Icing pumpkins are a very cute cake topper that anyone can try at home! These don't only look effective, but they are so easy to make & they taste great too. Ready to roll icing is available in most supermarkets and can be bought in a variety of colours.
I added my pumpkins to a Halloween cake I made for a party, but they can be added to cupcakes and other sweet treats too! (or savoury I guess, go nuts) They are still a very seasonal symbol throughout November.
What you need:
- Orange icing (or red and yellow)
- black icing
- a knife
- a toothpick or skewer
Simple as that!
If you can't get hold of orange icing, do what I done and get yourself some red and yellow. Cut the required amount and roll the colours together. I found keeping the colours even worked just fine.
I added the icing in bits to discover what shades of orange I could achieve, but decided equal parts red and yellow looked just fine.
Voila! The orange is ready! Next, roll small balls of icing into the desired size. The size you need may vary depending on what you are making them for. If your making cupcakes, a small and equal size may be best, if your making a large cake like I did, a variety of sizes may be more fun so you can create different heights to the cake. It may also be a good idea to create different shades of orange if you are doing this.
I've chosen a variety of sizes as I'm making a larger cake.
Get a toothpick or skewer, make an indent into the top of the ball.
Then, with the skewer, create a line down the side of the ball (so it looks like a peach!) Repeat this process until you have created an evenly spaced pattern. I find 5 lines work well as this creates 6 segments and looks even.
Repeat this process on all of your icing balls, you should now see them turning into mini pumpkins!
Push gently on the top of the pumpkin to create a slight indent, this helps them sit better and creates a more realistic shape, as pumpkins aren't perfectly circular. Repeat this process on all of your pumpkins until you are done.
I have created extra lines in the pumpkins by repeating the skewer process, but not pushing as hard as the first 5 lines I made. Pumpkins naturally have a lot of ridges and detail so this part doesn't need to be perfect, but the extra detail really helps it come together. I've also re-pierced holes in the top of the pumpkins, as now we are going to create stems! Move the skewer around a little in the top so the stems can be placed easily inside.
You can create a brown colour from red, yellow and black icing. I'm using left over yellow and red and have added a little bit of black. Mix the colours together and don't worry about it being even, I think this creates a nice effect.
Simply take a small amount of the brown, roll it out and add some to each pumpkin. I think larger pumpkins look more interesting with longer stems!
Once all the pumpkins are ready, put them in the fridge before adding to cakes, this helps them keep their shape.
I created some leaves with a decorative icing cutter and dusted over them messily with pink and brown dusting powder. I then placed everything down where I felt it looked best and added a few other elements to the cake, like sugar cobwebs, candy eyes, white pretzels and a black witches hat (also made out of fondant.)
I wanted my cake to look messy with similar colours and that was straight forward enough to achieve.
How would you decorate a cake with your pumpkins?
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