Mini-pumpkin bundt cakes filled with Fall spices and cream cheese frosting! I thought these would be really cute as part of a centerpiece at dinner mixed in with real pumpkins and Autumn leaves. Dessert could be right in front of you without you having any idea! Not if I’m on snacking duty.
Some Decorating Hints
- I used real pumpkin stems for these cakes to give the most realistic appearance. I just bought a “Cinderella” pumpkin because they have a long stem then cut a few segments off with some garden clippers.
- You could also make the stems from some fondant or thick buttercream, but it wouldn’t look quite as real and takes more time.
- The KEY to decorating these cakes is to chill them after you apply and smooth the buttercream. Once chilled you can do some sculpting and then chill again if the cake softens up too much.
- The best shaping tool I can recommend is a yogurt container you cut into half circles and rounded points. These pieces will flex and give you better control when shaping and smoothing the pumpkins.
I love the way these cakes look “naked”! If you want a cute and FAST version on these then sandwich the bundts together with the cream cheese frosting, and pour a glaze on top. You can finish them off by adding the pumpkin stems or leave as is.
Alternate Glaze Recipe:
Sift powdered sugar and spiced into a bowl. Drizzle in milk and mix until desired consistency is reached.
- 3 cups powdered sugar
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp ginger
- 1/4 tsp allspice
- 1 pinch cardamom
- 4-8 tablespoons milk
- 2-4 drops orange food coloring (optional)
After you cover your cakes in buttercream, I recommend chilling them in the fridge for about 20 minutes so they will be easier to sculpt. If you’re making a bunch of them you can have a little assembly line going with cakes coming into and out of the fridge.
Steps to Make These Mini Pumpkins
- Cut bottoms off cakes (less if you want tall pumpkins, more if you want rounder ones).
- Pipe or smear cream cheese frosting onto the bottom of one mini bundt cake and sandwich together.
- Attach bundt.
- Add a piece of cake to fill the hole.
- Cover in orange buttercream.
- Sculpt into a pumpkin shape. (I cut a yogurt container up to make my tools. The best ones were a rounded off “V” to scrape the indents and a straight edge to sooth the sides)
- Scrape ridges into the buttercream.
- Chill and smooth with your finger or scraper.
- Top with a stem. I used a real pumpkin stem but you can make one from fondant or even very thick buttercream.
If you’ve tried these little cuties then don’t forget to rate the recipe and let me know how you got on in the comments below, I love hearing from you!
Pumpkin Mini Cakes
What could be cuter than some trompe l'oeil mini pumpkin cakes? The cakes are moist and full of Fall spices, which are nicely complimented by the cream cheese frosting in the middle.
Ingredients
For the Cake
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 2 tsp cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp ginger
- 1/4 tsp allspice
- 1 pinch ground cloves
- 1 pinch nutmeg
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 1/4 cup brown sugar lightly packed
- 1/2 cup melted coconut oil
- 1/4 cup vegetable oil
- 1/3 cup plain yogurt
- 1 can pumpkin puree 15 oz
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 3 large eggs
For the Cream Cheese Frosting
- 8 oz cream cheese softened
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
For the Buttercream
- 1 lb confectioners' sugar
- 1 cup salted butter room temp
- 1/4 cup milk add in slowly until you achieve desired consistency
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 10 drops orange food coloring Amount of food coloring will depend on brand used and desired color.
Instructions
For the Cake
Preheat oven to 350F. Butter and flour your mini bundt pans.
Cream the oils and sugar together, then add in the yogurt and mix until combined.
Mix in eggs one at a time, making sure one egg is incorporated into the mixture before adding the next.
In a separate bowl sift the remaining dry ingredients together.
Mix dry ingredients into the sugar/egg mixture in three batches alternating with the pumpkin puree. Mix until just combined.
Spoon or pipe your batter into the pans, filling 2/3 the way up.
Bake at 350 for about 20 minutes or until wooden skewer inserted into center comes out clean.
Allow to cool in pan for about 10 minutes before inverting onto a wire rack.
For the Cream Cheese Frosting
Beat the cream cheese in a bowl until it is smooth. Add in vanilla and powdered sugar and mix until ingredients are well-incorporated and desired consistency is reached.
For the Buttercream
Beat butter until light and fluffy, add vanilla and then slowly add sugar. Add milk a few tablespoons at a time until desired consistency is reached. You will want a stiffer buttercream so you might be using less milk. Finally add in the food coloring.
Assembly
Cut bottoms off cakes (less if you want tall pumpkins, more if you want rounder ones).
Pipe or smear cream cheese frosting onto the bottom of one mini bundt cake and sandwich together.
Cover in orange buttercream and sculpt into a pumpkin shape. (I cut a yogurt container up to make my tools. The best ones were a rounded off "V" to scrape the indents and a straight edge to sooth the sides)
Top with a stem. I used a real pumpkin stem but you can make one from fondant or even very thick buttercream.
Recipe Video
Recipe Notes
- If you fill the mini bundt forms about half way up there will be enough batter to make about 10 or so pumpkins. I ended up cutting a lot off the bottom from each cake to get a rounder pumpkin. The excess makes a great snack or can be used to make pumpkin cake pops!
- I used real pumpkin stems for these cakes to give the most realistic appearance. I just bought a "Cinderella" pumpkin because they have a long stem then cut a few segments off with some garden clippers.
- You could also make the stems from some fondant or thick buttercream, but it wouldn't look quite as real and takes more time.
- The KEY to decorating these cakes is to chill them after you apply and smooth the buttercream. Once chilled you can do some sculpting and then chill again if the cake softens up too much.
IF YOU LIKED THIS RECIPE TRY THESE OUT
Brown Butter Pumpkin Sheet Cake
What can I use for stems? Would marzipan be too soft?
Thanks, Sarah
Sarah,
Check out my instructions for making ! I used butter, sugar and food coloring to mold a stem shape! Enjoy!
John
Hello everyone,
Thank you for this great idea and sharing your recipe. Can I make those a day in advance or do you need to make them the day off?
Thanks so much,
Karolin
Karolin,
You can make them a day in advance!
John
How many individual cakes does this recipe make? Thanks! So excited to make them for Thanksgiving!
Pushpkant,
This recipe makes about 5-6 pumpkins! Hope you enjoy!
John
Would these set well enough if you used a cream cheese frosting on the outside, instead of American buttercream?
Kim,
I love cream cheese frosting but it’s too soft for the outside of the cake! Use it only on the inside!
John
How would I make pumpkin pops with the extra cake?
Hi Gina,
Pumpkin pops or these mini pumpkin cakes?
Best,
John
I’m going to try a gluten free flour substitute. Would you recommend adjusting any of the proportions or adding in something like xantham gum as the denser GF flour tends to not hold together as well.
Hi Corey,
I think it should be fine to just substitute it with a GF flour. I have never made a GF recipe and added anything like that.
Let me know how it turns out!
Best,
John
Would this receipe be enough to just make one big pumpkin?
Hi Autumn,
I have a recipe to make one big pumpkin! It’s my Pumpkin Bundt Cake!!
Best,
John
Can I make these a day before and it would still be fresh? If so how would I store them and if I only wanted to make 1-2 mini pumpkins how can I cut down the ingredients so I don’t waste it all?
Hi Kaitlyn,
You can make these pumpkins a day before. Make sure to store them in the refrigerator in an airtight container or wrapped up real well in plastic wrap if you haven’t decorated them yet!!
This recipe also only makes 6 pumpkins so if you just cut it in half you can have 2 and one for snacking on! 😉
Best,
John
Hi John hope your having a splendid day , I was wondering if I wanted to make cupcakes with this batter,about how many cupcakes would it make?? Also i love all your recipes and your style of cooking and baking it so chic and classical! Keep up the good job, Much love Evelyn
Hi Evelyn,
I believe it would make you about 12 cupcakes!!
Best,
John
Hey John, i absolutely love this idea and i can’t wait to try it.. Im gonna do this for Thanksgiving.. Looks like a wonderful recipe and i am so excited..
Thank you so much,
Melanie
Hi Melanie,
Thank you! I’m happy you love the recipe, they’re a great addition to your thanksgiving festivities!! I hope you enjoy them!
Best,
John
These are amazing and so beautiful! I also am extremely appreciative of all the step-by-step pictures you took during the process. Very helpful, because printing the recipe doesn’t allow for the video. These pictures are the next best thing. You also were thoughtful in adding the nutritional information. This entire recipe is absolutely perfect in your information! Thank you so much for all of the detail!!!
In regards to the cakes themselves, I made them last night (didn’t do the whole shebang, just the “cute and fast” version) and they were FANTASTIC!!! I’m actually looking forward to making them again and doing the works!
Hi Allison,
Thank you so much for your appreciation!! I’m happy it made the process easier for you and even happier that you enjoyed the mini pumpkins!
Best,
John
Hi John!
I am DEFINITELY making these for Thanksgiving! Can you tell me where I can find that “spinning table thing” that you used to decorate the pumpkins??
Thank you!!!
Hi Kristen,
It’s just a regular old turn table! You can find them online or in a kitchen supply store.
Best,
John