Picture this: It’s Thanksgiving, and you’ve got one job… bring a dessert. You could go for the classic pumpkin pie, but where’s the fun in that when you can shock and awe your friends and family with a turkey-themed cake that’s so good, they’ll gobble it up!
This turkey cake requires a bit of imagination and a couple supplies, but it’s so easy to decorate that a total beginner can make it. You can even let your kids help you decorate! Get ready to gobble up the fun and create your own turkey cake, let’s get started.
Turkey Cake Supplies
Cake mix or homemade cake recipe
You can use one box of chocolate cake mix to make this recipe. You could also use your favorite homemade cake recipe instead of a box. I’ve included a recipe for homemade chocolate cake you might try. You can even use a box of gluten free cake mix for this recipe if your party guests have dietary concerns.
Frosting
You’ll need to make one batch of vanilla frosting for this recipe and separate it into 4 sections to color them individually. You could also use three colors of vanilla frosting and some chocolate frosting instead of brown-dyed vanilla frosting but that’s a preference.
Other Decorations
To make your turkey head for the front of this cake you’ll need modeling chocolate to create the head and neck. You could instead just use one small package of white fondant for this part and dye most of it brown for the head and neck and then dye a small dime-sized amount orange and another dime-sized amount red.
For an even more simple version, you can use modeling chocolate for the head and neck, a piece of candy corn for the beak, and some red candy for the turkey waddle (like a fruit roll up)
Cake decorating tools
You’ll need half of a ball cake pan and a second regular round cake pan. You don’t need many cake decorating tools for this cake other than piping bags and a metal spoon.
How To Make A Turkey Cake
Step 1) Preheat the Oven:
Preheat your oven according to 350°F (175°C). Make sure your oven is fully preheated before you start baking.
Step 2) Prepare the Cake Batter:
Either make a box of chocolate cake mix according to the package instructions or follow the steps below.
In a large mixing bowl, sift together the flour, cocoa powder, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
In a separate bowl, whisk together the eggs, buttermilk, vegetable oil, and vanilla extract until well combined.
Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix until just combined.
Gradually add the hot water while continuing to mix. The batter will be thin, but that’s okay.
Step 3) Prepare the Cake Pans:
Grease both the 6-inch Wilton ball pan and the 6-inch round cake pan to prevent the cake from sticking.
Step 4) Fill the Pans:
Pour the cake batter evenly into both pans. Fill the 6-inch Wilton ball pan about 2/3 full to allow room for the cake to rise as it bakes. Fill the 6-inch round cake pan to about the same level.
Step 5) Bake the Cakes:
Bake the cakes for about 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Keep in mind that the spherical cake may take slightly longer to bake than the round cake. Check both cakes for doneness independently.
Step 6) Cool the Cakes:
Once the cakes are done, remove them from the oven.
Let them cool in their pans for about 10-15 minutes.
Afterward, carefully remove the cakes from the pans and place them on cooling racks to cool completely. Allow them to cool to room temperature, which may take about 1-2 hours.
Step 7) Assembly:
Now, you have two cake layers (one in the shape of a half-sphere and the other in a standard round shape) that are baked, cooled, and ready for you to assemble and decorate.
Put your flat cake down first on a cake board and put a layer of frosting on it. Add the half-sphere on top and then crumb coat the cake. A crumb coat is a thin layer of frosting over the whole cake.
Trim one edge of the cake so it can stand up on its side and then frost the final side of the flat cake.
You should now have a fully frosted cake standing on its edge. I recommend chilling or freezing the cake at this point so it’s easier to decorate. You can put it in an airtight container to keep the moisture in before freezing.
Step 8) Make Frosting:
Make your buttercream frosting by beating together butter, powdered sugar, vanilla and heavy cream (or milk) in a large bowl. Use a stand mixer or hand mixer, start at a low speed and work your way higher.
Use one cup of room temperature unsalted butter, four cups of powdered sugar, two teaspoons of vanilla and 2-4 tablespoons of cream.
Step 9) Color Frosting:
Evenly divide your white frosting into four bowls and add food coloring to each so you have red, orange, yellow, and brown. You could also use chocolate frosting instead of brown vanilla frosting.
Scoop the frosting into 4 individual piping bags with no piping tip and cut off the very tip of the piping bag so it’s open about ½ an inch. Alternatively, you can use a large round tip inside your piping bag.
Step 10) Make The Turkey Head:
Use a small container of modeling chocolate and roll some of it into a cylinder. Take ⅓ of your cylinder off and roll it into a ball for the turkey head then reattach it to the cylinder.
You can either buy a small package of red and a small package of orange fondant, or just buy white and dye some of it red and orange. Make two round balls of red, flatten them, then attach them together so they’re long and flat. Attach them to where the head meets the neck by lightly pressing them on.
Make a small cone of orange fondant for the turkey beak, place it above the red and leave room for two candy eyes on top. You could alternatively use a piece of candy corn as the beak instead.
Step 11) Decorate The Front Of The Cake:
The domed side of the cake will be the front. The flat side of the cake will be the back. Start by adding large dots of brown frosting to the front of the turkey, close to the flat edge. Once all your dots are placed, use a small metal spoon and drag each dot of frosting toward the front of the cake.
Do the same for each row of frosting. Add a second row of brown and then drag it forward. Then do two rows of red frosting, two rows of orange frosting and two rows of yellow frosting. See how much of your cake is left unfrosted and decide what colors you’d like to finish with. I used smaller dots and one row of each near the front of the turkey.
Step 12) Decorate The Back Of The Cake
Follow the same directions on the back of the cake with one row of large brown dots, then red, orange and yellow until the whole back is frosted.
Step 13) Place Turkey Face On Cake
Gently press the modeling chocolate turkey head onto the front of your cake.
Final Thoughts on Turkey Themed Cake
When you share your poultry-inspired creation, watch as jaws drop and taste buds rejoice! Whether your cake turns out like a bakery shop masterpiece or it looks like a real wacky bird, it’s all about the fun and flavor at the end of the day. I hope you have a lot of fun making it, and your friends and family get a kick out of your big reveal when they see your work!
Turkey Cake
Equipment
- 6-inch ball pan
- 6-inch standard round cake pan
- Mixing bowls
- Electric mixer or hand whisk
- Measuring Spoons
- Measuring cups
- Cooling racks
- piping bags
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
- 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 large eggs
- 3/4 cup buttermilk
- 1/4 cup vegetable oil
- 2 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 3/4 cup hot water
- Modeling chocolate
- candy eyes
- White fondant & red and orange food coloring OR purchase red and orange fondant
Frosting
- 1 cup Unsalted butter
- 4 cups powdered sugar
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
- 2-4 teaspoons cream
- food coloring brown, yellow, orange, red
Instructions
Step 1) Preheat the Oven:
- Preheat your oven according to 350°F (175°C). Make sure your oven is fully preheated before you start baking.
Step 2) Prepare the Cake Batter:
- Either make a box of chocolate cake mix according to the package instructions or follow the steps below.
- In a large mixing bowl, sift together the flour, cocoa powder, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the eggs, buttermilk, vegetable oil, and vanilla extract until well combined.
- Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix until just combined.
- Gradually add the hot water while continuing to mix. The batter will be thin, but that’s okay.
Step 3) Prepare the Cake Pans:
- Grease and flour both the 6-inch Wilton ball pan and the 6-inch round cake pan to prevent the cake from sticking.
Step 4) Fill the Pans:
- Pour the cake batter evenly into both pans. Fill the 6-inch Wilton ball pan about 2/3 full to allow room for the cake to rise as it bakes. Fill the 6-inch round cake pan to about the same level.
Step 5) Bake the Cakes:
- Bake the cakes for about 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Keep in mind that the spherical cake may take slightly longer to bake than the round cake. Check both cakes for doneness independently.
Step 6) Cool the Cakes:
- Once the cakes are done, remove them from the oven.
- Let them cool in their pans for about 10-15 minutes.
- Afterward, carefully remove the cakes from the pans and place them on cooling racks to cool completely. Allow them to cool to room temperature, which may take about 1-2 hours.
Step 7) Assembly:
- Now, you have two cake layers (one in the shape of a half-sphere and the other in a standard round shape) that are baked, cooled, and ready for you to assemble and decorate.
- Put your flat cake down first on a cake board and put a layer of frosting on it. Add the half-sphere on top and then crumb coat the cake. A crumb coat is a thin layer of frosting over the whole cake.
- Trim one edge of the cake so it can stand up on its side and then frost the final side of the flat cake.
- You should now have a fully frosted cake standing on its edge. I recommend chilling or freezing the cake at this point so it’s easier to decorate. You can put it in an airtight container to keep the moisture in before freezing.
Step 8) Make Frosting:
- Make your buttercream frosting by beating together butter, powdered sugar, vanilla and heavy cream (or milk) in a large bowl. Use a stand mixer or hand mixer, start at a low speed and work your way higher.
- Use one cup of room temperature unsalted butter, four cups of powdered sugar, two teaspoons of vanilla and 2-4 tablespoons of cream.
Step 9) Color Frosting:
- Evenly divide your white frosting into four bowls and add food coloring to each so you have red, orange, yellow, and brown. You could also use chocolate frosting instead of brown vanilla frosting.
- Scoop the frosting into 4 individual piping bags with no piping tip and cut off the very tip of the piping bag so it’s open about ½ an inch. Alternatively, you can use a large round tip inside your piping bag.
Step 10) Make The Turkey Head:
- Use a small container of modeling chocolate and roll some of it into a cylinder. Take ⅓ of your cylinder off and roll it into a ball for the turkey head then reattach it to the cylinder.
- You can either buy a small package of red and a small package of orange fondant, or just buy white and dye some of it red and orange. Make two round balls of red, flatten them, then attach them together so they’re long and flat. Attach them to where the head meets the neck by lightly pressing them on.
- Make a small cone of orange fondant for the turkey beak, place it above the red and leave room for two candy eyes on top. You could alternatively use a piece of candy corn as the beak instead.
Step 11) Decorate The Front Of The Cake:
- The domed side of the cake will be the front. The flat side of the cake will be the back. Start by adding large dots of brown frosting to the front of the turkey, close to the flat edge. Once all your dots are placed, use a small metal spoon and drag each dot of frosting toward the front of the cake.
- Do the same for each row of frosting. Add a second row of brown and then drag it forward. Then do two rows of red frosting, two rows of orange frosting and two rows of yellow frosting. See how much of your cake is left unfrosted and decide what colors you’d like to finish with. I used smaller dots and one row of each near the front of the turkey.
Step 12) Decorate The Back Of The Cake
- Follow the same directions on the back of the cake with one row of large brown dots, then red, orange and yellow until the whole back is frosted.
Step 13) Place Turkey Face On Cake
- Gently press the modeling chocolate turkey head onto the front of your cake.
This looks amazing! Will definitely try!
This was a ton of fun for my kids and I to make.
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