How to make Fondant Pumpkin Cupcake Toppers

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Fondant Pumpkin Cupcake Toppers are an easy edible way to give your cupcakes some festive flair this Fall.

This post contains affiliate links, which won’t cost you any more to purchase, but does help support this site.

The holidays are right around the corner! Halloween is only a couple weeks away and Thanksgiving is right behind it.

These Fondant Pumpkins are the perfect way to add a little festive flair to all your baked goods. It’s a great way to make your Thanksgiving or Halloween desserts a little extra special.

Did you get a chance to try making the Autumn Gumpaste Leaves that I shared last week? If you did you’re going to love making these Fondant Pumpkins. They are even easier to make and when you make both it will really put your desserts over the top.

 

Tips for working with Fondant

Making decorations with fondant is a great way to add some edible pazzazz to  your desserts.

I’ve been working with fondant for years now so I have learned a few techniques that make it easy.

1. Buy pre-tinted fondant. There will be times that you may want to customize your color and buying pre-tinted fondant won’t work. However, when making decorations like these Fondant Pumpkin Cupcake Toppers pre-tinted fondant will save you time and messiness.
2. Use shortening to prevent sticking. I like to use a small amount of shortening on my hands instead of powdered sugar when kneading fondant. It will help prevent the fondant from sticking to your hands. Powdered sugar can also be used but if you use too much your fondant gets a little dried out and cracks may appear.
3. Use a cut piece of nylon to make a sugar dusting bag. I bought an inexpensive pair of nylon socks to make a little bag filled with confectioner sugar. This works well for dusting your work surface. It helps control the amount of sugar you use. You don’t need a lot. It’s best to add a little at a time as needed.

Items you’ll need to make these Fondant Pumpkin Cupcake Toppers 

The highlighted items below are Amazon links to the products I used

1. Orange Fondant
2. Brown Fondant
3. Brown Fondant Color Dust. (Optional)
4. Something with a straight edge for making grooves on pumpkin. Such as a knife or a ruler.
5. Something to make a small hole in the top of your pumpkin for the stem. Such as a skewer or possibly the round end of a lobster picker.
6. Clean artist paint brush. (One that is only used for food type projects)

How to make Fondant Pumpkin Cupcake Toppers

Line a cookie sheet with wax paper and set aside.

Break off about a baseball sized piece of  orange fondant. Rub your hands with a small amount of shortening to prevent sticking and knead fondant to soften.

You want to knead if for about 2-3 minutes.

Break off a piece of orange fondant an roll it in the palms of your hands to create a 1 inch round ball.

Next, using a skewer create a small hole on the top of your pumpkin for the stem. I used one of my fondant tools but a skewer will work.

Using a straight edge such as a ruler or knife, press against pumpkin starting at the top and ending at the base. It’s best to just gently push the straight edge against the pumpkin instead of dragging the edge down. Dragging it will create jagged edges.

Continue until you have lines imbedded all the way around your pumpkin.

To add your stem break off a small piece of kneaded brown fondant and roll it between your fingers to create a stem. 

Insert the stem in the small hole that you made on the pumpkin top.

To give your pumpkin more depth brush a small amount of brown fondant dust onto it with a clean artists paintbrush. This step is not necessary but it will really make the pumpkins looks a bit more realistic.

Place your fondant pumpkin on your lined cookie sheet and continue making as many pumpkins as needed.

If you’re using your Fondant Pumpkins on a cake feel free to make and assortment of sizes. You’re the artist here. Make your own masterpiece!

They can also be added to pies and other baked goods. Try making some Autumn Gumpaste Leaves to embellish them even more.

Here are my Amazon picks for this recipe. These items may also be found at Michaels and Walmart.

What’s the perfect cupcake to place my Fondant Pumpkin Cupcake Topper on? 

Pumpkin Spice Cupcakes with Maple Buttercream are the perfect place for your little edible pumpkins to strut their stuff!