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.
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.
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!
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.
I made these and used small cinnamon churros as the stem. Looked great and tasted delicious
I love that idea! (I also love churros 🙂
love this idea! where did you get your mini bundt pan?
Hi Lydia — definitely check out Amazon! Best, John.
when do you add the yogurt; is it with the oils?
Hi Susanna, yes with the oils.
My orange Icing has fallen apart and is grainy 2 times now using this. What am I doing wrong?
Hi Justin, Are you using powdered (confectioner’s) sugar? This is a pretty standard buttercream, but you should use butter that’s totally room temperature, and you can always adjust the amount of milk to achieve the desired consistency. Hope this helps!
Where did you find this pan? I’m looking on all websites and I can’t seem to find it.
http://www.williams-sonoma.com/products/3298072/?catalogId=27&sku=3298072&cm_ven=Google_PLA&cm_cat=Shopping&cm_pla=default&cm_ite=default&kwid=productads-adid%5E52929354823-device%5Ec-plaid%5E63150629460-sku%5E3298072-adType%5EPLA&gclid=CjwKEAiAjIbBBRCitNvJ1o257WESJADpoUt0QaaYK5Garv0fjIBLhyfJoN0svZLwc19t2ecX4Z-_kBoCBG3w_wcB
There ya go!
This looks so cool! I’m thinking about doing it for thanksgiving. How many little pumpkins does this make?
Hi Rebecca — Sorry for the delay. It makes six pumpkins. Thanks, John.
Hello, what type of buttercream did you use? American, Swiss, Italian, etc.? Secondly, how did you get it so smooth at the end? In the video it is not very clear.
Hi Abbie — It is standard American Buttercream with some orange coloring. After you do the rough shaping, you chill them and then you smooth them at the very end. I cut up a yogurt container and used it to scrape. It is very flexible. Let me know if this helps. Thanks, John.
How many individual cakes does this recipe make? Thanks! So excited to make them for Thanksgiving!
Hi Amanda — This recipe makes 6 Pumpkins. Thanks, John.
How many total “pumpkins” does this recipe make?
Thanks.
Hi Jen — It makes 6 pumpkins. Thanks, Olivia
How did you get the buttercream so smooth?
Pop in in the fridge to set and then you can use a scraper (I made mine from a yogurt container I cut up) and a clean finger.
Hi, John! These are the cutest little pumpkins ever! I can’t believe how realistic they look! I don’t bake often, but this looks like something fun to try. Super creative, beautiful, and adorable. What a great idea. Thanks for sharing!
Can you make these without the yogurt?
Hey Ursula — Yes. You can use sour cream or even substitute some more egg yokes and milk to help with the creaminess. Let me know how it goes, John.
YUM 🙂
Can’t wait to try these! Has anyone used any vegan substitutes with this? Either way… excited to try!
Britnnay,
I would love to hear! My mom has asked me the same question!
John
These look delicious. Is there a way to replace the coconut oil? I am unfortunatly allergic to coconuts.
Julie,
Totally! You can substitute with vegetable oil or whatever oil you prefer! Enjoy!
John
Do you think these would would with a liquid frosting on them, like a petit four?
Patsy,
You could pour a liquid frosting on top, but it will look different! I’m sure it will taste great!
John
Thank you for the quick response, can’t wait to try and if I go that route I’ll report back.
Looks great! How far in advance can you make , frost and decorate? Can these be frozen? Thank you!
Cath,
You can make the frosting in advance and keep it in the fridge! I’m sure they can be frozen, but I don’t think they would taste as fresh!
John
Hi, I have a question fir you can I make this in a bundt cake pan? If yes, How long has to be baked. Thank you and let me tell you I made this recipe in small bundt cake pans as you show and where a success. Delicious!!! Sara.
Sara,
Try my pumpkin bundt cake recipe! John
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