In my family, my grandmother loves to make a pumpkin pie for Thanksgiving. Here’s a different twist with the traditional pumpkin dessert for the big Turkey Day. First, I made some chocolate turkeys using some molds I bought at a local chocolate store. I also made some pumpkin molds, along with chocolate letters. The letters are milk chocolate, the pumpkins are white and milk chocolate, and the turkeys are a combination of mostly white chocolate with some milk chocolate mixed in for a lighter brown color.
Next, I made the batter. I prefer Duncan Hines yellow cake mix for this particular recipe. Distribute the batter evenly into three 9 inch cake pans.
After baking, set the cakes (still in the pans) on top of cooling racks and let them sit between 10-15 minutes, then turn out to cool completely, about 1 hour.
Naked cake!
Here, the cake is iced. I tried to match the orange icing with the pumpkins, and starred on the rest of the cream cheese icing around the edges, to hold the chocolate decorations.
Here’s a close up at the side angle, with the pumpkins and turkeys pressed into the sides of the cake. Using the star technique is great for holding chocolates in place.
Gobble Gobble! Instead of the traditional Happy Thanksgiving, I decided to use a different phrase. That’s just a funny word…you usually hear a chuckle when those words are shouted in a happy tone for a holiday. It’s contagious. Personally, I’m not a fan of pumpkin…but this cake is absolutely delicious!
Recipe:
1 box Duncan Hines yellow cake mix
1 large can pumpkin pie filling
2 teaspoons cinnamon
3 eggs
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 teaspoon baking soda
Mix all ingredients with electric mixer until well blended, about 3-5 minutes. Evenly distribute into cake pans (here I used three 9 inch cake pans) and bake at 350 degrees for about 25-30 minutes, until sides pull away from pans and toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.
