This pumpkin cream cheese frosting instantly adds cozy Fall flavor to all your favorite desserts! It comes together in 5 minutes and is thick and creamy with a subtle tang. It's delicious on a layer cake, piped on cupcakes, and more.
With the Fall season in full swing, I knew I had to develop a pumpkin cream cheese frosting recipe. It's creamy and slightly tangy with lots of pumpkin flavor from real pumpkin puree.
It's perfectly spiced with pumpkin pie spice and is the perfect topping for pumpkin cake, pumpkin cupcakes, and all your favorite Fall desserts.
I personally love it on carrot cake or sandwiched between 2 pumpkin cookies for the perfect Fall treat!
If you love Fall frosting recipes as much as I do, try this brown butter cream cheese frosting, coffee cream cheese frosting, and maple buttercream too!
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Why You'll Love This Recipe
- Tangy cream cheese frosting- This frosting has a delicious balance of sweetness and tang.
- Fall flavor- Like my cinnamon cream cheese frosting, this recipe instantly adds a classic, warm Fall flavor to all your favorite desserts with the pumpkin and cinnamon.
- Easy to make- You only need a large bowl and a mixer to make this frosting! It comes together under 5 minutes.
Ingredient Notes
- Butter- You can opt for salted or unsalted butter. I chose salted butter because it brings out the flavors of the spices a little more. Make sure it is room temperature before getting started.
- Cream cheese- Use softened, full-fat cream cheese. This type of cream cheese comes in a block and has the richest, creamiest flavor and consistency. Low-fat cream cheese or cream cheese spread in a tub will make your frosting too thin and runny.
- Powdered sugar- This sugar is super fine, so it sweetens the frosting, mixes in seamlessly, and soaks up moisture to make the frosting thick and luscious. You don't have to sift it!
- Pumpkin puree- Make sure to use canned pumpkin puree, not pumpkin pie filling. Pumpkin pie filling already has sweeteners and spices, and we don't want that! The only ingredient listed on the can should be pure pumpkin.
- Vanilla extract- This enhances and deepens the other flavors. Pure vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste work best.
- Pumpkin pie spice- This is a blend of warm Fall spices like cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and cloves. You can make your own homemade pumpkin pie spice with individual spices, but you can usually find it pre-mixed at most grocery stores.
Substitutions and Variations
- Pumpkin substitute- You can use canned sweet potato or butternut squash puree to make an equally delicious frosting!
- Other spices- If you don't have pumpkin spice, you can keep it simple with just ground cinnamon or add other warm spices like ginger, nutmeg, cloves, and allspice.
- Add espresso powder- Add a little bit of instant espresso powder to the frosting to make it taste like a pumpkin spice latte!
Helpful Equipment and Tools
An electric hand mixer or stand mixer work equally as well to make this frosting.
If you use a stand mixer, I recommend using the paddle attachment for a smoother frosting for spreading on cakes, or the whisk attachment for a fluffy, airy frosting for piping on cupcakes.
Step by Step Instructions
Step 1: Add the softened butter and cream cheese to the bowl of a stand mixer or hand mixer. Cream on medium speed until smooth. Scrape the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula to mix in any clumps.
Step 2: Gradually mix in the powdered sugar on low speed 1 cup at a time until combined. Start by pulsing the mixer until the sugar is mostly incorporated so it doesn't fly out of the bowl.
Step 3: Scrape down the sides of the bowl and mix in the pumpkin puree, vanilla, and pumpkin spice on low until combined. Then mix on medium-high speed until the frosting is light and fluffy.
Step 4: Immediately use the pumpkin spice cream cheese frosting to decorate your favorite pumpkin desserts! You can spread it on cakes and brownies with an offset spatula or add it to a piping bag fitted with a large star tip for cupcakes.
Expert Tips
- Use room temperature butter and cream cheese. If your cream cheese and butter are cold, they won't mix together and your frosting will be lumpy. Take them both out of the fridge 1-2 hours before you start.
- If the frosting is too thick, add heavy cream or milk 1 teaspoon at a time until it loosens up.
- If the frosting is too thin, add more powdered sugar 1 tablespoon at a time until it no longer looks wet. This frosting is a little thinner than classic cream cheese frosting, but it'll thicken up and hold its shape better if you refrigerate it for about 10 minutes.
- Let your desserts cool. Your baked goods need to be cooled completely before frosting or it will melt off.
How to Use
- Use this pumpkin cream cheese frosting to ice this pumpkin bread with cream cheese frosting or apple cider donut bread.
- Spread the frosting over a warm pan of traditional cinnamon rolls or even pumpkin pancakes.
- Pipe on top of brown sugar cupcakes, apple spice cupcakes, or pumpkin spice cupcakes.
- Dollop around a pumpkin pecan cheesecake for even more pumpkin flavor.
- Slather all over a vanilla cake, classic pumpkin bars, or this dirty chai cake to make a pumpkin spice latte cake!
Storage and Freezing
You can store pumpkin cream cheese frosting in the refrigerator in an airtight container for up to 5 days.
Before using, let the frosting sit on the counter to reach temperature and then re-whip it using an electric or stand mixer to return it to a creamy, fluffy consistency.
Freezing
Freeze the frosting in an airtight, freezer-safe container for up to 3 months.
Before you use it, let the frosting thaw in the refrigerator overnight. Then let it come to room temperature. You might need to whip it again with your mixer to return it to a creamy consistency.
Frequently Asked Questions
This recipe yieldsย enough to frost a 6 or 8-inch cake with 2 layers or 12-20 cupcakes. It's plenty for an 8X8, 9X9, or 9X13-inch sheet cake.
I don't recommend homemade pumpkin puree because it's more runny than canned pumpkin puree.
The pumpkin spice frosting is naturally orange, but you can make it a bolder hue by adding a couple drops of orange gel food coloring to the finished frosting.
More Pumpkin Recipes to Try
๐ Recipe
Pumpkin Cream Cheese Frosting
Equipment
- 1 Electric hand mixer or stand mixer
Need Metric or US Customary Measurements?
Use the buttons below to toggle between grams and cups!
Ingredients
- 113 grams unsalted butter
- 226 grams cream cheese
- 480 grams powdered sugar
- 60 grams pumpkin puree
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
Instructions
- Add the softened cream cheese and salted butter to the bowl of a stand mixer or hand mixer. Cream together on medium-high speed until smooth.113 grams unsalted butter, 226 grams cream cheese
- Gradually mix in the powdered sugar on low speed 1 cup at a time until combined. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.480 grams powdered sugar
- Mix in the pumpkin puree, vanilla, and pumpkin spice on low until combined. Then mix on medium-high speed until the frosting is light and fluffy.60 grams pumpkin puree, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
- Add the frosting to a piping bag and use to decorate your favorite desserts!
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