Chocolate Thanksgiving Cake
This chocolate Thanksgiving cake is one of those desserts that looks way more impressive than it actually is to make!
Four layers of rich chocolate cake are stacked “naked style” so a little cake peeks through between layers, then topped with a fan of colorful piped feathers and a sweet turkey face.
The cake has a dense, tender texture and a deep chocolate flavor.
Plus, it tastes best cold, straight from the fridge, making it a convenient Thanksgiving dessert to prepare ahead of time.
Whether you’re looking for a showstopper for the dessert table or just want something fun to make with the kids, this one will definitely get noticed!
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Easy Turkey Cake for Thanksgiving
A turkey cake makes a fun centerpiece for the Thanksgiving dessert table, but the decorating process is much simpler than it looks. The turkey is created directly on top of a simple chocolate cake recipe with buttercream chocolate frosting, so you won’t need fondant or complicated cake-decorating skills.
The colorful feathers are piped in overlapping rows, followed by a chocolate frosting body, candy eyes, a small beak, feet and a red wattle. Small imperfections only add personality to your turkey.
This cake is a great choice for a family Thanksgiving dinner, Friendsgiving celebration or holiday gathering with kids.
Ingredients Needed for a Chocolate Thanksgiving Cake
The complete measurements are included in the recipe card below. Here is a quick overview of what you will need:
- Chocolate cake mix
- All-purpose flour
- Granulated sugar
- Salt
- Sour cream
- Milk
- Melted butter
- Eggs
- Chocolate frosting
- White frosting
- Red, orange and yellow gel food coloring
- Candy eyes
- Nonstick cooking spray
- Unsweetened cocoa powder
Sour cream, milk and melted butter give the cake a rich flavor and dense, tender crumb. Gel food coloring works best for the turkey feathers because it creates bright colors without thinning the frosting.
How to Make a Chocolate Thanksgiving Cake
- Grease two round cake pans and dust them with cocoa powder.
- Combine the dry ingredients, then mix in the sour cream, milk, melted butter and eggs.
- Divide the thick batter between the pans and bake until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool completely.
- Cut each cake horizontally to make four layers, leveling the tops if necessary.
- Stack the layers with chocolate frosting between each one, then frost the top of the cake.
How to Decorate a Turkey Cake
- Divide some of the white frosting among three small bowls. Tint one portion red, one orange and one yellow using gel food coloring.
- Place each color in a piping bag fitted with a petal tip.
- Starting with the red frosting, pipe a fan-shaped row of feathers on top of the cake.
- Add the orange feathers inside the red row, overlapping them slightly.
- Finish with a smaller row of yellow feathers.
- Pipe a chocolate turkey body in the center of the feathers.
- Add wings on each side and press two candy eyes into the frosting.
- Use small amounts of orange frosting to pipe the turkey’s beak and feet. Finish the face with a red frosting wattle beside the beak.
You will only need a little frosting for these smaller details. It is fine to place these colors in resealable sandwich bags and snip off a tiny corner. Sandwich bags are not recommended for larger amounts of frosting because the seams may split while you are piping.
Don’t Forget To…
- Scroll down to print the full recipe with step-by-step instructions and exact measurements.
- Check out my Kitchen Essentials for the pans, mixing bowls, and baking tools I use to make this recipe a breeze.
- Save or share this recipe on Pinterest!
Yes! It’s actually better made ahead. This cake is dense and holds up well in the fridge, so baking and decorating it a day before Thanksgiving works great.
It serves 8–12, depending on how it’s sliced. Cutting it into triangles gives classic wedge slices; cutting it another way will get you more, smaller pieces.
Yes. Flour will help keep the cake from sticking, but it may leave a light-colored coating around the outside of the chocolate layers. Unsweetened cocoa powder blends in with the cake and gives the finished layers a cleaner appearance.
You can use another petal tip with a similar shape. The feathers may look slightly different, but the finished turkey design will still work.
More Thanksgiving Dessert Ideas
- This recipe is one of our favorite Fall Cake Ideas for Thanksgiving dinners, classroom celebrations and family gatherings.
- This festive cake is a fun addition to a collection of Chocolate Thanksgiving Desserts and makes an adorable centerpiece for the holiday table.
- If you need more kid-friendly ideas, browse these Turkey Themed Dessert Recipes for cookies, cupcakes and other festive treats.
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Piping Tip 104 Petal Tip for Blooming Flowers,Rose,Petals &Waves,2 Pcs
Chocolate Thanksgiving Cake
Ingredients
- unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 box 15.25oz chocolate cake mix (omit ingredients listed on box to make cake)
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- 1 cup sugar
- ¼ tsp salt
- 1 cup sour cream
- 1 cup milk
- ½ cup butter melted
- 3 eggs
- 32 oz Chocolate Frosting (2 tubs)
- 16 oz White Frosting
- red, yellow, orange food coloring gel
- 2 candy eyes
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 and grease 2, 8" baking pans with nonstick cooking spray and dust with unsweetened cocoa powder. Set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, add cake mix, flour and sugar and mix well.
- Add sour cream, milk, butter and eggs and beat with a mixer for 2 minutes. Batter will be thick and stiff.
- Divide batter equally and pour into prepared cake pans. Bake for 25-35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let stand to cool completely.
- When ready to frost cake, remove 1/3 cup of chocolate frosting and put it into a piping bag. Set aside.
- Slice each cake round in half to create 4 rounds total. If necessary, trim the tops of each round so they are level.
- Add a small amount of chocolate frosting onto the bottom of a serving platter and press one round onto the plate.
- Top with chocolate icing. Repeat, adding chocolate icing between each layer and adding chocolate icing on the top. Set aside.
- Mix at least 1/3 cup of white icing for each of the three colors, red, orange and yellow and tint the frosting. Place into a pastry bag fitted with a 104 tip.
- Begin with the red color and pipe a fan like half circle onto the top of the cake with red frosting.
- Repeat with the orange and yellow frosting, overlapping each color slightly.
- Snip a tip in the reserved chocolate icing and draw a turkey body and wings onto the center of the feathers.
- Add 2 candy eyes to the turkey to create a face.
- Place a small amount of red frosting and orange frosting into separate resealable sandwich bags and snip the corner tip. Carefully pipe and orange beak and orange feet onto the turkey and a red wattle next to the beak.
- Slice cake and serve immediately or loosely cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.
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