Turkey Cake Recipe

The below recipe incorporates the popular Thanksgiving symbol of the turkey. The recipe is for a yummy pumpkin cake with cream cheese frosting. Visit our page on Thanksgiving Symbols to learn more about the symbolism and meaning of turkeys for Thanksgiving.

Ingredients:

1 package of yellow cake mix
1 (3.4 oz) pkg instant butterscotch pudding mix
4 eggs
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 cup canned pumpkin
1 T. pumpkin pie spice

Frosting:

1 cup (2 sticks) butter
2 packages (8 oz each) cream cheese, softened
8 cups powdered sugar
1 T. milk
food coloring (red, yellow, and blue)
candy corn
Nutter Butter cookies
2 mini chocolate chips (for eyes)

Directions:

For the cake:

1.Mix together all ingredients on low speed for about 30 seconds, then on high for about 3 minutes.

2. Pour into 6 muffin cups, then pour the remaining batter into a bundt pan.

3. Bake at 350 degrees, cupcakes for 15-20 minutes and bundt cake for 35-40 minutes.

4. Cool the bundt cake in the pan before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.

5. When cool, cut the cake as shown in Step 1.

6. Cut the smaller section in half (as shown in step 2), and place one piece in front and one is back of the larger piece (see step 3).

7. Place a cupcake under the main “body” to give it support. Stack two cupcakes in front (as head and neck) and one in back (as tail). See steps 3 and 4.

Step 1	Step 2	Step 3	Step 4

For the icing:

1. In a large bowl, beat together butter and cream cheese with electric mixture until light and fluffy.

2. Gradually add powdered sugar and milk (adjusting as necessary for proper consistency).

3. Reserve about 1/4 cup of frosting (keeping half white and dying the other half red).

4. Color the remaining frosting brown. Add red and yellow dye to make a nice orange color, and then gradually add blue until you get a nice brown.

5. Frost and decorate your turkey. For the eyes (white) and the snood (red), just place the frosting in a ziploc bag and snip off a corner to allow you to pipe it on.

Note: If you use a standard cake box recipe, make sure to include a package of pudding to make it more dense (so it will hold up). If you use store bought frosting, just mix white and chocolate together to make a light brown color.

Back to main Thanksgiving Recipes Page.

We welcome your questions and feedback. If you have questions about this recipe, or have a recipe idea that you would like to submit, please contact us.

You may freely use this content if you cite the source and/or link back to this page: http://www.celebratingholidays.com/?page_id=4225.