Piecaken Inventor's Expert Tips For Making The Decadent Layered Dessert At Home

If you're not familiar with the PieCaken, it's a multi-tiered dessert that looks like a frosted cake, but the inner layers alternate between pie and cake. The treat is the brainchild of Chef Zac Young, Sprinkle Master at PieCaken Bakeshop and Sprinkletown Donuts & Ice Cream, who set out to create a sweet version of the savory Turducken. The original consists of pecan pie, pumpkin pie, and spice cake, complete with cinnamon buttercream frosting. If you want to try making it yourself, Young gave Chowhound some tips for creating a presentable and palatable homemade version.

When you're getting started, there's no harm in purchasing store-bought pumpkin pies and pecan pies to keep things easy. "Make sure they are big enough for whatever size cake you are making, remembering that you will take the outside crusts off," said Young. "For the pecan pie, choose one that is a little more shallow rather than deep dish for stability."

However, should you choose to make homemade layers, timing is key. "Bake each layer properly," he continued. "The pumpkin filling and the pecan pie goo need to set." Once those layers are set, Young recommends freezing the layers overnight to make them easier to stack. While the plate hack makes perfectly circular layers, you can also press metal cake rings into the baked pie to remove the crust. Once you have a circular ring of pie, simply frost the top and repeat these steps for the next layers of pie and cake.

The original PieCaken was created with balance in mind. Both pecan and pumpkin pie have slightly sweet, slightly savory elements, which makes them work well together. The spice cake and cinnamon silkiest buttercream frosting share the same sweet-but-not-too-sweet flavor profile, thanks to a bit of spice in each. If you want to swap flavors in your homemade PieCaken, keep the balance in mind.

"I always want something that can be a little salty, a little creamy, and something with texture or crunch like a pecan," said Zac Young. "It's all about flavor and texture." He has created his own variations of the dessert, such as a Christmas version made with chocolate-pecan pie, cherry-swirl cheesecake, and red velvet cake, with cream cheese buttercream. In that dish, too, the same flavor balance exists.

Young highlighted a new kind of PieCaken for the dessert's 10-year anniversary: The DecaCaken. This treat is made with layers of butterscotch brown butter blondie, chocolate cream pie, coffee cake, and New York cheesecake. Young also added pretzel buttercream, fudge frosting, and dulce de leche, then decorated it with cookie dough, brownies, and sprinkles. While you could try recreating this one at home, you might be better off leaving this ultra-decadent variation to the professionals.