Fall cupcakes are individual desserts that embrace autumn colors and flavors. Some cupcakes are considered autumn cupcakes because they are made of batter or frosted with icing containing fall flavors such as pumpkin or apple spice. Standard flavors such as chocolate and vanilla can become fall cupcakes when decorations featuring colorful leaves or a Halloween or Thanksgiving theme are added. Many gourmet bakeries carry fall cupcakes that are attractive and tasty enough to be served at fancy parties or weddings.
Certain flavors of cupcakes, such as pumpkin, cranberry and apple, show up more frequently in stores and bake shops in the fall months. Cream cheese icing is often used as a frosting for pumpkin cupcakes. People who want to make fall cupcakes at home may achieve better flavor and consistency by making the cupcakes from scratch instead of from a mix, in part because fresh pumpkin puree or dried cranberries can be used in cupcake batter. Apple butter, apple sauce and baking apples can all be used as a main ingredient when a person is creating a recipe for apple cupcakes.
A person who wants to host a Halloween or Thanksgiving party can take any plain cupcake and turn it into a fall cupcake by adding appropriate toppings. Simple fall cupcakes can be made by putting items such as orange sprinkles or black and orange candies on top of the desserts. Dying the frosting is another simple way that a person can easily make a cupcake more festive. Vanilla frosting can easily be turned orange by mixing several drops of food coloring into the frosting.
Creative bakers who want to impress their Halloween party guests can aim to make a more advanced set of fall cupcakes. Cupcakes can be made to look like witches by dying the frosting green and using pointy ice cream cones as hats, candy corn as noses and chocolate chips as eyes. Licorice and gumdrops can be molded into vampire bats and placed on top of cupcakes as edible decorations.
Some fall cupcakes may be more elegant than playful. Gourmet cupcake shops offer almost any autumn flavor a person could imagine, ranging from caramel apple to maple to sweet potato. Gourmet cupcakes are typically frosted with thick layers of icing and other edible extras. Some brides and grooms who get married in the fall may choose to have fall-themed cupcakes served in place of a traditional wedding cake at their reception.