Turkey Cupcakes & Thanksgiving Cake Decorating Ideas

Turkey Cupcakes

These adorable turkey cupcakes turn cookies, candy corn, and chocolate cupcakes into festive Thanksgiving treats. They're a fun decorating activity for classroom parties, homeschool lessons, family gatherings, and holiday dessert tables because kids can assemble most of the decorations themselves.

Original decorating idea by Linette Gerlach

What You'll Need

• Chocolate cupcakes, baked and cooled
• Chocolate frosting
• 1 Nutter Butter cookie for each cupcake
• 1 Double Stuf Oreo cookie for each cupcake
• 8 candy corn pieces per cupcake
• Brown cardstock for optional cupcake wrappers
• Yellow cardstock for turkey feet
• Tape to secure the paper wrapper
• Red decorator icing
• Yellow decorator icing
• Black decorator icing
• Pastry bag or zip-top bag with the corner snipped
• Large round decorating tip (optional)

Directions

1. Bake and completely cool the chocolate cupcakes.
2. If using the decorative wrapper, cut brown cardstock into strips about 1� inches wide. Wrap one strip around each cupcake liner and secure the ends with tape. Cut turkey feet from yellow cardstock and tape or glue them to the outside of the wrapper before placing it around the cupcake.
3. Create the turkey tail by gently pressing eight candy corn pieces into the cream filling of an Oreo cookie, arranging them in a fan shape.
4. Decorate the turkey head by piping a small yellow beak onto the Nutter Butter cookie. Add a red wattle beneath the beak and pipe two small black eyes above it.
5. Frost each cupcake generously with chocolate frosting, creating a thick mound in the center.
6. Insert the Oreo tail into the back of the frosting.
7. Insert the decorated Nutter Butter into the front of the frosting to create the turkey's head.
8. Adjust the cookies until the turkey stands upright, then serve immediately or refrigerate until ready to enjoy.

Looking for more holiday desserts? Explore our Thanksgiving Recipes for Kids, Cake Recipes for Kids, and Cake Decorating Ideas.

Ruffled Turkey Cupcake

This colorful turkey cupcake uses a simple ruffle piping technique to create soft, feathery layers of frosting. It's a fun decorating project for older kids who want to practice piping skills while creating a festive Thanksgiving dessert.

What You'll Need

• Baked and cooled cupcakes
• Chocolate or vanilla buttercream frosting
• Brown, red, orange, yellow, and cream food coloring
• Piping bags
• Petal decorating tip for ruffles
• Round decorating tip for details
• Candy eyes or black decorating icing
• Candy corn, fondant, or frosting for the beak and wattle

Directions

1. Frost each cupcake with a smooth layer of buttercream.
2. Color small portions of frosting in several fall colors such as brown, orange, red, yellow, and cream.
3. Using a petal decorating tip, pipe overlapping ruffles across the cupcake to resemble layered turkey feathers. See how to do this cake decorating technique.
4. Continue alternating colors until the cupcake is covered with fluffy feather-like rows.
5. Pipe or attach two eyes near the top of the cupcake.
6. Add a small yellow beak and a red wattle using frosting or fondant.
7. Finish with candy corn accents if desired for extra Thanksgiving color.

Want to learn this decorating style in more detail? Visit our Ruffle Cake Decorating Technique or explore more Cake Decorating Ideas.

Turkey Cupcake Cake

A turkey cupcake cake combines individual cupcakes into one large Thanksgiving centerpiece that's easy to serve at family dinners, school parties, and holiday gatherings. Each cupcake becomes part of the turkey, making it simple to pull apart and enjoy without cutting a traditional cake. See more details on making cupcake cakes.

Original design by Cindy, Virginia

What You'll Need

• 24 baked and cooled cupcakes
• Buttercream frosting
• Brown, red, orange, yellow, white, and black food coloring
• Large decorating tips or offset spatula
• Sprinkles for decorating feathers
• 1� snack cakes or sponge cakes for the turkey's head and neck
• Candy or frosting for the eyes and beak

Directions

1. Arrange the cupcakes into a turkey shape using six cupcakes across the bottom two rows, then five, four, and three cupcakes for the upper rows.
2. Place a small dab of frosting underneath each cupcake to keep them from sliding while decorating.
3. Trim any rounded cupcake tops if needed to create a flatter decorating surface.
4. Spread a thin crumb coat of frosting over all of the cupcakes, treating them as one large cake.
5. Sketch the feather sections lightly with a toothpick.
6. Frost each feather in a different fall color using brown, orange, yellow, red, and gold buttercream.
7. Smooth the frosting gently and decorate with sprinkles or sanding sugar while the frosting is still soft.
8. Create the turkey's head and neck using snack cakes or sponge cake pieces joined together with frosting.
9. Frost the head, add candy or frosting eyes, pipe the beak and wattle, then place it at the top of the cupcake cake.
10. Pipe the turkey's legs beneath the body and add any final decorative details before serving.

Looking for more creative cupcake designs? Visit our Cupcake Cakes, Fun Cupcake Ideas, and Cake Recipes for Kids.