Food Illusion Recipes: 12 Trick-the-Table Treats Inspired by the Thanksgiving Dinner Cake 2.5 Million People Fell For

Food illusion recipes are the happiest kind of kitchen prank: a plate that looks like dinner but turns out to be dessert, or the other way around. Austin cake artist Natalie Sideserf took the idea to a whole new level last Thanksgiving when she sculpted an entire holiday dinner, turkey and all, out of cake and served it to her unsuspecting family. Their reactions were priceless, and more than 2.5 million people have watched the reveal on her YouTube channel. You do not need her sculpting skills to join the fun. Below you will find 12 easy look-alike treats, from mashed potato cupcakes and spaghetti that is really frosting to sushi made from crispy rice treats and fried eggs that are secretly cookies. Every slide has a short shopping list and simple steps, so the whole family can help..

The Thanksgiving Dinner Cake Behind These Food Illusion Recipes

Natalie Sideserf runs Sideserf Cake Studio in Austin, Texas, and she is famous for cakes that look exactly like real objects. For Thanksgiving she built a full dinner from cake: a glossy roast turkey, side dishes and all, then sat her family down to eat. The moment the knife slid into the turkey and revealed chocolate cake, the table burst out laughing. You can watch the full Thanksgiving cake prank on YouTube. Her best tip for beginners is to study the real food first, then copy its colors with frosting, caramel and cocoa..

You will need: 1 baked chocolate cake (9 by 13 inch), 2 cups chocolate frosting, 1/2 cup caramel sauce, 2 tablespoons cocoa powder, 1 pretzel rod, 1 cup white fondant.

How to make it: 1. Crumble the cake and mix it with 1 cup of frosting until it holds together like clay. 2. Shape it into a large drumstick around a pretzel rod bone. 3. Chill 1 hour until firm. 4. Coat with the rest of the frosting and chill again. 5. Brush with warm caramel mixed with a pinch of cocoa for a roasted look. 6. Wrap the pretzel end in a little white fondant and slice at the table.

Mini Turkey Dinner Cupcakes With Caramel Gravy

Of all the food illusion recipes here, this is the easiest way to copy the Sideserf trick at home. A swirl of fluffy vanilla buttercream looks just like a scoop of mashed potatoes, and a spoonful of warm caramel in the center passes for gravy. A sprinkle of finely chopped green candy looks like chives, and a little square of fudge stands in for a slice of turkey. Set them on a dinner plate next to a real fork and wait for someone to ask where the rest of the meal is.

You will need: 12 chocolate cupcakes, 2 cups vanilla buttercream, 1/2 cup thick caramel sauce, 2 tablespoons green sprinkles or finely chopped green candy, 6 small squares of chocolate fudge.

How to make it: 1. Bake and fully cool the cupcakes. 2. Use a spoon to dollop the buttercream on top in rough, fluffy mounds, not neat swirls. 3. Press a small well into the center with the back of a spoon. 4. Fill the well with caramel and let a little drip down the side. 5. Scatter the green sprinkles. 6. Tuck a fudge square on the side of each cupcake like a slice of turkey.

Meatloaf Cupcakes: Food Illusion Recipes Work Both Ways

Food illusion recipes work in both directions, and this one fools the kids at the dinner table instead of the dessert table. Little meatloaves baked in a muffin pan get a tall swirl of piped mashed potatoes on top, so they look exactly like frosted cupcakes. A shake of crispy bacon bits or paprika plays the part of sprinkles. They bake much faster than a full loaf, and every person gets a perfect single serving with a crispy edge.

You will need: 1 1/2 pounds ground beef, 1 egg, 1/2 cup breadcrumbs, 1/4 cup milk, 1/4 cup ketchup, 1 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder, 3 cups smooth mashed potatoes, crispy bacon bits or paprika.

How to make it: 1. Heat the oven to 375F and grease a 12 cup muffin pan. 2. Mix the beef, egg, breadcrumbs, milk, ketchup, salt and garlic powder. 3. Pack the mixture into the cups. 4. Bake 20 to 25 minutes until the centers reach 160F. 5. Pipe warm mashed potatoes on top with a large star tip. 6. Sprinkle with bacon bits or paprika and serve.

Spaghetti and Meatball Cupcakes

Pipe vanilla buttercream through a small round tip in loose loops and it turns into a pile of spaghetti noodles. Top it with a chocolate truffle meatball and a spoonful of strawberry jam sauce, and add a dusting of white chocolate shavings for parmesan. These are one of the most popular food illusion recipes for birthdays and April Fools’ Day, and they are easier than they look. For more cupcake ideas, our cupcake recipes that turn any day into a party are full of fun flavors.

You will need: 12 vanilla or chocolate cupcakes, 3 cups pale yellow vanilla buttercream, 12 chocolate truffles or chocolate cookie balls, 1/2 cup strawberry jam, 1 tablespoon water, white chocolate for grating.

How to make it: 1. Warm the jam with the water and stir until saucy, then cool. 2. Fit a piping bag with a small round tip and fill with buttercream. 3. Pipe loose, tangled loops on each cupcake to look like noodles. 4. Set a truffle meatball in the center. 5. Spoon a little strawberry sauce over the top. 6. Grate white chocolate over each one like parmesan.

Mashed Potato Sundae With Hot Fudge Gravy

Scoop vanilla ice cream into a bowl, rough it up with a fork so it looks lumpy and homemade, and nobody would guess it is not real mashed potatoes. A pour of hot fudge mixed with a little caramel turns into rich brown gravy, and a tiny square of yellow fudge melting on top looks like a pat of butter. Finish with a bright red cherry. It is one of the fastest food illusion recipes on this list and takes about five minutes to put together.

You will need: 1 quart vanilla ice cream, 1/2 cup hot fudge sauce, 1/4 cup caramel sauce, 4 small squares of white chocolate or yellow candy melts, 4 maraschino cherries.

How to make it: 1. Let the ice cream soften for 5 minutes. 2. Scoop 2 rounded scoops into each bowl and rough up the tops with a fork. 3. Warm the fudge and caramel together and stir until smooth. 4. Make a small well in the top scoop. 5. Pour the warm gravy into the well and let it run down the sides. 6. Add a white chocolate pat of butter and a cherry and serve right away.

Food Illusion Recipes for Kids: Crispy Rice Treat Sushi

Marshmallow crispy rice treats look surprisingly like sushi rice, which makes them perfect for food illusion recipes. Press them flat, roll them around gummy candy with a strip of green fruit leather for the seaweed, and slice into neat little rounds. Gummy fish laid over small rice treat blocks turn into nigiri, and red candy pearls make a great fish roe. Serve them on a black tray with chopsticks for the full sushi bar look.

You will need: 3 tablespoons butter, 4 cups mini marshmallows, 6 cups crispy rice cereal, 4 sheets green fruit leather, gummy worms or licorice strings, gummy fish, red candy pearls.

How to make it: 1. Melt the butter and marshmallows, then stir in the cereal. 2. Press half the mixture into a thin sheet on greased parchment and let it cool slightly. 3. Lay gummy worms along one edge and roll up tightly. 4. Wrap the roll in fruit leather and slice into 1 inch pieces. 5. Shape the rest into small blocks and top each with a gummy fish. 6. Garnish with candy pearls.

Fried Egg Cookies With Apricot Yolks

A round sugar cookie, a puddle of white royal icing and half a canned apricot on top: that is all it takes to make a plate of sunny side up eggs. The apricot is glossy and orange, just like a soft yolk, and the icing spreads into a wobbly egg white shape on its own. Serve them on a breakfast plate beside a strip of chewy fruit leather bacon. Kids love food illusion recipes like this one, because no two eggs come out the same and every wobbly one looks real.

You will need: 12 baked round sugar cookies, 2 cups powdered sugar, 2 tablespoons meringue powder, 3 to 4 tablespoons water, 6 canned apricot halves, drained and patted dry, 1 tablespoon apricot jam.

How to make it: 1. Whisk the powdered sugar, meringue powder and water into a thick but flowing icing. 2. Spoon a puddle of icing onto each cookie and nudge it into an uneven egg white shape. 3. Cut the apricot halves in half again to make small round yolks. 4. Press one yolk into the wet icing. 5. Brush the yolks with warm jam for shine. 6. Let them set 2 hours before stacking.

Pepperoni Pizza Cookie Cake

This giant cookie is one of those food illusion recipes that looks like it came straight from the pizza shop. A soft sugar cookie crust is spread with strawberry jam sauce, covered in grated white chocolate cheese and topped with round red fruit candies that pass for pepperoni. Cut it with a real pizza wheel and serve it from a cardboard pizza round for the full effect. It is a great dessert for a game night or a sleepover, and kids can decorate their own slices.

You will need: 1 roll sugar cookie dough or homemade dough for a 12 inch pan, 1/2 cup strawberry jam, 1 cup grated white chocolate, 15 round red fruit chews or red fruit leather circles, a few green candies for peppers.

How to make it: 1. Heat the oven to 350F and grease a 12 inch pizza pan. 2. Press the dough into the pan, leaving a slightly thicker edge for the crust. 3. Bake 15 to 18 minutes until golden and cool completely. 4. Spread jam over the center like sauce. 5. Scatter the white chocolate cheese. 6. Add the red candy pepperoni and green candy peppers, then slice with a pizza wheel.

Hot Dog Eclairs With Mustard and Ketchup

A golden eclair shell already looks a lot like a hot dog bun. Split it open, pipe in chocolate pastry cream, then tuck in a long chocolate cookie stick or rolled fudge sausage. A zigzag of yellow lemon icing and red strawberry icing finishes the look of mustard and ketchup. Line them up in paper hot dog trays for a cookout party that ends with a big surprise.

You will need: 12 baked eclair shells or store-bought shells, 2 cups chocolate pudding or pastry cream, 12 chocolate covered cookie sticks or rolls of chocolate fudge, 1/2 cup yellow lemon icing, 1/2 cup red strawberry icing.

How to make it: 1. Slice each eclair shell along the top without cutting all the way through. 2. Pipe a line of chocolate cream inside. 3. Press a cookie stick sausage into the cream. 4. Put the yellow and red icings into small piping bags. 5. Pipe a zigzag of mustard and a line of ketchup over each one. 6. Chill 20 minutes and serve.

Candy Corn on the Cob Popcorn Balls

These treats look like buttery corn on the cob, the kind you would see at a harvest picnic. Sticky marshmallow popcorn is shaped into a cob around a wooden stick, then pressed with rows of yellow jelly beans that look just like kernels. Wrap the bottom in green fruit leather for the husk. They are a sweet surprise next to the real side dishes at a fall party, and they hold their shape for a day.

You will need: 8 cups popped popcorn, 3 tablespoons butter, 4 cups mini marshmallows, 2 cups yellow jelly beans, 8 wooden sticks, 4 sheets green fruit leather.

How to make it: 1. Put the popcorn in a large greased bowl. 2. Melt the butter and marshmallows and pour over the popcorn, stirring to coat. 3. Let it cool until you can handle it. 4. With buttered hands, press the popcorn around each stick into a long cob shape. 5. Press jelly beans in tight rows all over. 6. Cut the fruit leather into husk shapes and wrap around the base.

Mini Apple Pies Shaped Like Pumpkins

Here the trick is on the pumpkin lovers. Each little pie is shaped like a round pumpkin, scored with ribs and brushed with an orange egg wash, but the filling inside is cinnamon apple. A small pastry stem and leaf finish the look. Set a few among real mini pumpkins on the Thanksgiving table and watch your guests reach for a decoration that turns out to be dessert.

You will need: 2 refrigerated pie crusts, 2 apples peeled and finely diced, 1/4 cup brown sugar, 1 teaspoon cinnamon, 1 tablespoon flour, 1 egg, a few drops orange food coloring, 1 tablespoon milk.

How to make it: 1. Heat the oven to 375F. 2. Toss the apples with sugar, cinnamon and flour. 3. Cut the crust into 4 inch circles, spoon filling onto half and top with the rest, pinching the edges into a round ball. 4. Press 6 ribs into each ball with the back of a knife. 5. Beat the egg with milk and coloring and brush on. 6. Add a pastry stem and bake 25 minutes until golden.

Baked Potato Cake, the Last of Our Food Illusion Recipes

To finish your table, try a beginner version of a Sideserf style cake: a baked potato that is really cake. Shape cake pop mix into an oval, roll it in cocoa and cinnamon for a dusty potato skin, then split the top and fill with yellow buttercream butter and whipped cream sour cream. Her studio favors simple grocery store helpers like cocoa, food coloring and candy melts, and these food illusion recipes prove they are all you need to fool the family.

You will need: 1 baked vanilla cake, 1 cup frosting, 3 tablespoons cocoa powder, 1 teaspoon cinnamon, 1/2 cup yellow buttercream, 1/2 cup whipped cream, green sprinkles.

How to make it: 1. Crumble the cake and mix with the frosting into a firm dough. 2. Shape 4 large ovals with a few lumps and dimples. 3. Chill 1 hour. 4. Mix the cocoa and cinnamon and roll each potato in it. 5. Cut a slit on top and gently squeeze the ends to open it. 6. Fill with yellow buttercream and a dollop of whipped cream, then sprinkle green chives.