Pro Tips for AMAZING Thanksgiving Cupcakes
Measure your flour correctly! Adding too much flour to the recipe is the most common mistake. The best, and easiest way to measure flour is by using a scale. If you don’t have one then fluff your flour with a spoon, sprinkle it into your measuring cup, and use a knife to level it off. You can substitute whole milk yogurt for the sour cream if desired, I do it all the time and can’t really tell the difference. If you prefer your frosting to be less sweet then try whipping up a batch of Swiss or Italian buttercream. Silky smooth and delicious! If you don’t have a round tip just snip the end off a piping bag and it will work pretty well. Try some crazy colors for the feathers. You don’t have to stick with the traditional fall palate.
These are some turkeys you don’t have to feel bad about eating!
Frequently asked questions
How long will these cupcakes keep for?
These cupcakes will keep for 2 days at room temp if properly covered and a week in the fridge. You can Freeze the unfrosted cupcakes, wrap them up and store in the freezer for two months.
How do you pipe the beaks?
Ue a small petal tip, like a 103, and squeeze a little bit onto the head while you pull way and down. You can always use a little knife to trim the edge if that beak is looking a little long!
What kind of cocoa powder should you use?
I love using a high-quality Dutch processed cocoa powder. Dutch processed cocoa powder is darker, less acidic and fudgier in baked goods. You’ll usually get less rise out of it though. My go to company is Valrhona but there are lots of great brands out there, including Callebaut, Ghirardelli and lots of organic and fair trade options too!
How to make Turkey Cupcakes
For the cupcakes; preheat the oven to 350 degrees and add papers to a cupcake tin. Start off by sifting the dry ingredients with the sugar into a bowl of a stand mixer and whisk together until combined. 2.Add the wet ingredients into a large bowl and whisk them together. I add the hot coffee last after giving a preliminary mix but you can use room temperature coffee if it’s easier.
Now add the wet ingredients into the stand mixer with the dry ingredients and whisk until the batter is smooth.
Distribute batter evenly into the cupcake papers and bake for about 15-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Allow time for these cupcakes to cool before decorating.
Separate the buttercream into multiple bowls and add food coloring to create yellow, orange, and red. Use cocoa to get the brown base color. Transfer each color to piping bags fitted with wilton 103 piping tips. The brown buttercream will be fitted with a large round tip. For the assembly; start with a red ruffle around the perimeter of the cupcake. Leave a gap open for the body! Pipe an orange ruffle, then a yellow ruffle.
Once the feathers are done, pipe one continuous body and head for your turkey. Use less pressure for the neck and more for the body so it’s a bit fatter on bottom.
Add a dot of white buttercream and a mini chocolate chip flipped upside down for the eye.
Finally, pipe a beak on the side of the turkey head with yellow buttercream and a thin strip of red for the gobble. I just snip the very tip of a piping bag off for the gobble and it gives you the right amount but you can also use a #2 piping tip. If you’ve tried this turkey cupcake recipe then don’t forget to leave a rating and let me know how you got on in the comments below, I love hearing from you!
