Yes, you read that right. A piecaken. Part pie. Part cake. Three separate delicious cake flavors stuffed with three different types of pie. Each flavor meant to compliment its counterpart to create an intense combo of flavors and fun (oh, and also sugar).
The first time this idea was introduced to me I was also a little dumbfounded. I love desserts as much as (or even more than) most people, but even I wasn’t sure if I was ready to accept the idea of this enormous, sugar-laden dessert.
As much as I wish I could take credit for the piecaken, sadly, I cannot. My mom was actually the person who discovered the idea and brought it to fruition for my niece’s birthday. She has always been a source of inspiration for me when it comes to baking and desserts. She was even the first person to ignite a passion for donut hunting in me by taking me to places like Top Pot donuts in Seattle or Sublime donuts in Atlanta. Needless to say, when she showed us what she had created we could barely believe it. She showed up to my house for the celebration with a giant cake tray that was basically bursting at the seams trying to contain the mountain of cake. She had asked me to pick up a half dozen donuts from a local donut shop (Donuts To Go – check out our past post to learn more) but hadn’t filled us in as to why. Turns out it was her plan to top the piecaken with the donuts!
So here we are with this huge cake which is now covered in a half dozen donuts, none of us having a clue as to what else is in store. Finally, after singing happy birthday to my niece, it was time to cut the cake. Having never attempted such a recipe before my mom wasn’t completely sure how it would turn out so before we cut the first slice she smiled and said she wanted to tell us what was in store.
Let me tell you, as she walked us through layer by layer we were hit with a mixture of excitement, laughter, and disbelief. The bottom layer of the cake is composed of a traditional spice cake with a classic apple pie inside (yes, crust and all). The middle layer is a rich chocolate cake with a cherry pie. The top layer (and my personal favorite) is a funfetti cake with a pumpkin pie inside. Between each layer and topping the entire cake is a creamy, perfectly complimentary cream cheese frosting that somehow managed to create a perfect harmony between each layer. To finish the piecaken, six freshly baked donuts were added to the top as an edible decoration. The whole cake weighed in at a whopping 25 pounds!
When I posted the piecaken on the To Bakeries and Beyond Instagram, I didn’t realize it would be such a controversial post! People either felt strongly for the cake or against it. Comments ranged from “that’s way too much sugar” to “that cake deserves a Nobel Prize.” If you are on the fence about the dessert and want to attempt to make this frankendessert yourself, I say go for it! Life is short and I guarantee you will not only impress all of your friends and family with this creation but will also bring a huge smile to their faces.
PIECAKEN ASSEMBLY
The creation of the Piecaken itself is not terribly difficult, but will definitely take some time and patience to see it through. To make this beast of a dessert:
- Bake each of your three pies individually
- You can choose any flavor combo you would like, but for our recipe we used apple pie, cherry pie, and pumpkin pie
- You can also use any recipe you would like! If you have a family recipe or a tried and true recipe you like, feel free to use those!
- Click the links below for the three pie recipes I would recommend for our piecaken:
- Apple Pie
- Cherry Pie – (for this recipe, I recommend not doing the lattice for the crust as that may cause your cake mixture to seep into the pie.)
- Pumpkin Pie
- Once you have baked each of your pies, put them aside and start working on your cake recipes! Again, feel free to be creative here!
- When you’ve finished making the batter for all of your cakes and your pies have fully cooled now it’s time to make the layers. Using 10″x3″ Wilton cake pans, pour half of your cake batter into the pan.
- Place your corresponding pie inside of the batter – no need to do anything special here, just set it right onto the batter!
- Bottom layer – Spice cake with apple pie
- Middle layer – Chocolate cake with cherry pie
- Top layer – Funfetti cake with pumpkin pie
- Pour the remaining batter over the pie.
- Bake the cake layer as instructed on the respective recipe.
- While your layers are baking, start making the frosting! Our Piecaken had delicious, classic cream cheese frosting. I recommend doubling the recipe since this is not your average-sized cake.
- Take your layers out of the oven and let them cool completely on a wire cooling rack after they have sat in their pans for around 10-15 minutes.
- Once completely cooled, starting with the spice cake, add a layer of frosting and build up to the funfetti layer.
- Cover the piecaken with frosting.
- Top with half a dozen donuts, sprinkles, chocolate drip, or whatever you are feeling that day!
- Enjoy!
If you try this recipe or have any alternative methods of baking a piecaken send us a message or tag us on Instagram! We can’t wait to see what you come up with!
To Bakeries and Beyond 