Chocolate Turtle Cake

Chocolate Turtle Cake

Chocolate, caramel, and pecans are made to be together, and their flavors harmonize perfectly in this stunning chocolate layer cake. Devil's food cake mix with pudding plus chocolate morsels result in brownie-like layers filled and frosted with a jazzed up ready-to-spread fudge frosting. The finishing touches are turtle candies and a drizzling of dulce de leche ice cream topping

ingredients

• Unsweetened cocoa
• 1 (18.25-oz.) package devil's food cake mix
• 1 (3.9-oz.) package chocolate instant pudding mix
• 3 large eggs $
• 1 1/4 cups milk $
• 1 cup canola oil $
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon chocolate extract
• 1 teaspoon instant coffee granules $
• 1 (6-oz.) package semiss $
• 1 (16-oz.) container ready-to-spread cream cheese frosting
• 1/2 cup canned dulce de leche
• 2 (7-oz.) packages turtle candies
• 1 (16-oz.) can ready-to-spread chocolate fudge frosting
• 1 (12-oz.) jar dulce de leche ice cream topping
• 1/4 cup pecan halves, toastedweet chocolate morsels
• 1 cup chopped pecan

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 350°. Grease 2 (9-inch) round cake pans, and dust with cocoa. Set aside.

2. Beat cake mix and next 7 ingredients at low speed with an electric mixer 1 minute; beat at medium speed 2 minutes. Fold in chocolate morsels and chopped pecans. Pour batter into prepared pans.

3. Bake at 350° for 30 to 32 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pans on wire racks 10 minutes. Remove from pans to wire racks, and cool completely. Wrap and chill cake layers at least 1 hour.

4. Whisk together cream cheese frosting and canned dulce de leche in a small bowl until well blended. Set aside. Cut 6 turtle candies in half, and set aside for garnish. Dice remaining turtle candies.

5. Using a serrated knife, slice cake layers in half horizontally to make 4 layers. Place 1 layer, cut side up, on cake plate. Spread with 1/2 cup cream cheese frosting mixture; sprinkle with one-third diced turtle candies. Repeat procedure twice. Place final cake layer on top of cake, cut side down. Spread chocolate fudge frosting on top and sides of cake. Cover and chill in refrigerator until ready to serve. Just before serving, drizzle dulce de leche ice cream topping over top of cake. Garnish with remaining halved turtle candies and pecan halves. Store in refrigerator.

Note:

We tested with 2 dulce de leche products: canned and jarred. The canned product is by Nestlé and available in a 14-oz. can. It's quite thick, and when blended with ready-to-spread cream cheese frosting, makes a rich, caramel-flavored filling. Find it in the supermarket with the Mexican ingredients. The jarred dulce de leche ice cream topping is perfect to drizzle over the finished cake. Find it in the supermarket with other ice cream toppings.

Double-Caramel Turtle Cake

Double-Caramel Turtle Cake

One of our most popular cakes, this light chocolate cake has two layers of tender chocolate cake with a low-fat caramel frosting and an easy topping made with store-bought caramel-apple dip and chopped pecans.

Ingredients

Cake:

• Cooking spray
• 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 cups boiling water $
• 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa
• 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
• 6 tablespoons butter, softened
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 large eggs $
• 1 2/3 cups all-purpose flour (7 1/2 ounces)
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

Frosting:

• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1/4 cup packed dark brown sugar
• 2 to 3 tablespoons fat-free milk $
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 cups sifted powdered sugar

Topping:

• 2/3 cup fat-free caramel apple dip (such as T. Marzetti's)
• 1/4 cup finely chopped pecans, toasted $

Preparation

Preheat oven to 350°.

To prepare cake, coat bottoms of 2 (8-inch) round cake pans with cooking spray (do not coat sides of pans); line bottoms with wax paper. Coat wax paper with cooking spray; dust with 1 tablespoon flour.

Combine boiling water and cocoa, stirring well with a whisk. Cool completely.

Place granulated sugar, 6 tablespoons butter, and vanilla in a large bowl; beat with a mixer at medium speed until well blended (about 5 minutes). Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Lightly spoon 1 2/3 cups flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine 1 2/3 cups flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt, stirring well with a whisk. Add flour mixture and cocoa mixture alternately to sugar mixture, beginning and ending with flour mixture.

Pour batter into prepared pans; sharply tap pans once on counter to remove air bubbles. Bake at 350° for 30 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pans 10 minutes on a wire rack; remove from pans. Cool completely on wire rack.

To prepare frosting, melt 2 tablespoons butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Add brown sugar and 2 tablespoons milk; cook 1 minute or until sugar melts. Remove from heat; cool slightly. Combine butter mixture and 2 teaspoons vanilla in a large bowl. Gradually add powdered sugar; beat with a mixer at medium speed until smooth. Add additional milk, 1 teaspoon at a time, beating until spreading consistency.

Place 1 cake layer on a plate; spread top with half of frosting. Place caramel dip in a small zip-top plastic bag. Snip a small hole in 1 corner of bag; drizzle half of caramel dip over frosting. Top with other cake layer. Spread remaining frosting over top of cake; drizzle with remaining caramel dip. Sprinkle with pecans.