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A spice loaf topped with orange colored frosting
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Homemade Pumpkin Frosting

Easy homemade pumpkin frosting whips up in minutes! Perfect for decorating cupcakes, a cake, and even store bought sugar cookies! With just a few basic ingredients including real pumpkin puree, it's a no fail autumn buttercream recipe that will be sure to wow your tastebuds! It will be your will new go-to fall icing recipe!
Prep Time10 minutes
Cook Time0 minutes
Total Time10 minutes
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Keyword: buttercream, frosting, icing, pumpkin, pumpkin spice
Calories: 2141kcal
Cost: $3

Equipment

  • Stand mixer or hand mixer

Ingredients

  • 4 TBSP butter salted
  • ¼ cup pumpkin puree
  • teaspoon salt
  • ¼ teaspoon cinnamon
  • ½ teaspoon vanilla
  • 3.5 cups powdered sugar This is 1 pound.
  • 1.5 tablespoon milk or cream add just a ½ tablespoon at a time

Instructions

How to make homemade pumpkin buttercream icing:

  • About one hour before making, pull out your butter so it can soften. The butter should be soft and malleable, but not super soft. If you've accidentally softened too much (we all get distracted!) you can place it back in the fridge for a bit to allow it to stiffen back up a bit.
  • In a mixing bowl, sift your powdered sugar at least once to remove any clumps and to ensure it is light and airy.
  • Cream your butter for several minutes (about 4-6) on a medium high speed until it is light and airy. It should lighten in color and add more in volume.
  • Add in the pumpkin puree, the salt, cinnamon and vanilla and continue mixing on medium-high speed for 1-2 minutes to make sure it is mixed in throughly.
  • With the mixer on a slow speed, sprinkle in ½ the powdered sugar. Once it has mixed in, increase the mixer speed back to medium high speed and beat for 2-3 minutes.
  • Turning the mixer back down to a slow speed, sprinkle in the remaining ½ of the powdered sugar. Once it has mixed in, increase the mixer speed back to medium high speed and beat for 2-3 minutes.
  • Again turning the mixer back down to a slow speed, slowly stir in ½ tablespoon of the milk or cream. Beat the icing again to make sure the milk is combined. If it is too thick or stiff, add in another ½ tablespoon of milk or cream. Do this until you get the consistency you are aiming for. Remember- you can always add more liquid to soften the icing, but you can't take the liquid away!
    KitchenAid stand mixer mixing pumpkin and powdered sugar
  • Use the frosting to ice your favorite cupcakes, quick breads, or cookies! If piping or icing a double 9 inch layer cake, double the recipe to ensure you have enough icing. You can always refrigerate any extra!
    icing on a knife next to iced sugar cookies
  • Enjoy! Leave a comment and let me know what you think!

Notes

Doubling the recipe is easy! Start out with double the amount of butter. When mixing in the wet ingredients (pumpkin puree, vanilla, etc) double them in the mixer. Finish by doubling the amount of the powdered sugar. This means you don't have to mix 2 separate batches but instead can do it all at one time.
*** Don't forget to pull out your butter to soften it!
****Remember the key to light and airy is sifting the powdered sugar! 

Nutrition

Serving: 2cups | Calories: 2141kcal | Carbohydrates: 425g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 54g | Saturated Fat: 34g | Cholesterol: 151mg | Sodium: 711mg | Potassium: 126mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 413g | Vitamin A: 11263IU | Vitamin C: 3mg | Calcium: 44mg | Iron: 1mg