Gingerbread Cake Roll with Eggnog Cream Cheese Filling

This post is sponsored by PHILADELPHIA Cream Cheese – as always, all opinions are mine. Thank you for supporting the brands that make Stress Baking possible! This moist cake roll has the signature gingerbread flavor with the addition of a rich and tangy eggnog cream cheese filling.

Let’s get this out of the way: Yes, I did recently share a “gingerbread filled with something” dessert, and yes this is another one. But aside from sharing the flavor of gingerbread and being freaking delicious, they don’t have much else in common.

I’m calling this one a gingerbread cake roll instead of a gingerbread yule log, because… this doesn’t really look like a log. Although, I guess if you squint from a distance it kinda looks like a log covered in fresh snow… oh well. It’s already called a cake roll, can’t take it back now.

I didn’t get a super tight roll on the one I photographed, but I’m actually kind of okay with that because I feel like it’s perfectly imperfect. A little bit loosey goosey, and not packed to the gills – which is how I feel the holidays should be.

A little more laid back, full of festive fun, but not to the degree that you’re stressed out about how much fun you’re supposed to have.

So this is me giving you permission to take some time for yourself and truly enjoy the things that you love. Maybe this cake roll will be the next thing you love. Just sayin’.

The previous yule log recipe I shared was a light, spongey chocolate cake with a light whipped cream filling. I went a slightly different way with this one, and it was totally worth the risk I took to do it.

The idea of a dry and spongey gingerbread kinda made me cringe, so I wanted the cake to be a bit more moist and chewy, with a much richer filling.

We’re filling this one with eggnog and cream cheese, and if you’re picking up anything other than Philadelphia Cream Cheese when you’re at the store, you’re doing it wrong. I never use anything but their 8 oz bricks, which makes it so easy to measure out for this recipe because – surprise!

You’ll need eight ounces for the filling.

I wanted the eggnog and cream cheese flavors to shine, so I don’t consider this filling to be super sweet. Bill tried it, made yummy noises and asked for another piece – and he hates overly sweet stuff, so I think we’re good.

A friend of Bill’s is staying with us, and I gave both of the guys a piece of this as they sat on the living room couch. I kid you not, they had both finished their pieces before I even made it back to the kitchen. And the living room is all of eight feet from the kitchen.  

Cream cheese is my go-to ingredient when I want to make an indulgent dessert, because you don’t need to use a lot of it to transform a dish. And truth be told, that goes for savory dishes, too – but we’re not talking about cheese sauces today.

We’re talking about a dessert that will become the star of your holiday tablescape, and it’s not going to take you all day to prep. It’s not even going to take you an hour! [insert raised hands emoji here]

Is there anything more festive than gingerbread? I asked myself that question, and immediately thought, “Well, eggnog…” so, I combined the two. Now it’s 2x as festive.

You’re welcome.

I may have gotten a little carried away with the powdered sugar on top, but it just makes such a nice presentation. And frankly the excess will just fall off naturally when you go to serve it, so you don’t have to get hit with a sugar bomb.

You could leave it off altogether and give it the “naked cake” treatment, but where’s the fun in that? You could get creative and use stencils to make pretty powdered sugar designs on top too, but… well, I’m lazy.

Need more gingerbread to fuel your festive fire?

• [read like a TV show] Previously on Stress Baking: Gingerbread Linzer Cookies with Cranberry Filling, Paleo Gingerbread Bars, Gingerbread Ice Cream
• And frankly, just scroll to the bottom of the linzer cookies recipe and I’ve got a fabulous list from across the web all set for ya!

After you’ve made this recipe, please leave a comment below with a rating – and if you came from Pinterest, add a photo to the Pin of what you make to the pin to share your experience!

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