Thanksgiving Desserts: Cake Shooters

This year I felt like being a little extra for Thanksgiving and thinking outside of the normal pecan pie or pumpkin pie classic dessert. So I decided to put together some favorite Fall holiday flavors in a new and innovative way to keep it interesting! If you also want a delicious, sure-to-impress, innovative Thanksgiving dessert, be sure to follow along! Below you will see all 3 flavors of cake shooters.

From left to right: Butter pecan cake with cream cheese filling and brown sugar buttercream, chocolate cake with peanut butter buttercream and cream cheese filling, and spice cake with pumpkin cream cheese filling and brown sugar buttercream.

If you saw my TikTok, you know that I have already tried this recipe out and brought it over for all my friends to enjoy for Friendsgiving! Of course, before bringing it over to my friend's house to serve, I made my husband a guinea pig for taste testing and we tried many flavor combinations.

But these pictured above were by far the winners and my husband's reaction was priceless for how much he enjoyed these. All in all, it was a massive hit and everyone loved the variety of flavors and were so impressed with the presentation.

Now because we have 3 cakes and 4 fillings to prepare for this dessert to have variety, we need to be particular about the organization and timing when it comes to constructing these. Let me preface by saying that this is better to make the day before so flavors can combine overnight. Below you will see my itemized list in order of preparation to make this dessert come together easily without wasted time or massive clean-up.

Step 1: Make Cream Cheese Filling

Step 2: Make Pumpkin Cream Cheese Filling

Step 3: Make Buttercream

Step 4: Make Brown Sugar Buttercream

Step 5: Make Peanut Butter Buttercream

Step 6: Bake Butter Pecan Cake

Step 7: Bake Chocolate Cake

Step 8: Bake Spice Cake

Step 9: Cut All Cakes and Assemble

Step 10: Add Toppings!

Click Here For Shopping List

Let's make some Thanksgiving Dessert Fillings and Frostings!

Step 1: Make Cream Cheese Filling

This is a doubled portion due to the fact that we will be cutting this in half later to use 1 part for the Pumpkin Cream Cheese Filling in step 2.

Ingredents needed:

• 16 oz Cream Cheese (soft at room temp)

• 1 Cup Confectioners' Sugar

• 1/2 Cup Milk

• 1 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract

Directions:

1. Combine ingredients in an electric mixer and beat for 3-5 minutes until smooth.

2. Put HALF into a pastry bag for piping and set other half aside for assembly.

3. Leave other half in mixing bowl and begin Step 2.

Step 2: Make Pumpkin Cream Cheese Filling

Ingredients:

• Remaining Cream Cheese Filling

• 1/2 teaspoon Nutmeg

• 1 Teaspoon Cinnamon

• 1 Cup Pumpkin Puree

• Confectioner's sugar to taste

Directions:

1. Add 1 cup of pumpkin puree to the remaining cream cheese filling and hand mix in cinnamon and nutmeg.

2. Add additional confectioner's sugar to preferred sweetness level.

3. Put into a pastry bag for piping and set aside for assembly.

Step 3: Make Buttercream

Ingredients:

• 1 Cup Salted Butter (refrigerated and cubed)

• 2 Teaspoons Vanilla Extract

• 4 Cups Confectioners' Sugar

• About 2 Tablespoons of Milk (for texture and consistency)

Directions:

1. In electric mixer, use the paddle to combine cubed butter and vanilla extract until smooth.

2. Add in sugar little by little until combined.

3. For a more whipped texture, add in milk, and let whip for about 2 minutes. (Be sure not to overwhip)

4. Split buttercream in HALF and use for steps 4 & 5.

Step 4: Make Brown Sugar Buttercream

Ingredients:

• Half of previously made buttercream

• 1/2 cup of light brown sugar. (For a richer caramel flavor, you can use dark brown sugar).

Directions:

1. In an electric mixer, use the paddle to add in brown sugar until smooth.

2. Put into a pastry bag for piping and set aside for assembly.

Step 5: Make Peanut Butter Buttercream

Ingredients:

• Half of previously made plain buttercream

• 1 cup of peanut butter

Directions:

1. In a bowl, mix in peanut butter until consistency is smooth.

2. Put into a pastry bag for piping and set aside for assembly.

Time to Bake Cake!

Step 6: Butter Pecan Cake

I was able to get the most tender and delicious butter pecan cake from CookingClassy.com. It was delicious! I went with this recipe because I wanted the cake to be fluffy and and flavorful and I knew the addition of the buttermilk and roasting of the pecans would get me that result. I have pasted the instructions and ingredients from Cooking Classy. I did cut the recipe in half because the original made more cake than I needed, and I also substituted the original recipe's call for All-Purpose flour with Cake Flour. You will see those modifications below.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup Fishers Pecan Halves, chopped into small bits

• 1 1/2 Tbsp unsalted butter diced into 3 pieces

• 1 1/2 Cake Flour

• 1 tsp baking powder

• 1/4 tsp baking soda

• 1/4 tsp salt

• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened

• 3/4 cup and 4 Tablespoons of granulated sugar

• 2 eggs

• 3/4 tsp vanilla extract

• 1/2 cup buttermilk

• 1/4 cup milk

Directions:

• Preheat oven, prepare cake pans: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter and line 2 8x10 cake pans with parchment paper, butter parchment paper and lightly dust pans with flour shaking out excess. Set pans aside.

• Saute pecans in butter: Melt 1 1/2 Tbsp butter in a skillet over medium heat. Once melted add pecans and cook until slightly browned and fragrant, tossing frequently, about 4 minutes. Pour and spread onto a sheet of parchment paper or a baking sheet. Set aside and allow to cool.

• Mix liquids together: stir together buttermilk and milk, set aside.

• Whisk dry ingredients: In a mixing bowl whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt for 20 seconds, set aside. 

• Cream butter and sugar, then eggs and vanilla: In the bowl of an electric stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment whip together butter and sugar until very pale and fluffy. Mix in eggs one at a time adding in vanilla with last egg. 

• Mix in flour alternating with milk mixture: Add 1/3 of the flour mixture to the butter mixture and mix on low speed just until combined, then add in 1/2 of the buttermilk mixture and mix just until combined then repeat process once more. Finish by mixing in remaining 1/3 of the flour mixture and mix just until nearly combined. 

• Fold in pecans: Remove bowl from stand mixer and fold in pecans (fold batter until there's not longer streaks in the batter). Divide batter evenly among prepared baking pans and spread cakes thin to about 1/2 inch each so that they will be thin enough for the cake shooters.

• Bake until set: Bake in preheated oven 10-15 minutes until toothpick inserted into center of cake comes out clean. Remove from oven and cool in cake pans for 10 minutes.  

• Let cake cool completely on wire rack: Run a knife around edges of cake to ensure the are loosened and invert onto wire racks to cool completely.

Step 7: Chocolate Cake

I won't lie, I cheated a bit with these next two cakes! Because all I really needed was a chocolate cake and nothing extremely fancy as far as the flavors go and Betty Crocker does an amazing job; no need to reinvent the wheel, am I right?

By the time the first cakes come out of the oven you will be able to reuse the same 8x10 pans for the next cakes and so on.

Ingredients:

• Betty Crocker Super Moist Triple Chocolate Fudge Cake Mix

• 1 cup water

• 1/2 cup vegetable oil

• 3 eggs

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees (it will already be at this degree from previous cake)

2. Use 2 8x10 pans and line with parchment paper. Coat parchment paper with butter.

3. Mix ingredients together in electric mixer on high for about 2 minutes.

4. Spread mix thin on both to about 1/2 inch and bake for about 10 minutes or until toothpick inserted into center of cake comes out clean. Remove from oven and cool in cake pan for 10 minutes

5. Run a knife around edges of cake to loosen and then flip onto cooling rack.

Step 8: Spice Cake

Once again we are going to use our friend Betty Crocker here for her Spice cake! By the time the first cakes come out of the oven you will be able to reuse the same 8x10 pans for these cakes.

Ingredients:

• Betty Crocker Super Moist Spice Cake Mix

• 1 cup water

• 1/2 cup vegetable oil

• 3 eggs

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees (it will already be at this degree from previous cake)

2. Use 2 8x10 pans and line with parchment paper. Coat parchment paper with butter.

3. Mix ingredients together in electric mixer on high for about 2 minutes.

4. Spread mix thin on both to about 1/2 inch and bake for about 10 minutes or until toothpick inserted into center of cake comes out clean. Remove from oven and cool in cake pan for 10 minutes

5. Run a knife around edges of cake to loosen and then flip onto cooling rack.

Step 9: Cut all Cakes and Assemble

Once all cakes are thoroughly cooled I brough them all over on their parments paper to begin cutting 1.5 circles for the plastic shooters I had purchased off of Amazon. You can find the circle cutters here, and the plastic shooter cups here.

Directions:

1. Bring all cakes over and begin punching out circles to match your cup size.

2. Take out all 4 frostings and fillings and cust a generous hole size for piping.

Assemble Spice Cake with Pumpkin Cream Cheese Filling & Brown Sugar Buttercream

Items:

• Cake shooter cups

• Spice cake circles

• Pumpkin Cream Cheese Filling bag

• Brown sugar buttercream bag

Directions:

1. Put 1st layer of cake in cup

2. Pipe brown sugar buttercream

3. Pipe pumpkin cream cheese filling

4. repeat steps 1-3 2 more times.

Assemble Chocolate Cake with Cream Cheese Filling & Peanut Butter Buttercream

Items:

• Cake shooter cups

• Chocolate cake circles

• Cream Cheese Filling bag

• Peanut Butter Buttercream bag

Directions:

1. Put 1st layer of cake in cup

2. Pipe Peanut Butter buttercream

3. Pipe cream cheese filling

4. repeat steps 1-3 2 more times.

Assemble Butter Pecan Cake with Cream Cheese Filling & Brown Sugar Buttercream

Items:

• Cake shooter cups

• Butter Pecan Cake cake circles

• Cream Cheese Filling bag

• Brown sugar buttercream bag

Directions:

1. Put 1st layer of cake in cup

2. Pipe brown sugar buttercream

3. Pipe cream cheese filling

4. repeat steps 1-3 2 more times.

Step 10: Add Toppings and Enjoy!

Now that you have the cutest little cake shooters, feel free to dress them up in whatever fits your fancy! You'll see pictured that I dressed up my Spice Cake with a shortbread cookie, and my Butter Pecan Cake with a candied Pecan (purchased from Costco). So if that suits your aesthetic, go for it! Remember to share, enjoy, and count your blessings this Thanksgiving season.

I hope you all enjoy and have as much fun as I did!

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Shopping List

2 8x10 Baking Pans

Parchment Paper

Salted Butter

Unsalted Butter

Confectioners' Sugar

Granulated Sugar

Cake Flour

Betty Crocker Super Moist Spice Cake Mix

Betty Crocker Super Moist Triple Chocolate Fudge Cake

Eggs

Vegetable Oil

Canned Pumpkin Puree

Cream Cheese 16oz

Milk

Buttermilk

Pecans

Peanut Butter

Light Brown or Dark Brown sugar (depending on richness desired)

Circular Cutters

Plastic Cake Shooters

Cinnamon

Nutmeg

Vanilla Extract

Salt

Baking Soda

Baking Powder