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Pumpkin Cake Recipe – Mini-Pumpkin Patch

Pumpkin CakeTrick or treat, is it a pumpkin or is it a cake? It’s not a trick! It’s the best of both, it’s a pumpkin cake! Once before we baked a cake inside a pumpkin, but this entire pumpkin is actually a cake. Even better. :) Make this pumpkin cake this season to create a new favorite fall treat that is both colorful and fun. Plus this pumpkin cake recipe includes little pumpkin cake pop babies which are crazy adorable added to the mix… A little pumpkin for the kids, and a big pumpkin cake for the mommas!

Don’t be afraid, this pumpkin cake is easy to make and the neon colors are a great way to add a bright pop to the season.

Pumpkin Cake Recipe

Pumpkin Cake Recipe

 

Pumpkin Cake

This is my perfectly spiced, rich, and moist pumpkin cake recipe!

Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 44 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 14 minutes
Servings 8
Calories 270 kcal

Ingredients

  • 2 layers cinnamon maple cake recipe below
  • 1 recipe maple buttercream frosting recipe below
  • 2.5 pounds White Fondant
  • Gel Food Coloring I used pink for our pumpkin cake and orange, yellow & pink for the mini fondant pumpkins

Cinnamon Maple Pumpkin Cake (makes two 8” layers*)

  • 3 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 ½ cups granulated sugar
  • ½ cup packed brown sugar
  • 2 ½ tsp baking powder
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 cup whole milk
  • 1 cup vegetable oil
  • 4 eggs
  • 2 tsp maple extract
  • You will also need two 8” round cake pans

Instructions

  1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and prepare your pumpkin cake pans with parchment paper and a little butter.

  2. In a bowl, sift together dry ingredients. In a separate bowl, combine all your wet ingredients. On low speed (with a stand or handheld mixer) slowly add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients. Once combined, scrape down your mixing bowl to make sure everything was incorporated well.
  3. Divide your batter evenly between your two cake pans. Bake at 350 degrees for 35 – 40 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean. Let cakes cool completely before assembling.

Maple Butter Cream Pumpkin Cake Filling

  1. 1 ½ cups butter, softened
  2. 6 cups powdered sugar
  3. 2 tsp maple extract
  4. In the bowl of a stand mixer (or handheld) with the paddle attachment, cream butter on medium speed until it’s a light yellow color. Slowly begin to add your powdered sugar. Once combined, mix in your maple extract. Your buttercream should be a smooth spreadable consistency.

How To Color Fondant

  1. Take half of your fondant and knead in your color.
  2. With a rolling pin, roll out your fondant to about ⅛” circle.
  3. Remove cake from the fridge and frost with another even coat of buttercream. It doesn’t have to be totally perfect and smooth you can even out your pumpkin shape once the fondant is on.
  4. Cover your cake with your rolled out fondant and smooth around the shape of your pumpkin, cutting any excess from around your cake. You’ll tuck the fondant under the bottom of your cake and cut the rest away when you’re done. You’ll want an even bottom for your fondant to sit on.

How To Make Fondant Pumpkin Cake Pops

  1. Divide and color your remaining fondant for your pumpkin patch, stem and vines. You can make your fondant pumpkins any size, color, and shape you want for a super cute little pumpkin patch.
  2. Roll out small ropes of fondant and wrap around a straw to create pumpkin vines and a larger rope for a pumpkin stem. Make sure to let all of your fondant pieces dry completely before attaching with buttercream to your cake.

Pumpkin cake recipe easy

homemade Pumpkin cake

Note* This maple buttercream pumpkin cake filling is also an amazingly yum frosting for an oatmeal cookie sandwich, but that’s for another time. ;)

How to make a pumpkin cake

Carving the Pumpkin Cake

Don’t be scared of a little pumpkin cake carving. And, if you aren’t sure you want to dive into cake carving, you can bake your cake in two Bundt cake pans for the top and bottom of your pumpkin cake, much like we made our ever famous Piñata Cake. In other words… Easy!

1. Before carving, level and fill the cake with buttercream frosting, and place in the fridge to let your filling firm up.

2. Remove your cake from the fridge and get carving. I first carved out the indents around the cake for the pumpkin sections (you’ll want about 5 to 6 sections) and then I rounded off the edges on the top and bottom of each section. Having a reference photo was super helpful and this was my first time carving a pumpkin shaped cake too.

3. Once you’re happy with your pumpkin shape, crumb coat your cake with a thin layer of buttercream and place back in the fridge.

Pumpkin Cake Pops

How To Make Fondant Pumpkin Cake Pops

One of the cutest parts of this “pumpkin cake patch” are the miniature fondant pumpkins! Follow the recipe to create your own mini-pumpkin cakes. These are adorable on their own, or all bunched together as a part of a sweet pumpkin cake patch!

You can make several of these fondant pumpkin cakes and stack for a unique cake. Or make a faux cake base like I did here to set your neon pumpkin patch scene. All you need is a round cake dummy, chalkboard paper and powdered sugar for that real fondant pumpkin patch effect.

(Project recipe, styling, and photography @A Subtle Revelry by Brandi Van Leer).

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