This pumpkin buttercream is the perfect fall buttercream recipe. Fall cakes and cupcakes never tasted so good! This frosting is so creamy and delicious, you’ll definitely want to use it on everything.
Are you a pumpkin fan? It’s “everything pumpkin season” right now and I wanted to join the party by sharing my pumpkin buttercream recipe with you. This is THE buttercream if you’re a huge fan of pumpkin.
Now, when adding this to a cake or cupcakes, personally I’d add it to a cinnamon or vanilla cake instead of pumpkin cake. That will give you a little flavor variation instead of going overboard with pumpkin.
Here’s an idea…you can add 1 teaspoon of cinnamon to my Favorite Vanilla Bean Cake recipe, then top with the pumpkin buttercream. Super yummy!
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Although if you’re just a super huge pumpkin fan, then go ahead and add it to a pumpkin cake or cupcakes…It’s your choice!
Ingredient Notes:
Let’s talk a little about just some of the ingredients in this buttercream.
Unsalted & Salted Butter: I generally like to use two types of butter when making buttercream. I think they both go well together. It’s not mandatory however and you could just use unsalted.
Canned Pumpkin: Using canned pumpkin makes this recipe quick and easy. Of course, you can always used fresh pumpkin if you want.
Pumpkin Spice: This is what really brings out the pumpkin flavor and gives you that fall taste.
*All the ingredients with amounts are listed in the recipe card below.
Mixing Method Notes:
The mixing method is straight forward as you’ll just cream the butter and then add in the pumpkin and make sure that’s mixed well.
Then you’ll add in the other ingredients, check the consistency, then adjust if needed.
After mixing it up, you’ll want to pop it in the fridge for about twenty minutes to firm it up a bit. This buttercream is on the softer side, so if you want to pipe on cupcakes with it, you’ll need to let it firm up just a bit.
And if you are covering an entire cake instead of cupcakes, you’ll probably want to double the recipe.
*The full list of instructions are down in the recipe card below.
Tips & FAQs:
It really does taste the best if you use both unsalted and salted butter. If you don’t have salted butter, just use all unsalted and add in a pinch of salt.
I wouldn’t recommend using all salted butter though as the taste might be too salty.
Oh yes, you can certainly use fresh pumpkin.
Instead of using ½ teaspoon of pumpkin spice in this recipe, you can use these ingredients instead: ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon, ⅛ teaspoon ground ginger, scant ⅛ teaspoon of ground cloves and scant ⅛ teaspoon of ground nutmeg.
If you want to fill and cover a layer cake, make sure to double the recipe.
Make sure to keep this buttercream covered and in the refrigerator for up to about 5 days.
Ok let’s get to the recipe!
Note About Recipe Measurements: I write recipes using volume (cups) measurements because here in the U.S., this is what people are more familiar with and I don’t want anyone to feel intimidated when baking. For metric/weight measurements, click the ‘metric’ button under the ingredients in the recipe card below. The weights are converted by a program, not me, and it’s just a best guess. I can’t guarantee that weighing the ingredients will produce the exact same results, since I test recipes using volume measurements.
Recipe
Pumpkin Buttercream
Ingredients
- ½ cup unsalted butter, room temperature (1 stick)
- ½ cup salted butter, room temperature (1 stick)
- ¾ cup canned pumpkin
- ½ teaspoon pumpkin spice (see notes if you don't have this)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 4 cups powdered sugar (can add an extra cup if needed to thicken it up)
Instructions
- Add all the butter to a mixing bowl and beat until smooth.
- Add in the pumpkin, the spices and vanilla and beat until smooth.
- Add in four cups of powdered sugar and beat until well mixed. If your buttercream is a little too soft, add in another cup of powdered sugar and mix well.
Notes
Nutrition
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Kim Kerr
Awesome! I’ll be trying it out this weekend. Love Pumpkin anything.
Thank-you 🙂