My favorite thing in the world is when I have a recipe idea that I can’t stop thinking about and when I make it, it turns out as good as I imagined it. These Pumpkin Roll Pancakes fall into that category. I wanted to incorporate the flavors of a pumpkin roll (ya know, a pumpkin sheet cake rolled up with cream cheesy frosting filling and sliced) into a breakfast appropriate pancake. So here we’ve got fluffy spiced pumpkin pancakes that get topped with a light and creamy cream-cheese-kissed whipped cream and drizzled in pure maple syrup. It feels naughty. It’s definitely delicious. And it’s completely acceptable to consume it before 9 am. Triple win.
Ingredients Needed
This is just a preview of ingredients and method, keep scrolling for full printable recipe.
Pancakes
- All-purpose flour
- Whole wheat flour – Hearty whole wheat pairs really well with pumpkin, so I threw some in there, but feel free to use all regular all-purpose flour if you’d like.
- Brown sugar
- Baking powder
- Baking soda
- Table salt
- Cinnamon
- Nutmeg
- Ground cloves
- Ground ginger
- Buttermilk
- Vanilla extract
- Canola oil
- Eggs
- Pumpkin puree – As always, make sure you are using 100% pumpkin puree (click here to make your own) and not pumpkin pie filling.
Topping
- Cream cheese – Full fat or low fat. Avoid fat-free.
- Powdered sugar
- Vanilla extract
- Whipping cream
- Real maple syrup – For drizzling.
How to Make Pumpkin Roll Pancakes
Step 1: Prepare Topping
- I like to make the topping first so it’s ready to go! Whip some plain whipping cream and set aside.
- Beat some cream cheese, powdered sugar, and vanilla together until smooth and creamy. Add half of the previously whipped cream and beat until smooth.
- Add the rest of the whipped cream and use a spatula to gently fold everything together. Cover and refrigerate until ready to use.
Step 2: Make the Pancakes
- First let’s mix up some dry ingredients. I use half all purpose flour and half whole wheat flour. You’ll also add a little brown sugar for sweetness, and cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and ginger. Plus a little baking soda and baking powder. Whisk all of those together and make sure you get any lumps of brown sugar broken up.
- In a separate bowl, mix up your wet ingredients: buttermilk, eggs, vanilla, and just a couple tablespoons of oil. And we can’t have pumpkin pancakes without pumpkin! Once that’s all mixed up, just combine your wet ingredients and your dry ingredients. I usually whisk at first and then use a rubber spatula to mix everything gently together.
- Make sure your griddle pan is nice and hot (but not piping hot, you don’t want to burn the batter! Find a nice medium.) and then use butter or nonstick spray to coat the pan. Drop batter by 1/4 cup onto the pan and cook until edges are set. Normally, I wait until I see little bubbles around the edges of pancake batter to know they’re ready to flip, but with these, usually the bubble stage is a tad too late. I flip them once I can see the edges are set and a spatula easily slides underneath.
- Flip those and cook the remaining side.
Step 3: Serve and Enjoy!
- Serve each pancake with a little dollop of the cream cheese topping and a drizzle of maple syrup. For everyday pancakes for my kids, I use good ol’ Mrs. Butterworth’s (or whatever else happens to be on sale), but I always keep 100% pure maple syrup for recipes and special pancakes like this.
Storing and Other Tips
- Store leftover pancakes in an airtight container in the refrigerator and enjoy within 2-3 day for best results.
- Avoid over mixing the pancake batter. Stir gently until just combined so they stay light and fluffy.
- A lot of readers have recommended topping these with Buttermilk Caramel Syrup!
Frequently Asked Questions
Sure! Make your topping and store in the fridge in an airtight container. Cook up your pancakes, cool completely, and layer between parchment in an airtight container then store in the fridge. When ready to serve, warm pancakes gently in the microwave or oven.
Yep! Layer cooled pancakes between sheets of parchment and store in an airtight, freezer-safe container or bag. Freeze up to 2 months. Reheat straight from frozen or thaw in the fridge overnight. Make the topping fresh!
Nope. These are great with a little butter and maple syrup. They would also be delicious with a little squirt of canned whipped cream if that’s what you have available!
While it’s not designed specifically for waffle makers, readers have reported good results using this recipe for waffles. I would just be sure to oil your waffle maker well, since waffle-specific recipes usually contain a little more oil than pancakes for easy release.
Pumpkin Roll Pancakes
Ingredients
Cream Cheese Whipped Cream
- 4 ounces cream cheese low fat is fine, but not fat free
- ¼ cup powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ cup whipping cream heavy or regular whipped until medium peaks form
- Real maple syrup for drizzling
Pancakes
- ¾ cup all purpose flour
- ¾ cup whole wheat flour
- ¼ cup brown sugar
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon table salt
- 1½ teaspoons cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
- ½ teaspoons ground cloves
- ¾ teaspoons ground ginger
- 1½ cups buttermilk
- 1½ teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 tablespoons canola oil
- 2 eggs
- ⅔ cup pumpkin puree
Instructions
Whipped Cream Topping
- Whip the plain whipping cream and set aside.
- Beat cream cheese, powdered sugar and vanilla until smooth and creamy. Take 1/2 of the whipped cream (that you already whipped) and beat it in until smooth.
- Add the rest of the whipped cream and use a spatula to gently fold in (do not beat). Cover and refrigerate until ready to use.
Pancakes
- Prepare pancakes. Whisk together flours, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and ginger. Make sure to break up any clumps of brown sugar.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together buttermilk, vanilla, oil, eggs and pumpkin. Combine wet ingredients with dry and gently combine until mixed. Do not overmix.
- Heat a nonstick griddle to medium heat. When hot, use butter or nonstick spray to coat the pan. Drop 1/4 cup pancake batter to form each pancake and cook until edges set (if you wait until they bubble, it might be just a bit too long). Flip pancakes and cook remaining side.
- Serve warm pancakes with a dollop of cream cheese topping and a drizzle of maple syrup.
Notes
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- Store leftover pancakes in an airtight container in the refrigerator and enjoy within 2-3 day for best results.
-
- Avoid over mixing the pancake batter. Stir gently until just combined so they stay light and fluffy.
- A lot of readers have recommended topping these with Buttermilk Caramel Syrup!
Questions & Reviews
I made these this morning and they were AMAZING! So, so good! My husband had eight 🙂 and talked about how good they were again at lunch. Thanks for the great recipe!
I have died and gone to heaven and so has my family. Sara, you are truly inspired! These àre DIVINE! I made these on Wednesday night for dinner (I just couldn’t wait until breakfast) and all 6 kids loved them! That right there is a miracle with some picky eaters in the family. I’m excited to try your apple cider syrup on these. Do you by chance have a maple syrup recipe too? Maple syrup is expensive and I’d like to be able to make my own. Kate and Sara, you guys are the best!!!
So great! I kinda cheated and used Krusteaz buttermilk pancake mix for most of the dry ingredients, but kept everything else the same, and they still turned out! Also, I poured them into pumpkin shapes for a little extra festive-ness. Thanks for sharing your great ideas!
I agree! Dreaming up a recipe that then turns out as good as you thought or better is the best! These look awesome! PS: I always catch myself spelling words the cooking/baking way (flour instead of flower, etc.)! I guess I just always have food on the brain!
These were DELISH! THANK YOU! P.S. Are you on Instagram? I would love to follow you there too. 🙂
We’re not on Instagram..I guess we’re just a little behind the times 😉
Wow! This looks so good!
These are fantastic! Although I have to admit that I omitted the baking soda and substituted regular milk. They turned out great. I have to say that your picture at the end is amazing!!!! You gals do great work!
I’m in love. I’m absolutely in love. This would be my last meal. XOXO
My mother in law makes a super yummy spiced apple cider syrup that would be heavenly on these!
We have apple cider syrup in our cook book, and you’re right- that WOULD be amazing!
These were delicious!!!! My new favorite! These were great with your Buttermilk Carmel Syrup!!