First, in the early days of my cake decorating, there was the Large Turkey. Then came the Mini Turkeys. Lots of them, in costume and in rainbow colours.
Now behold…THE CAKE BALL TURKEY!
So cute, he just might gobble gobble you!
I know, I know, you’re thinking, “Isn’t that the same size as the other mini turkeys?” Nope. This one is barely two inches tall, made around a cake ball (well actually a foil ball so I could keep it as a display piece but it was while I was making cake balls for a purse demo so close enough).
Iiiiiiiiitty bitty! That’s a lid of a portion cup he’s sitting on!
See, there it is beside the display model of the Mini Turkey made for the ebook. I guess someday I should make a fake-cake model of the Large Turkey. Also: presumably this means next year I have to make Nano Turkey.
The cake ball version pretty much follows the same directions in the Cute and Easy Turkey Cakes ebook with the small exception of being covered with fondant first (or chocolate, if you prefer) to keep the cake ball intact and to give the feathers something to stick to since you don’t cover a cake ball in buttercream. This version has the benefit of not needing any specialized pans; just make round cake balls and chill them to be firm.
Cake ball covered roughly in fondant. Don’t worry about getting it perfect: you just want something to wrap it all together and give something for the feathers to stick to.
After that, it’s the same as the ebook except in teeny tiny scale. If you want more details, grab a copy of the ebook…it’s only $4.99 and I promise if you show up to your school, church, or other community bake sale this holiday season with these, you’ll make that back easily. I’ve raised several hundred dollars for my older daughter’s school with Large and Mini turkeys in past years.
I happen to have a tiny oval cutter, but a tiny leaf or petal cutter would also work, or just an x-acto knife.
See, wrapping the feathers is just like the Mini and Large versions. This goes super-fast at this scale.
The neck and head are made the same way, simply pinched between fingertips instead of with your whole hand. And the small scale means no toothpicks are needed: it just stays up on its own.
There you have it! And if you already have the ebook, consider this a freebie bonus project. Enjoy, and don’t forget to let your kids have a go at designing their own turkeys this year! In fact if you do and you want me to post some photos, let me know.
