Turkey cupcakes are chocolate cupcakes with a swirl of chocolate buttercream, a chocolate truffle head with candy eyes, a yellow candy melt beak, a red wattle, and a fan of candy corn tail feathers. One batch makes 12. The cupcakes bake for 18 to 22 minutes at 350°F, and decorating goes quickly once they are cool.
Each candy corn sits on a short stick of uncooked spaghetti pushed into the frosting, which is what keeps the tail standing. The same 12 cupcakes also make a pull apart turkey cupcake cake for the middle of the table. I first made these for a classroom Thanksgiving party, and they have been on our November table ever since, next to my Thanksgiving Oreo turkeys.
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- Yield: 12 cupcakes from one 12 cup muffin tin
- Oven: 350°F (175°C), 18 to 22 minutes
- Time: about 30 minutes prep, 20 minutes baking, 40 minutes cooling before you decorate
- Feathers: about 7 candy corn pieces per cupcake, 84 in total, each on a 2 inch spaghetti stick
- Heads: 12 chocolate truffles or malt balls and 24 candy eyes
- Frosting: chocolate buttercream piped with a star tip
A Thin Chocolate Batter Made With Boiling Water
The cupcakes start with flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda and salt whisked together in one large bowl. Milk, vegetable oil, one egg and vanilla go in next, and you beat until the batter is smooth.
Have the milk and egg at room temperature. They blend into the dry ingredients evenly, without cold streaks or little lumps of cocoa.
Then comes ½ cup of boiling water, stirred in carefully. The batter turns very thin, almost pourable like chocolate milk, and that is correct. Hot water dissolves the cocoa so it tastes deeper, and the extra liquid bakes into a soft, moist crumb. Do not add flour to thicken it.
Fill each liner about two-thirds full and bake for 18 to 22 minutes, until a toothpick in the center comes out clean. Cool completely. Even slightly warm cupcakes melt the buttercream and the candy slides off.
Oil vs Butter for Cupcakes Baked the Day Before
Oil is the reason these work so well ahead of time. I have baked them both ways. Butter adds flavor, but it firms up as it cools, so butter cupcakes taste drier and crumblier a day later, especially after time in the fridge. Oil stays liquid at room temperature and keeps the crumb soft and moist for a day or two. For a holiday when the oven is booked, that matters more than a little extra butter flavor.
Chocolate Buttercream Stiff Enough to Hold Feathers
Beat 1 cup of softened butter for a few minutes until it is pale and fluffy, then add the powdered sugar and cocoa a little at a time. Finish with vanilla, a pinch of salt and the heavy cream or milk. You want a frosting that holds a sharp ridge from the star tip. Too soft and the truffle head sinks and the feathers lean. If that happens, chill the bowl for 10 minutes and beat it briefly again. My chocolate frosting works here too if you already have a favorite.
Spoon it into a piping bag with a star tip and pipe one generous swirl on each cooled cupcake. Leave a slightly flat spot at the top where the head will go.
Candy Corn Feathers on Spaghetti Sticks
Break thin, uncooked spaghetti into 2 inch pieces, one per candy corn. Gently push one end of each stick into the wide base of a candy corn. If your kitchen is warm, chill the finished feathers for 5 to 10 minutes so the candy firms around the stick.
The spaghetti is a support, not something to eat. Tell guests to pull the candy corn off the stick. For small children, skip the sticks and press the narrow tips of the candy corn straight into the frosting, or use thin pretzel sticks, which are safe to eat.
Keeping the Feathers From Falling Over
Push each stick all the way through the frosting and into the cake itself, so the cupcake holds the feather and the buttercream only hides the join. Set 5 to 7 feathers behind the head in a fan, tilted slightly back. Feathers that topple usually mean the frosting was too soft or the cupcake was still warm. Ten minutes in the fridge after decorating sets everything in place.
Truffle Head, Candy Eyes, Beak and Wattle
Press a chocolate truffle or malt ball into the center of each swirl. Attach two candy eyes with a dab of melted chocolate or thick frosting. Cut a yellow candy melt into a small triangle for the beak and stick it just below the eyes, then add a small piece of red licorice or red candy melt beside it as the wattle.
In a warm room, use melted chocolate as the glue rather than frosting. It sets firm in a few minutes and the faces survive a car ride to school. Leftover candy eyes from Halloween cupcake decorating work just as well here.
How to Make Turkey Pull Apart Cupcakes
A pull apart turkey uses the same 12 cupcakes, arranged so they read as one big bird. There are two ways to do it.
A Flock of Turkeys on One Board
Decorate every cupcake as above, then push them close together on a large board or platter in a half circle or full fan, tails toward the back. Tuck a few extra candy corn between the cupcakes to fill the gaps. Each guest still gets a whole turkey.
One Big Turkey Cupcake Cake
Pack the unfrosted cupcakes tightly on a board: an arc of cupcakes across the back for the tail and the rest clustered in front for the body. Spread the buttercream across the tops and over the gaps with an offset spatula so the surface looks like one cake. Stand the candy corn feathers in rows around the back arc for a big fanned tail. Then build a single face on the front cupcake with a truffle, eyes, beak and wattle. The cupcakes still pull apart for serving, and a dab of frosting on the board under each liner stops them sliding.
If you like this format, the same idea works at Christmas with my Christmas tree pull apart cupcakes.
Baking a Day Before Thanksgiving
Bake the cupcakes and make the buttercream a day ahead, store them separately, and decorate on the morning you serve them. Candy corn feathers on their sticks can be made a day or two ahead and kept in a cool, dry place.
Fully decorated cupcakes hold for 24 hours at cool room temperature or 48 hours in the fridge. Cover them loosely with a tall cake dome or tented foil so nothing presses on the feathers, and let fridge-cold cupcakes sit out for about 30 minutes so the frosting softens before serving.
Turkey Cupcake Questions
How many candy corn pieces do I need?
About 7 per cupcake, so 84 for 12 cupcakes. Buy a few extra for breakage and for filling gaps on a pull apart board.
Can I use a different chocolate cupcake recipe?
Yes, any chocolate cupcake that bakes with a flat or gently domed top works. The chocolate peanut butter cupcakes and chocolate hazelnut truffle cupcakes both make good bases.
What else can I make with candy turkeys?
For a Thanksgiving dessert table, these sit well next to chocolate covered strawberry turkeys, turkey donuts and a Thanksgiving cornucopia. More seasonal flavors are in my fall cupcake ideas.
My niece now insists on placing the eyes herself and names every turkey before it goes on the tray. If you make these, tell me in the comments how you shaped your feathers.
Thanksgiving Turkey Cupcakes
These turkey cupcakes are moist chocolate cupcakes topped with chocolate buttercream, a chocolate truffle head, candy eyes, a candy melt beak and wattle, and a fan of candy corn feathers. One batch makes 12 Thanksgiving cupcakes; they bake in 18 to 22 minutes at 350°F and decorate in about half an hour once cool. Each candy corn sits on a short stick of uncooked spaghetti pushed into the frosting, so the tail stays upright. Serve them as a cute turkey cupcake tray for a class party, or pack all 12 together and frost across the tops to make turkey pull apart cupcakes for the dessert table. Bake a day ahead, decorate on the day, and keep them up to 48 hours in the fridge.
Ingredients
- FOR THE CHOCOLATE CUPCAKES
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup milk (room temperature)
- 1/3 cup vegetable oil
- 1 large egg (room temperature)
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup boiling water
- FOR THE CHOCOLATE BUTTERCREAM
- 1 cup unsalted butter, softened
- 2 1/2 cups powdered sugar
- 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1/4 cup heavy cream (or milk)
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- Pinch of salt
- FOR THE TURKEY DECORATIONS
- 12 chocolate truffles or malt balls (turkey heads)
- 24 candy eyes
- Yellow candy melts (beaks)
- Red candy melts or red licorice (wattles)
- 84 candy corn pieces (approx. 7 per cupcake)
- Thin spaghetti, broken into 2-inch sticks (1 per candy corn)
- Optional: melted chocolate or thick frosting to attach eyes and beaks
Instructions
- PREHEAT AND PREP: Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C) and line a 12-cup muffin tin with paper liners.
- MIX THE DRY INGREDIENTS: In a large bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt until well combined.
- ADD WET INGREDIENTS: Add milk, oil, egg, and vanilla to the bowl. Beat until the batter is smooth and uniform.
- INCORPORATE WATER: Carefully stir in the boiling water. The batter will be thin, but this creates a moist texture once baked.
- BAKE THE CUPCAKES: Divide the batter evenly among the liners, filling each about two-thirds full. Bake for 18–22 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let cool completely before decorating.
- MAKE THE BUTTERCREAM: In a large bowl, beat softened butter until creamy and fluffy. Gradually add powdered sugar and cocoa powder, beating well between additions. Add vanilla, salt, and heavy cream and beat until smooth and spreadable.
- FROST THE CUPCAKES: Transfer buttercream to a piping bag fitted with a star tip. Pipe a swirl of frosting onto each cooled cupcake.
- MAKE THE FEATHERS: Break uncooked spaghetti into 2-inch lengths. Gently insert one end of each spaghetti piece into the wide base of a candy corn. Set aside to firm up; refrigerate for 5–10 minutes if the room is warm.
- BUILD THE TURKEY FACES: Press a chocolate truffle or malt ball into the center of each cupcake as the turkey head. Use melted chocolate or frosting to attach two candy eyes to the truffle. Cut a yellow candy melt into a small triangle and attach it below the eyes as the beak. Add a small piece of red licorice or a red candy melt next to the beak as the wattle.
- ADD THE FEATHERS: Insert 5 to 7 candy corn feathers into the frosting behind the truffle head in a fan shape. Space evenly for best effect.
Notes
Use room temperature milk and egg; the batter is meant to be thin after the boiling water goes in. Cool the cupcakes completely before frosting. If the buttercream is too soft to hold the feathers, chill it for 10 minutes. Push each spaghetti stick through the frosting into the cake so the feathers stay upright. The uncooked spaghetti is only a support: remove it before eating, or for young children press the candy corn tips straight into the frosting or use thin pretzel sticks. Candy feathers can be made a day or two ahead and stored in a cool, dry place. Decorated cupcakes keep 24 hours at cool room temperature or 48 hours in the fridge.
