Tasty Tuesday - Pumpkin Love

Just in time for Thanksgiving, my favorite fall recipe: Pumpkin Roll. Of course, since we're eating soy and dairy free right now I can't have the cream cheese frosting that makes a pumpkin roll the wonderful delicousness that it is, but I've got a pumpkin bar recipe with a maple syrup glaze that's pretty darn tasty too. If you think rolling cakes isn't for you, don't be intimidated- it's really not hard! Of course, you could always just put the cream cheese frosting on the pumpkin bars. But for some reason, food that is rolled just tastes so much better.

Pumpkin Roll

3/4 c. all-purpose flour
1/2 t. baking powder
1/2 t. baking soda
1 t. ground cinnamon
1/2 t. ground cloves

1/4 t. nutmeg
1/4 t. salt
3 large eggs
1 c. granulated sugar
2/3 c. pumpkin

1 pkg. (8 oz.) cream cheese, at room temperature

1 c. powdered sugar, sifted

6 T butter or margarine, softened

1 t. vanilla extract

Powdered sugar (optional for decoration)

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 (linen, don't use terry cloth).

Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg 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.

Bake for 13 to 15 minutes or until top of cake springs back when touched. Immediately loosen and turn cake onto prepared towel. Carefully peel off wax paper. Roll up cake and towel together, starting with narrow end. Cool on wire rack. (Be sure to put enough powdered sugar on the towel when rolling up the cake so it will not stick.)

For the filling; beat cream cheese, 1 cup powdered sugar, butter and vanilla extract in small mixer bowl until smooth. Carefully unroll cake (after completely cooled). 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.

Pumpkin Bars

1 c. flour

1 1/2 t. ground cinnamon

1/2 t. ground cloves
1/4 t. nutmeg
1/2 t. baking powder
1/2 t. baking soda
1/2 c. canola oil
1/2 c. white sugar

1/2 c. packed brown sugar
2 eggs
1 c. pumpkin

1 c. powdered sugar, sifted

2 T maple syrup

Preheat oven to 375° F. Grease 15 x 10-inch jelly-roll pan (or use 9x13-inch pan for a thicker bar); line with wax paper. Grease and flour paper. (Wax paper just makes it easier to get the bars out, if you're going to serve it in the pan, you don't need the paper.)

Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg and salt in small bowl. Combine oil and sugar in large mixer bowl, add eggs one at a time. Beat in pumpkin. Stir in flour mixture. Spread evenly into prepared pan.

Bake for 20 to 40 minutes or until top of cake springs back when touched. (Varies a lot, based on the pan you choose.) Cool on wire rack.

For the glaze; combine powdered sugar and maple syrup in a small bowl. (If the glaze is too thick, add a small amount of water.) Spread glaze on pumpkin bars. Cover and refrigerate at least one hour before cutting into bars.