Thanksgiving Pilgrim Pumpkin Cake Tutorial

Mini bundt cakes never looked so cute! Sharon Zambito (sugarshack) of SugarEd Productions is the creative mastermind behind this adorable Pilgrim Pumpkin cake, the perfect festive Thanksgiving centerpiece. Best of all, you probably have all the materials in your cake pantry!

Materials

1 small, round cake layer, same diameter as bundt cakes
2 mini bundt cakes
Black fondant
Bright yellow fondant (for buckles)
Golden yellow fondant (for hair)
Icing, any color (for crumb coat)
Orange fondant, thick
Stiffened buttercream (optional)
White fondant
Wooden dowel

Instructions

For his body I used two mini bundt cakes and a circle of cake I cut from a round layer with a cookie cutter. The height of the cut circle of cake was about 1/2 inch.

You need that extra height the circle of cake gives. Otherwise, he will be too squatty and you won’t have enough room for his belt and his face. If you want to spackle the seem with some stiffened buttercream to hide it more, you can do so.

Crumb coat the cake with a  very thin layer of icing. Then cover the top half with orange fondant. Use a wooden dowel to impress in the grooves of the bundt pan to make them show up well. You will need a pretty thick layer of fondant or all the lumpy bumps  will show through. Or you can use two thinner layers of fondant, which is what I did. Once you get the top half covered, let it sit for a while to let the fondant set up some.

Then flip the cake over and do the exact same thing on the other half. Cut a clean seam between both layers of fondant where they overlap in the middle, so that you get the result you see above.

Looking pumpkin-y!

I airbrushed him just a little to help his colors pop, but that it optional. Cover the seam with a strip of black fondant to make his belt. Make his face with pieces of black fondant.

His hair is thin strips of a golden yellow fondant. Prop them away from his head with paper towels until they firm up. Make his adorable little pilgrim shoes from triangles of black fondant with an oval  piece of white fondant on top. At this point, just go ahead and squeal with delight. You will want you. You will need to. You have my blessing.

Cut a circle of black fondant for the brim of his hat, and fashion another piece in the tapered shape of a pilgrim hat. Let those both firm up well. Attach the hat pieces together with chocolate.

Once all is in place, add the buckles to the belt and hat. I presented him on a little bit of fondant grass with some acorns. At this point I called in all my family, my neighbors, the postman and a stray cat to share my excitement with them.

I often get asked where I get my ideas from, which can be all kinds of things. This project was inspired by this piece of  clip art I stumbled upon while searching on the internet for something:

My little guy came out pretty much how I envisioned in my head; which rarely happens. So I was very pleased.

Hope you give him a try, he was a lot of fun to do!