During these fall months, you can never have too much pumpkin.  Whether you are enjoying it in your latte or using cute minis as part of your decor, you can’t keep pumpkins from popping up everywhere.  Tessa Huff of Style Sweet CA here, and I am sharing these easy DIY Ruffle Pumpkin Cupcake Toppers.  Made from fondant, or your sugar paste of choice, these ruffled pumpkins are both chic and whimsy.

DIY PUMPKIN CUPCAKE TOPPER

• By Tessa Huff

Materials:

• fondant or gumpaste
• wooden skewers or lollipop sticks
• orange and green gel food color
• corn starch for dusting
• water of gum glue
• sharp pairing knife
• ball tool
• rolling pin
• gumpaste carving tool
• frill tool or thin paintbrush handle
• foam pad
• small piece of thin cardboard of cardstock
• small paintbrush

Step by Step Instructions:

makes 1

1. Dye a medium ball of fondant (about the size of your palm, or small fist) orange and about the size of your thumb green.  Keep all fondant that you are not working with wrapped in plastic.

2. Make a pumpkin template with your think cardboard or cardstock.
3. Dust your work surface lightly with cornstarch and roll out your orange fondant to about 3/8″ thick.
4. Using the template, cut out the pumpkin with a sharp pairing or craft knife.
5. Dip the end of your skewer or lollipop stick into the gum glue or water and carefully insert in into the base of your pumpkin.  Wiggle the stick up the length of the pumpkin, being careful not to puncture the front or back of your pumpkin.

6. Roll out a small piece of the green fondant about 1/4- 1/8″ thick.  Cut out your stem.
7. Using a small amount of water, attach the green fondant on top of the pumpkin where the stem should be.  Using the gumpaste carving tool, mark the stem to give texture.
8. Roll out a small piece of the orange fondant into a long strip.  The fondant should be quite thin.  Trim the strip to be about 3/4″ wide.

9. Move the strip to the foam bad.  Using the ball tool (half on the fondant and half on the pad), apply pressure and run the ball down the length of the fondant to frill.  If the fondant is sticky or tears, trying dusting with a bit of cornstarch.
10. Fold the length of the ruffles strip in half.  Cut into smaller piece, about the height of your pumpkin.
11. Apply a small amount of water to the center of the pumpkin.  Glue the folded edge of your ruffle vertical onto the center of the pumpkin.  Trim if necessary.

12. Continue to adhere more ruffled strips going from the center and out- then around the edges, following the shape of the pumpkin.

13. Take a small piece of the green fondant and roll into a thin rope.
14. Wrap the rope around a small frill tool or the handle of a thin paintbrush.
15.  Slide the coiled fondant off the tool and adhere one end to where the ruffles and stem meet.  Let the rest of the “vine” curl on top of the ruffles.
16. Let dry overnight before placing on cupcakes.

You may find these pumpkins in addition to other cake toppers and sugar flowers at Style Sweet CA SHOP.