Description
These Pumpkin Patch Cupcakes are a festive and fun treat perfect for autumn celebrations. Moist white cake cupcakes are tinted bright orange to resemble pumpkins and decorated with detailed icing, candy eyeballs, green leaves, and pretzel stick stems to create a charming pumpkin patch effect. They are easy to bake using a boxed mix and come together with simple decorating techniques, making them ideal for all skill levels.
Ingredients
Scale
Cake Mix
- 1 box Betty Crocker™ Super Moist™ White Cake Mix
- Water, vegetable oil, and eggs as called for on cake mix box
- Orange Neon Gel Food Coloring (from 1 package Betty Crocker™ Neon Gel Food Colors)
Decorations
- 1 Tube Betty Crocker™ white decorating icing
- 1 Can Betty Crocker™ orange decorating cake icing
- 1 Tube Betty Crocker™ green decorating icing
- 1 Package Betty Crocker™ Candy Shop candy eyeballs
- 12 Pretzel sticks
- 1 Package Betty Crocker™ baking cups
- 1 Package Betty Crocker™ Decorating Tips (8-pack)
Instructions
- Prepare the Cake Batter: In a mixing bowl, combine the white cake mix with water, vegetable oil, and eggs as directed on the cake mix box. Add orange gel food coloring until the batter reaches your desired pumpkin-orange shade, stirring well to distribute the color evenly.
- Bake the Cupcakes: Spoon the colored batter into Betty Crocker™ cupcake liners placed in a muffin tin. Bake following the temperature and time recommendations on the cake mix box until cupcakes are fully cooked. Remove from oven and allow cupcakes to cool completely.
- Assemble Pumpkin Faces: Carefully remove two cooled cupcakes from their liners. On the first cupcake, use the round decorating tip (#12) to spread a layer of orange decorating cake icing evenly over the top. Then, flip the second cupcake upside down and place it on top of the iced cupcake, creating a ‘pumpkin face’ sandwich.
- Add Candy Eyeballs: Dab a bit of white decorating icing onto the backs of two candy eyeballs and press them onto the top cupcake to create eyes for the pumpkin face.
- Create Teeth: Using the round tip (#12) and white tube icing, pipe small tooth-shaped rectangles between the two cupcakes around the mouth area to simulate pumpkin teeth.
- Pipe Leaves: Attach the leaf tip (#352) to the green tube icing. Pipe two small green leaves at the center top of the pumpkin to mimic pumpkin foliage.
- Add Pumpkin Stem: Insert a thin pretzel stick vertically into the top center of the pumpkin face cupcake, acting as the pumpkin stem and completing the design.
Notes
- Make sure cupcakes are completely cool before decorating to prevent icing from melting.
- You can adjust the intensity of the orange color by adding more or less gel food coloring according to preference.
- If you don’t have pretzel sticks, you could use small pieces of cinnamon sticks or carved celery sticks as stems.
- These cupcakes keep well stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days.
- For a gluten-free option, substitute the cake mix with a certified gluten-free mix and verify all decorations are gluten-free.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cupcake
- Calories: 280
- Sugar: 28g
- Sodium: 220mg
- Fat: 12g
- Saturated Fat: 3g
- Unsaturated Fat: 7g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 38g
- Fiber: 1g
- Protein: 3g
- Cholesterol: 30mg
