Use this cake decorating tutorial to learn how to make turkey topper for Thanksgiving cakes and cupcakes with fondant and modeling chocolate. Quick & easy!
I used this Turkey Cake as inspiration for today's tutorial. I used both, marshmallow fondant and modeling chocolate to make this turkey. They both have a wonderful play dough texture that is very easy to handle. You can use only fondant if you like but modeling chocolate is sturdier and dries faster. By the way, I am obsessed with these adorable seasonal little pumpkin candies. I think they are perfect for embellishing cakes this time of the year.
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Table of contents
How to make easy fondant turkey topper?
- Make the turkey body- Using a small and big ball of modeling chocolate, attached with a toothpick.
- Make turkey feathers- Roll out yellow, orange, and red fondant. Use a scalloped cutter to cut out a piece of each.
- Attach feathers to the turkey backside- By brushing corn syrup or water onto the feathers and backside.
- Make the feet- Using yellow fondant and a small star cutter.
- Attach feet- By brushing some water at the base of the body.
- Make wings- Marble red, orange and yellow fondant. Use a leaf cutter to cut 2 wings.
- Attach to sides- With water.
- Make eyes- Draw eyeballs on round sprinkles. Attach with water.
- Make the beak and little red hanging thing- With yellow and red fondant.
- Make a little pilgrim hat- This is optional.
- Dry overnight- At room temperature.
Variations for turkey cake topper
Use store bought Lindt truffle balls- Instead of modeling chocolate balls to save time.
Make a girl turkey- By adding a little red or pink bow on the head. Here's How to Make Easy Fondant Bows.
Omit the pilgrim hat- It is optional after all but so much fun!
Make a bigger topper- Follow the same instructions, just at a larger scale. This would be perfect for larger cakes.
Make cupcake toppers- If you don't want to make a cake, you can make smaller versions and use those for smaller desserts.
Tips And techniques
How big is this cake? This is a small Chocolate Cake (4x3) but you can make a bigger 8 inch cake, if you like.
What kind of frosting to use? The cake is frosted in the Cooked Flour Buttercream (Ermine Frosting) but you can use any frosting flavor you like.
How to texturize frosting? Use a fork or even a toothpick to create a pattern on the frosting.
How to attach pieces to the turkey? Use a clean paint brush and corn syrup or water. They work like glue to hold fondant pieces together.
Work fast- Because fondant and modeling chocolate start to dry and become crumbly.
Storage of decorated cake
Refrigerate- In a covered container for up to 3 days. Please note that fondant decorations will become slightly sticky from the moisture in the refrigerator.
Freeze- This is not recommended since the fondant decorations don't thaw well and become very sticky. However, you can make the cake and frosting in advance and store it in the freezer and bring to room temperature when you are ready to assemble. You can also make the topper up to 1 month in advance but that has to be stored at room temperature.
Room temperature- As long as there are no perishable fillings, you can leave the cake out at room temperature for about 6 hours.
Storage of fondant figures
These should always be stored at room temperature away from humidity and direct sunlight. Once the figures dry and harden, they can be transferred to a cardboard box at room temperature for up to 1 month.
More Thanksgiving cakes
- Easy Pumpkin Cake (With Cake Mix)
- Apple Pie Cake
- Pumpkin Cheesecake (With Gingersnap Crust)
- Tiered Rustic Cake
- Chocolate Tree Cake
- Chocolate Leaves Cake
Recipe
Easy Fondant Turkey Cake Topper
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Ingredients
- ⅓ cup Modeling chocolate Or brown fondant
- 1 cup Homemade fondant Can use store-bought fondant, Colored red, orange, yellow, black
- 2 Round sprinkles For eyes
- 1 tablespoon Corn syrup Or water
Instructions
- Start off by rolling a small ball of modeling chocolate and a big ball of modeling chocolate. Stick a toothpick or wooden skewer or even a raw spaghetti strand into the big ball and push the smaller ball on top. This will be the turkey’s body.
- Roll out some yellow fondant now and use a scalloped cutter to cut out a piece. Now, roll out some orange fondant and use a scalloped cutter to cut out a piece. Roll out some red fondant and cut out another scalloped piece.
- Brush corn syrup or water on the orange piece and stick the red piece here. Brush water on the red piece and stick the yellow piece here. These will be the turkey’s feathers.
- Brush water on the turkey’s backside and stick the feather piece here. Bend the feathers inwards a little.
- Roll out yellow fondant again and use a small star cutter to cut out 2 yellow star pieces. Brush water on the two star pieces and stick your turkey’s body on top and press it securely into place. These will be the turkey's feet.
- Roll out little sausage shapes of red, orange and yellow fondant. Place them close together and start rolling them together into a spiral. Roll them a few times again randomly. Use a rolling pin to flatten this piece. Use a leaf cutter to cut out 2 leaf shapes. These will be the turkey’s wings. Brush water on the sides of the body and stick the wings here.
- Draw eyeballs on 2 round sprinkles with a black edible marker. These will be the turkey’s eyes.
- Brush some water and stick them into place on the face.
- To make the beak, flatten a small piece of yellow fondant. Use a knife to cut a small diamond shape. Fold it in half with the help of a knife. Brush some water and stick it into place.
- To make the little red thing around a turkey’s beak, make a small sausage shape out of red fondant and stick it into place and your turkey is ready.
- You can even make a little pilgrim hat for your turkey, if you like.
- Allow this edible topper to dry overnight at room temperature, away from humidity and moisture and then use it as a cake topper.
Notes
- Read all my tips above.
- This can be stored at room temperature in a cardboard box away from heat and moisture for up to 1 month.
Nutrition
An automated tool is used to calculate the nutritional information. As such, I cannot guarantee the accuracy of the nutritional information provided for any recipe on this site.
yummychunklet
Aw! How colorful and cute!
Kristi
This is so adorable!!
Belinda Chiu
Geez, that is about the cutest thing ever.
lili
omg!!!!! that is so cute !!!!