Charming pumpkin spice Sunflower Cupcakes that are perfect for fall! The cake is moist and delicious and with a classic buttercream frosting and chocolate sprinkles.
Did you know that during growth, sunflowers tilt to face the sun during the day and then stop when they start to bloom?! Isn’t that so intriguing? Sunflowers are quintessential to the month of September.
I love them because they are straightforward to maintain and arrange and look beautiful in a vase alone. I wanted to make some adorable little silicone pots, so we made pumpkin spice Sunflower Cupcakes in honor of fall and to welcome September!
The cupcakes are moist and incredibly tasty, with the perfect amount of fall spice and flavors. And you can’t go wrong with a classic buttercream frosting, either!
We put them in these adorable flower baking pots. You can find them here.
You can bake the cupcakes in the molds, but they have to rise perfectly above the pot for the flower to work. If the cupcake doesn’t rise over the top, the flower will not work at all.
To make it easier, bake them in cupcakes papers and then set them in the molds. Try it either way and do what works best for you.
Supplies for Sunflower Cupcakes
- Leaf Frosting Tip
- Piping Bag
- Chocolate Jimmies Sprinkles
- Silicone Baking Pots
- Cupcake Wrappers
- Yellow and Green Food Dye
How do you make a sunflower cupcake?
Step by Step Guide with Photos
- Once the cupcakes are baked and cooled, you can start to frost them!
- Make a batch of the buttercream frosting. Scoop 1/4 of it out to dye green for the leaves. The rest can be dyed yellow for the flower. You will use more yellow than green frosting for these cupcakes.
- Add a large circle of frosting in the center of the cupcake. Just remember the center of a sunflower is going to be larger than the actual flower petals.
We frosted them before playing the cupcake in the silicone baking pot.
- Dip the top of the cupcake into a bowl of brown sprinkles to create the center. You can sprinkle more in the center later, but this gives you a nice outline.
- Once the frosting is made (recipe below), fit a piping bag with the leaf tip and scoop the frosting inside.
- The leaf tip should be held diagonal when you make a petal.
- Slowly push down and then slightly pull up in an upward motion. You want the flower petals to stick up, not down.
- Do three layers of frosting petals until the cupcake is covered.
- Then switch out the tip to the green frosting and pipe some leaves on the side of the cupcake.
- Sprinkle more chocolate sprinkles in the center of the cupcake.
More Cupcake Recipes You’ll love!
Lemon Cupcakes with Meringue Frosting
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Pumpkin Spice Sunflower Cupcakes
Ingredients
For the cupcakes
- 1 cup butter, room temperature
- 2 large eggs, room temperature
- 1 cup light brown sugar
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1/4 cup vegetable oil
- 15 ounce can of pumpkin puree
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3 cups all purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 3 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1/2 teaspoon all spice
- 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
Buttercream sunflower frosting
- 1 cup butter, room temperature
- 5 cups powdered sugar
- 1/8 cup milk, more if you think it's too thick
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 10 drops yellow food coloring
- 1 1/2 drops red food coloring
- 2 drops green food coloring
Instructions
For the cupcakes
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees
- Beat the butter, brown sugar and granulated sugar on high until light and fluffy
- Add in each egg one at a time and beat on high until incorporated
- Add in oil and continue to beat
- Add in pumpkin puree and vanilla and beat until incorporated, might curdle but it will blend back together when the flour is added
- In a bowl, combine all of the dry ingredients
- Slowly add dry ingredients with the mixer on low until combined. Do not over beat
- Line a cupcake baking sheet with cupcake paper and scoop batter into cupcake molds
- Bake for 15 minutes or until center comes out almost clean
- I like to undercook a little for moistness
- Let them cool before you frost
Buttercream sunflower frosting
- Beat the butter on high until whipped
- Add in the sugar one cup at a time and beat until incorporated
- Alternate with a little milk and continue to blend
- Add vanilla and beat until frosting is fluffy and whipped
- Scoop a little frosting out and set aside to make green for the leaves. A few drops of green dye will work
- Add in the yellow food coloring to the bowl
- Continuing adding food coloring until desired color
These are just too pretty! Have to try them!
Oh my goodness, these are so cute! I can’t wait to show them to my daughter, I think they will be perfect for our mommy/daughter baking night!
Oh! Thank you Kara!!
Oh, my word these are absolutely darling! The perfect bridge from summer to fall!
Thank you so much!!
WOW!! These are absolutely gorgeous!! A must try!!
These are absolutely beautiful! I’m going to make them for my son’s class party this Friday.