To me the holiday season is all about time with family. And I don’t know about your family, but mine loves to eat when we get together. Talking, laughing, eating—there’s few better ways to share joy! Pie is always a crowd favorite, and today I’ve got an epic one for you! Have you ever heard of piecaken? If not, your world is about to change for the better. This site has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are completely my own.
what is a piecaken?
Years ago I pinned an image of a culinary materpiece–the piecaken. Referred to as a “piecaken” because it’s the “turducken” of desserts. I hoped to one day recreate it, but like so many of our pins do, it just sat there on my board gathering dust. The traditional piecaken is called a pumpple cake due to its flavors.
This epic dessert has a layer consisting of a pumpkin pie baked inside of a chocolate cake, and another layer with an apple pie baked inside of a vanilla cake. Oh yeah, and about a ton of vanilla buttercream. It sounds amazing, right? The problem is it seemed a little too intimidating to me. I mean, I had to make two pies AND bake them into cakes?! Plus, where was I supposed to get a cake pan big enough?
how to take some shortcuts when making a piecaken
Finally, I had a couple epiphanies. First, instead of buying specialty cake pans that would be deep enough, I could simply use my springform pan – perfect! Second, instead of going through the effort to make two pies, why not save some time without scrimping on quality and use some Marie Callender’s® Dessert Pies, and of course some Reddi-Wip® on the side. It was definitely my “ah-ha” moment.
| Read: Lemon Blueberry Piecaken Cupcakes |
Unfortunately, I had a surprisingly hard time finding the two pies (pumpkin and Dutch apple) I would need for my epic pie… cake… whatever. I guess all the delicious Marie Callender pies got cleared out during Thanksgiving? Luckily, I was able to go online and see that they were available at Walmart. Good ol’ Walmart, always has what you need when others let you down. I went onto Walmart’s website and in a manner of minutes had found a location that had the Marie Callender’s pies I needed (and I also drooled over the other flavors offered while I was at it).
- 1 Marie Callender’s® pumpkin pie
- 1 Marie Callender’s® apple pie I used Dutch apple, but you can also use lattice-topped and peel off the top
- 1 chocolate cake mix and the ingredients it calls for
- 1 vanilla cake mix and the ingredients it calls for
- Your favorite buttercream twice as much as you would need for a regular sized, two-layer cake
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Bake both pies according to package directions. I like to cover my crusts with a little bit of aluminum foil to keep them from burning. I also only used half of the crumb topping for my apple pie and reserved the rest for later.
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Once the pies are cooled, trim the exposed pie crust edges off both pies so they can fit in the pans better. Pour about 1/3 of the batter into your prepared cake pan, place the pie (sans pie tin) on top, then cover with remaining cake batter, the entire bowl of batter will go in one cake pan. Do this for each pie/ cake.
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Bake according to directions on cake mix box, but at the end you will probably want to lower the temperature about 10 degrees and bake slightly longer to ensure the center is cooked through.
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Once each layer is cooled, frost as you would any regular layer cake! I also sprinkled the remaining crumb topping over mine, and then added some delicious, creamy Reddi-Wip®.
what you need to know before you start
On my maiden voyage into the land of pumpple cakes I learned some things that I would like to share with you because I love you and I think everyone should know the joy that is one of these amazing, epic pies. I mean cake. Pie cake?
First and foremost, this is NOT hard. You might be afraid to take it on; it may seem overwhelming. Seriously though, pick up a couple Marie Callender’s® Dessert Pies and a couple boxes of cake mix and you will be good to go. This IS, however, time consuming. This is a two-day dessert. I baked my pies one day, then baked them into their layers and frosted the next day. Give yourself plenty of time so you can enjoy the process! Also, you need to give yourself time to eat all the pie crust you’ll be trimming off.
| Read: Chocolate Pecan Pie Recipe |
Secondly, I liked using the springform pan so I didn’t have to turn the cake pan upside down to get my cake out. You will, however, want to cook it extra-long because it takes a long time for the center of the cake to cook thoroughly. I baked according to directions, then lowered the heat, covered loosely with foil, and baked an additional 15-20 minutes for each layer.
This is the perfect dessert to bring to a holiday meal or party this season! Bonus—you don’t have to worry about anyone else showing up with the same thing! Don’t stop there though; if you know someone that just can’t get enough pie (I know a couple myself) then I’ve got a quick tutorial for a cute sign, perfect for any pie lover! In fact, this would make a great hostess gift to bring along with your epic piecaken dessert.
make a DIY pie sign
I picked up an 8″ x 10″ wooden frame that had a distressed look and that I thought kind of mimicked a vintage window. Then in my Silhouette Studio I designed a sign with the words “Fresh Baked Pies Served Daily” and a little outline of a pie. Using my Cami I cut it out in white vinyl and then applied it to the front of the glass of the frame using transfer tape.
After the adhesive vinyl was applied, then I tried to decide if I wanted to pop in a piece of decorative paper, or if I wanted to completely take the back off; you can easily do either. I really like the green chalkboard paper I used because it looks a little like a vintage chalkboard, but I also like the crisp, simple look with just the glass. If you do want to get the back off just put a little dab of hot glue in each corner of the back of the frame and then press the glass in place!
There you have it – you got a two-for-one today! A cute DIY pie sign, and an amazing, epic dessert called the piecaken. You’re sure to win at the family holiday meal this year!
23 Responses to epic pie cake: a Thanksgiving piecaken
Oh my, this looks decadent! I think I might go into a sugar coma just from looking at the pictures! It sounds so delicious!
What an interesting idea! It looks delicious and unique. I can't bake pies. Well, I've never tried, but it's not something I every want to attempt. This, while it looks like a little work, also is made easier with the pre-made pies. I believe this would knock the socks off my family! Thanks for sharing!
Oh my goodness, you make a piecaken! I've seen them online, but I've never "known" someone who did it. This is awesome! [client]
I mean calories don't count during the Holidays, right? Definitely would love to try a version of this with chocolate cake and a berry pie…yum! Thanks for sharing!
This looks heavenly!!! What would you recommend if no springform pan is available?
Hmm. I don't know. Originally I was going to try and borrow a cake pan from a friend that used to make them for a business. Then I thought I might just see if Walmart had deeper pans. I don't think a regular pan would work because it is really thick…
Yep, they don't count during holidays or birthdays. 😉 I also want to try a berry and chocolate one! And a chocolate pecan one, yum.
Awesome job! I just found out about this phenomenon a week ago. I have been thinking of ideas to try it at home.
This looks…wow. Just wow. I didn't know this existed, but there you go. Can you eat a whole piece or is it just too much?
This looks so amazing! And that sign is the cutest. I love adding details to parties/dinners with simple things like that sign and chalkboards.
OMG that pie looks absolutely amazing. Have pinned this.
such a cute set up you created. I feel like it would be so sweet my family would eat it up
Thanks so much, it turned out really great!
Yes, the pre-made pies make it pretty easy, surprisingly. Just time consuming. 🙂
Thanks so much, it was easier than I thought it would be! 🙂
Definitely a whole piece, but I recommend milk or ice cream with this bad boy. 🙂
Thanks Alicia! I really like how the sign turned out!
Thanks so much for the pin! Hope it turns out great for you someday!
NO WAY!! I am like seriously blown away. This is such a cool idea. I am just amazed!
This right here is a game changer! Drooling over my screen 🙂
This looks delicious! Perfect for upcoming Thanksgiving!
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