when rolling up the cake so it will not stick.Enjoy!!Also, just a reminder to let everyone that tomorrow is the last day to e-mail me your recipes for the Lenten Lunch Box Recipe Book that Presbytera Georgia will be putting together for her Advent Retreat in Chicago. Someone will win a fantastic set of books! I'll be announcing the winner on Wednesday! Don't forget every recipe you submit gets you an entry. Thank you to all of you who have submitted recipes so far, they all sound so yummy! I can hardly wait for Advent to start so I can try all of them!