Pumpecapple Piecake: Pie And Cake…The Best Of Both Worlds

Three Brothers Bakery has been a staple in the greater Houston community for 65 years, but its traditions and recipes date back nearly 200 years. Currently in its fifth generation of bakers, Three Brothers Bakery still creates its full line of pastries, breads, pies and cookies from scratch every day, using treasured family recipes.

What is a Pumpecapple Piecake?

As the bakery continues to create all of its classics, the bakery’s ownership and staff also understand that customers are always looking for the next big thing. That’s how the Pumpecapple Piecake came into existence. What began as a challenge to fifth generation baker and co-owner Bobby Jucker, evolved into a phenomenon known as the “turducken of desserts” and was deemed the hottest holiday dessert of 2014 by CNN Weekend Bites.

The Pumpecapple Piecake features three of the bakery’s famous pies baked inside three cakes. Weighing in at roughly 23 pounds and standing 11 inches tall, the Pumpecapple Piecake is composed of a pumpkin pie baked inside a spice cake, a pecan pie baked inside a chocolate cake, and an apple pie baked inside a spice cake, all stacked atop one another and topped with buttercream icing, pecan pieces and a caramel drizzle. Check out the step-by-step guide below from Three Brothers Bakery to create your own piecakes this holiday season!

Steps to making a Pumpecapple Piecake:

Start with a pie of your choice – any flavor will do! This can be store-bought or homemade. You will also need your favorite type of icing and whatever toppings you prefer.

Next, you need to choose your cake flavor; something that will complement the pie well. Have the cake batter mixed and ready to pour. The cake can be any flavor of your choosing. A spice cake can be made at-home by mixing pumpkin pie spice with white cake mix.

Pour about 1/3 of the batter into a 3” deep cake pan. Take the fully baked pie and place it, upside down, into the cake pan, and remove the pie pan. Cover the pie with the remaining cake batter. Repeat for multiple pies, if desired.

Put the batter-covered pies in the oven to cook, at 350 degrees, for about 40 minutes, or until golden and done all the way through. Let the piecake sit until fully cooled, or place in the refrigerator to cool.

Once cooled, remove the piecake from its cake pan by turning it upside down and tapping it out. Don’t worry if a few pieces of the edge fall off – it will be covered with icing!

Place the piecake on a thick, sturdy pie board. Cut off any edges that are sticking out so that the edges are smooth. Cover the top of this layer with your chosen icing to create a smooth finish. You will want the icing to be soft enough to work with, but not so warm that it melts. Three Brothers recommends using a cake turntable to more easily access the whole piecake.

Once all of the icing is smooth, sprinkle your toppings of choice over the piecake. Finally, you can create a caramel or chocolate drizzle by putting melted caramel or chocolate in a piping bag (or a sandwich baggie with a hole cut in the corner), and drizzling it along the top.

For an even more decadent dessert, you can make multiple piecakes, all with different combinations, and stack them on top of one another, holding them together with icing, to create a piecake tower, much like the famous Pumpecapple Piecake.

For more information about Three Brothers Bakery, the Pumpecapple Piecake and its range of sweets and treats, visit www.3brothersbakery.com, or follow the bakery on its social media sites for updates!