Perfect Pumpkin Spice Buttercream Frosting

Today we're making pumpkin spice buttercream frosting that I served at my bakery for over a decade. Welcome back to Mimi's Organic Eats. This pumpkin spice buttercream frosting is perfect for cakes, cupcakes, cookie sandwiches, brownies, and more. Let me show you guys how to make it. So I'm gonna use my stand mixer today with a paddle attachment. If you guys only have a hand mixer and you wanna use that, that works okay too. I just feel like the stand mixer is a lot better, especially for a larger batch frosting like we're making today. So first we're gonna add in our softened butter. You guys wanna make sure that this is softened at room temperature. That's the best for frosting. As we're getting into the colder months, I'll even leave my butter out the night before I plan to make frosting. So now we're gonna sift our powdered sugar right into the mixing bowl and I just like to weigh this as I'm doing it. So next we're gonna add in our pumpkin pie spice and I like to make my own homemade pumpkin pie spice. So I'll link my recipe in the description for you guys. If you guys don't have this, then you can use a mix of cinnamon, ginger, cloves, and nutmeg. Then we're gonna add in one teaspoon of vanilla extract. And then last, we're gonna add in our pumpkin puree. You guys wanna make sure you're using plain pumpkin puree. Don't use a pumpkin pie filling because that has added spices and sugars, which we don't need because we just put spices and a lot of sugar in here. So we're only gonna add a little bit of pumpkin puree. We don't need a lot. The majority of our flavor is gonna come from the pumpkin spices that we just added in. And the biggest mistake when people make pumpkin buttercream frosting, in my opinion, is adding too much pumpkin. That can cause your frosting to become grainy, kind of like a weird texture, and it'll also be super soft and it won't hold its shape. And that's why I use this recipe, which was perfected at my bakery that I ran for over a decade. We use this pumpkin spice buttercream frosting for cupcakes, layer cakes, and even for cookie sandwiches. So I know it holds its shape and people absolutely love it. So now we're gonna mix this on low until everything is combined. Then we're gonna speed the mixer up to high and whip for two to three minutes or until it's light and fluffy. You guys wanna make sure that you scrape down the sides of the bowl partway through mixing to ensure everything is mixed properly and you have a smooth and creamy buttercream. If this is a little bit too stiff for what you're looking for, you guys can always add a little bit of milk, water, or even heavy whipping cream to get a little bit looser consistency. But I only recommend doing that after you whipped it for a good amount of time, just to make sure you really need it. Like I say, you can always add in more liquid, but you can never take it out. So once our buttercream frosting is light and fluffy, then it's ready. You can go ahead and give it a little paste. Perfect. Oh my gosh, so good. So now our pumpkin spice buttercream frosting is ready to use. This is the perfect amount of frosting for about a dozen cupcakes or a six-inch layer cake. It also works great for an eight- or nine-inch snack cake or a nine-by-13-inch cheesecake. This also works great for a batch of sandwich cookies or on top of a batch of brownies. But if you guys are making an eight- or nine-inch layer cake, you're probably gonna wanna double the recipe. But today I'm gonna use this on top of my pumpkin spice snack cake. I usually top this cake with a caramel buttercream and caramel swirls, but today I'm gonna use my pumpkin spice buttercream frosting, and we're gonna top it with some adorable little pumpkins. So we're gonna pull out just about a quarter cup of frosting and we're gonna use this for the pumpkin. And I'm gonna use the India Trees Nature's Colors Orange Dye. This is a super vibrant plant-based dye. Look at how orange this is, you guys. And we're just gonna put this in a piping bag with a Teco Tip No. 30. Then we're gonna add just about two tablespoons of frosting into another bowl, and just a little bit of Dutch cocoa powder. This is gonna be for the stems. Then we're gonna transfer this to a piping bag with a Teco Tip No. 6. Then we're gonna add the remaining pumpkin spice buttercream right on top of the cake and spread it out evenly. Then, using the orange, we're gonna pipe little pumpkins. Wherever you want a pumpkin, you're gonna pipe a small line however big you want the pumpkin to be. Then you're gonna pipe a curved line on the right side, similar to how you would write the letter D. Then you're gonna pipe a curved line on the left side, similar to how you'd write the letter C. And then we're just gonna make the stem. And then continue to do this on the cake anywhere that you want pumpkins. And now we have the cutest pumpkin cake ever. I hope you guys love this pumpkin spice buttercream frosting that I served in my bakery for over a decade. If you guys want more easy baking tutorials just like this, be sure to hit that Subscribe button and join me next time in the kitchen.