Paula Deen's Pumpkin Roll Cake

I've made this wonderful cake for Thanksgiving a few times since the recipe first appeared on her show.  Its not difficult but it is a bit time consuming as there are steps that must be followed.  The recipe HERE is stupid easy to follow and the results are always stellar.

A few tips to make things easier.  The eggs whip up better if they are at room temp, so set them out an hour or so before you are ready to start baking.  As always, if you have a copper mixing bowl to beat the whites do so as the inflate faster and better than any other bowl.

The second step of the recipe after the baking is most crucial.  Do be heavy handed with the powdered sugar as that is what keeps the cake from sticking to the tea towel.  Bring out your asbestos fingers and work with the cake while it is hot fresh from the oven as the recipe instructs.  I made the fatal mistake of thinking I knew better and let the cake cool  to the touch once and had a mess, the cake didn't roll rather cracked and fell apart on me.

I used Libby's canned pumpkin as it is 100% pure pumpkin, not a blend with butternut squash or other squash like some of the cheaper off brands can be.  Why the store bought this year?  Well I accidentally scorched the pumpkin I was putting up for just this purpose while stuck on a phone call a few weeks ago. *Sad face*,

Happy Thanksgiving all!