This is the perfect gift for a fall-inspired cake. Whether it's a birthday celebration or a Thanksgiving dessert table. Learn to carve a pumpkin cake made with rich, delicious chocolate mud cake and frosted with my velvet American buttercream before being covered in fondant. An airbrushed spray adds more depth and characteristics to the final look of the cake.
And I didn't want the traditional just bright orange pumpkin cake so... here is my version of the pumpkin cake. I do hope you like it.
Tools & Supplies
- Cake Recipe - The cake is my chocolate sphere cake recipe but you can also a chocolate mud cake or classic chocolate cake. If you want pumpkin flavor cake, try my pumpkin spice cake recipe, pumpkin spice latte cake, or pumpkin cream cake recipe.
- Frosting - I've used vanilla buttercream frosting but my Velvet American Buttercream
- Ball cake pan - I use the 6" ball pan for this cake.
- Fondant - I used commercial fondant but you can use my homemade fondant recipe as well.
- Airbrush and colors - I used an airbrush with the airbrush colors green, yellow, orange, red, chestnut, and pearl.
- Sugar Shapers - And the tool I used is sugar shapers - They come in packs of 4 from small to big and soft to firm you can read more about them in my post here Cake Sculpting tools
Pumpkin Cake Tutorial
Sphere cake
- Oven/Pan - Preheat the oven to 325F/165C/ Gas Mark 3. Grease with butter and dust with flour into two ball pans.
- Dry ingredients - In a small bowl combine the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt.
- Wet ingredients - In the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment cream the butter and both sugars until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time followed by the vanilla extract.
- Wet to dry - Add the flour mixture along with the buttermilk in three batches. Combine well but do not overmix.
- Bake - Divide the batter between the two baking semi-circle or ball pans. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Cool - When baked transfer to a cooling rack and cool completely.
Vanilla buttercream frosting
- In the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment cream the butter for a minute or two until light and airy.
- Add the powdered sugar one cup at a time followed by the milk and vanilla extract. Whip until you have a smooth, light, and airy buttercream.
Carving the pumpkin
- Level/stack - Cut the domes off and torte the two half cakes into flour layers. Then moisten them with simple syrup and stack them in their pans with buttercream. Place the cakes in the pan into the fridge for at least 15 minutes.
Pro tip - chilling the cakes will ensure the buttercream layers hold together. - Frost - Join the two halves with more buttercream and frost the whole cake with more buttercream.
- Shaping - use a wooden dowel or wooden spoon to mark wedges on the sphere cake similar to a pumpkin. Frost with more buttercream making sure to keep the wedge groves. Chill the cake for 15 to 30 minutes.
- Fondant - Roll white fondant on a lightly dusted work surface. Drape over the cake and shape it into the shaped cake.
- Stalk - Take a ball of fondant and shape it into a cone. Make lines with the back of a knife similar to a stalk. Place it on the cake and adhere it to the cake with a dap but water and the back of the paintbrush or fondant tool.
- Airbrush - Paint the cake using an airbrush and airbrush colors as shown in the video. I started with green, then yellow, orange, and a touch of burgundy for the stalk.
Pumpkin Cake Tutorial
Print Pin Rate Share by Email Share on FB Save GrowCalories: 32kcal
Adjust Servings Here: 12 servings
Description
How to make a pumpkin cake – the perfect gift for a fall inspired cake whether it’s a birthday celebration or Thanksgiving dessert table. Made with rich, delicious chocolate mud cake and frosted with my velvet American buttercream before being covered in fondant. An airbrushed spray adds more depth and characteristic to the final look of the cake.
Video
Conversions Used
1 lb = 453 grams, 1 cup = 240 ml, 1 stick = 113g, 1 tbsp= 15 ml, 1 tsp= 5 ml,
Ingredients
Chocolate Cake
- 1½ cup All-purpose flour
- 2 tablespoon Cocoa powder
- 2 teaspoon Baking powder
- ½ teaspoon Kosher salt
- 6 oz Unsalted butter
- ½ cup Sugar (white)
- ½ cup Brown sugar
- 3 large Eggs
- ½ cup Buttermilk
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla extract
Vanilla buttercream frosting
- 1 cup Unsalted butter (room temperature )
- 4 cups Powdered sugar (confectioners/icing sugar)
- 2 - 4 tablespoon Milk or water
- 2 teaspoon Vanilla extract
Pumpkin cake
- ½ cup Simple syrup
- 600 grams Homemade Fondant (white)
Instructions
Sphere cake
- Oven/Pan - Preheat the oven to 325F/165C/ Gas Mark 3. Grease with butter and dust with flour into two ball pans.
- Dry ingredients - In a small bowl combine the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt.1½ cup All-purpose flour, 2 tablespoon Cocoa powder, 2 teaspoon Baking powder, ½ teaspoon Kosher salt
- Wet ingredients - In the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment cream the butter and both sugars until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time followed by the vanilla extract.6 oz Unsalted butter, ½ cup Sugar, ½ cup Brown sugar, 3 large Eggs
- Wet to dry - Add the flour mixture along with the buttermilk in three batches. Combine well but do not overmix.½ cup Buttermilk, 1 teaspoon Vanilla extract
- Bake - Divide the batter between the two baking semi-circle or ball pans. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Cool - When baked transfer to a cooling rack and cool completely.
Vanilla buttercream frosting
- In the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment cream the butter for a minute or two until light and airy. Add the powdered sugar one cup at a time followed by the milk and vanilla extract. Whip until you have a smooth, light, and airy buttercream.1 cup Unsalted butter, 4 cups Powdered sugar, 2 - 4 tablespoon Milk or water, 2 teaspoon Vanilla extract
Carving the pumpkin
- Level/stack - Cut the domes off and torte the two half cakes into flour layers. Then moisten them with simple syrup and stack them in their pans with buttercream. Place the cakes in the pan into the fridge for at least 15 minutes. Pro tip - chilling the cakes will ensure the buttercream layers hold together.½ cup Simple syrup
- Frost - Join the two halves with more buttercream and frost the whole cake with more buttercream.
- Shaping - use a wooden dowel or wooden spoon to mark wedges on the sphere cake similar to a pumpkin. Frost with more buttercream making sure to keep the wedge groves. Chill the cake for 15 to 30 minutes.
- Fondant - Roll white fondant on a lightly dusted work surface. Drape over the cake and shape it into the shaped cake.600 grams Homemade Fondant
- Stalk - Take a ball of fondant and shape it into a cone. Make lines with the back of a knife similar to a stalk. Place it on the cake and adhere it to the cake with a dap but water and the back of the paintbrush or fondant tool.
- Airbrush - Paint the cake using an airbrush and airbrush colors as shown in the video. I started with green, then yellow, orange, and a touch of burgundy for the stalk.
Nutrition Information
Calories: 32- kcalCarbohydrates: 7- gProtein: 1- gFat: 1- gSaturated Fat: 1- gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1- gMonounsaturated Fat: 1- gTrans Fat: 1- gCholesterol: 1- mgSodium: 13- mgPotassium: 1- mgFiber: 1- gSugar: 7- gVitamin A: 1- IUVitamin C: 1- mgCalcium: 1- mgIron: 1- mg
The nutrition information and metric conversion are calculated automatically. I cannot guarantee its accuracy. If this data is important to you please verify with your trusted nutrition calculator. Thank you
Did you make this recipe? Share it with me.Tag @veenaazmanov on instagram or #hashtag it #veenaazmanov
In the video, you will see I use the 6" ball pan so you could actually use this tutorial if you want to make a ball cake - a soccer ball, basketball, tennis ball etc. You can use the ball to make a teapot cake too! and now that Christmas is coming you can use it to make a Christmas ornament cake too!
Clore
I just made this yesterday. Not as pretty as your cake. I made only two layers and baked in 7-inch pans. The taste was so good. I also made it with the maple buttercream from the other pumpkin spice latte cake.
Veena Azmanov
Thank you, Clore. So happy to hear you enjoyed this recipe
Kai
I cannot believe how much pumpkin inspired recipes you have - I cannot wait to try this one.
Veena Azmanov
Thank you, Kai. Yes, so many pumpkin recipes. let me know how it was
Clemmie
Thank you so much for this tutorial - made a pumpkin cake and it was so easy.
Veena Azmanov
Thank you, Clemmie. So happy you had success with this recipe. Thanks for taking the time to write this feedback.