Pumpkin Spice Swiss Roll - Gluten Free!

It's my honest opinion that Autumn and Winter are the two best seasons of year. Don't get me wrong, I love seeing all the little lambs in the fields in Spring, but like I said in my cinnamon rolls post there's something about the warming spices we associate with the colder months that I just can't get enough of! Enter then this Pumpkin Spice Swiss Roll!

The roll!

I've never been one for pumpkin spice anything before, and I always felt that the smells and colours always outshone the flavour of these kinds of foods and drinks. A few weeks ago though I thought I'd give the pumpkin spice frappe in Starbucks a go, and I instantly fell in love with the flavour! The same day, I came across this recipe on theloopywhisk's Instagram page, which felt like a sign! I simply had to give it a go! Did I mention it's gluten free too?

This roll is so warming thanks to the added ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves! Just imagine eating this whilst being wrapped up in a cozy blanket in front of a fire with your favourite (but not scary) Halloween film on! In case I didn't mention I absolutely do not do horror, ironic considering I love this time of year! I'll stick to Hocus Pocus 2 thank you very much!

The cooled sponge, ready to be spread 
with the cream cheese frosting!

Gluten free baking has tripped me up in the past, so I'll admit to having doubts about how well this sponge would turn out. As it turns out, it was so easy! It's basically just a gluten free whisked sponge with added pumpkin puree, xanthan gum and bicarbonate of soda, as well as the spices! Three rising agents (bicarb, gluten free baking powder, and xanthan gum) seemed a little excessive, and I almost left the bicarb out, but as it turns out the texture was insanely fluffy, and you couldn't tell it was gluten free at all!


My second favourite thing in the world,
cream cheese frosting for the filling!

The only difficulty popped up when it was time to roll the baked sponge up! I made a Swiss roll from Nadiya's book not too long ago, and I just assumed her method of rolling up the still hot sponge and allowing it cool this way would work. However, the sponge tore in several places, and I had to make a second one. The recipe for this roll insists that you leave the sponge in the tin, place tinfoil over the still hot cake and allow it to cool to room temperature. This way, steam is trapped in the sponge, keeping it pliable and making it easier to work with. The second sponge rolled like a dream!  

I didn't get any photos of the full
roll, but I'm relatively happy with 
the cross section!

Seeing as this roll was such a success, I'm going to try other pumpkin spice recipes in the run up to Halloween too (plus I accidentally ordered 6 tins of pumpkin puree instead of 2, so it needs using somehow)! I've never made a pumpkin pie before, so that's on my list, as well as a batch of vegan pumpkin spice cupcakes from Freya Cox's new recipe book! 

I can't wait to show off how these next bakes turn out!

Gibby x




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