Pumpkin Spice Buttercream Frosting

Pumpkin Spice Buttercream Fall Flower Cupcakes

I love autumn flowers and thought it would be fun to try to create some fall flower cupcakes that resembled these gorgeous florals. Again, if the frosting begins to soften and not hold its shape well while working with it, pop it in the refrigerator for a few minutes to stiffen.

Make Frosting

Begin by beating the butter until creamy – approximately 2-3 minutes. Add confectioners’ sugar, pumpkin puree, and vanilla. Beat on low until the sugar is incorporated, then increase speed and beat until all ingredients are fully combined. Add cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt. Beat again until smooth. If the frosting seems too thin, add a little more confectioners’ sugar (1/4 cup at a time) until you reach desired consistency. Be careful to not add too much – it will not be as stiff as regular buttercream. In order to firm it up, place it in the refrigerator for 5-10 minutes.

Create Colors

Divide your frosting into the colors you would like to use. I needed four colors: yellow, orange, light green, and off-white (the regular frosting without color added). The colors from Wilton were Lemon yellow (Gel), Pastel green, and Orange (Gel) & Golden Yellow (Gel) to make orange. For the yellow flowers, I used an orange center and yellow petals. For the orange flowers, I did a yellow center and orange petals. Finally, for the off-white flowers, I did a light green center and off-white petals.

Decorate Cupcakes

To make the flowers, first place a small circle of frosting for your center in the middle of the cupcake. Using Wilton tip #2, create small strands coming out of the center dot of frosting to resemble the middle of a flower. Then, change to your petal color and Wilton tip #81. Begin creating the petals, keeping larger and more open petals toward the outside rim and smaller, closed petals near the center. They do not have to be perfect. In fact, imperfections sometimes make them appear more realistic!

Autumn "Mum" Flower Cupcakes — Autumn “Mum” Flower Cupcakes with Pumpkin Spice Buttercream Frosting

Tips

To soften butter quickly, slice into small pieces and let sit on the counter while you gather the rest of your ingredients. Room temperature butter may be cooler than you think. You will know it is ready when you press your finger into it, it leaves an indent but does not sink into the butter.
Scrape down bowl – Scraping down the sides of your mixing bowl helps to ensure all ingredients are evenly distributed.
Frosting consistency – If your frosting seems dry and difficult to spread, add a small amount of heavy cream or milk – a little bit at a time until you reach desired consistency. If your frosting is too runny or soft, slowly add more powdered sugar – a little bit at a time until it firms up to desired consistency.
Food coloring – When adding color to your frosting/icing, I recommend using gel coloring and a light hand. You can always add more coloring if it is not dark enough!
Chill – It is important to note that this buttercream will not be as firm as regular buttercream due to the moisture in the pumpkin puree. Therefore, it may be necessary to chill your frosting as you decorate in order to stiffen it up a bit.
Storage – If you are not using immediately, cover tightly and store in the refrigerator.

My Preferred Tools

You may already have many of these items in your kitchen. I recommend the following for this recipe:

Kitchen Scale – precisely measure ingredients
Cake Turntable and Spatulas – excellent for decorating cakes
Wilton Cake Supply Master Kit – for the flower tips
Wilton Decorating Kit – piping tips, bags, couplers, and more for decorating cakes
Wilton Gel Colors – to color frosting
Wilton Pastel Gel Colors – to color frosting pastel colors
Stand Mixer – to mix frosting
Hand Mixer – to mix frosting