This moist cake roll has the signature gingerbread flavor with the addition of a rich and tangy eggnog cream cheese filling. Serve with homemade eggnog or mulled wine.

Gingerbread Cake Roll with 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’.

Ingredients for gingerbread eggnog cake roll

Gingerbread cake:

4 eggs, separated and room temperature
⅓ cup light brown sugar, packed
¼ cup molasses
1 cup cake flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground cloves
⅛ teaspoon salt
⅓ cup granulated sugar

Eggnog filling:

8 ounces Philadelphia Original Brick Cream Cheese, room temperature
¼ cup unsalted butter, room temperature
¼ cup eggnog
¼ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
¼ teaspoon nutmeg
¾ cups powdered sugar

How to make gingerbread eggnog cake roll

Gingerbread cake:

Preheat oven to 350°F and line a 10×15 baking sheet with parchment paper. Set aside.
In the large bowl of a stand mixer (aff link) using the whisk attachment, beat egg yolks for 1 minute. Add brown sugar and molasses and mix on medium speed until completely combined. Set aside.
In a separate medium bowl, whisk together cake flour, baking powder, ginger, cinnamon, cloves and salt.
Add flour mixture to egg yolk mixture and beat until just combined.
In another large bowl, whip egg whites until foamy soft peaks form. With the mixer running, slowly add granulated sugar. Once all the sugar is added, increase speed to high and whip until stiff peaks form.
Using a spatula, gently fold the egg white mixture into the bowl of batter. Take your time and, again, be gentle – you don’t want to eliminate all the air you whipped into them.
Pour batter onto the prepared pan, gently using a spatula to evenly distribute the batter.
Bake for 11-14 minutes, or until the cake is spongey and bounces back when touched.
While it’s baking, lay out a flour sack or kitchen towel on the counter and sprinkle it with a layer of powdered sugar.Tip: I like to use my flour sifter (aff link) so that it’s a relatively even layer and I don’t miss any spots!
Let the cake cool for a minute on the baking sheet, then carefully turn it out onto the towel and remove the parchment paper from the bottom.
Starting from one of the short ends, roll the cake up (rolling the towel with it as you go). Lay the wrapped cake seam side down and let cool completely.

Eggnog cream cheese filling:

In a large bowl using a stand or hand mixer, combine cream cheese, butter, eggnog, vanilla, and nutmeg on medium speed until well combined.
Slowly add powdered sugar and turn up to medium high speed to completely combine.

Assemble the cake roll:

Once the cake is completely cooled, carefully unroll it. Using a spatula, add an even layer of the eggnog cream cheese filling to the top of the cake, leaving about 1/4″ of space on the edges.
Gently re-roll the cake and then move it, seam side down, to a serving platter.
Dust with powdered sugar, slice, serve and enjoy!

How this is different from a classic yule log

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.

It’s not overly sweet

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.

Garnish with powdered sugar

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.