Friday, January 4

CHOCOLATE TURTLE CAKE

If you need to entice someone OR would like to impress a crowd, this cake would be the way to go! It's a sure thing. I promise.
God made chocolate, caramel, and pecans to be eaten together, and their flavors meld perfectly in this stunning chocolate layer cake. It is made quick and easy by using a  store-bought cake mix and icing. Starting with  a devil's food cake mix and adding pudding plus chocolate morsels   gives you brownie-like cake layers. Fill and frost your cake with jazzed up ready-to-spread fudge frosting. The finishing touches are turtle candies and a drizzling of caramel ice cream topping. It couldn't be easier, not unless you could find someone to spoon feed it to you! Seriously, how could you possibly go wrong??

CHOCOLATE TURTLE CAKE
INGREDIENTS
  • unsweetened cocoa
  • (18.25-oz.) package devil's food cake mix
  • (3.9-oz.) package chocolate instant pudding mix
  • large eggs 
  • 1 1/4 cups milk 
  • 1 cup vegetable oil 
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract 
  • 1 teaspoon chocolate extract
  • 1 teaspoon instant coffee granules 
  • (6-oz.) package semisweet chocolate morsels 
  • 1 cup chopped pecans 
  • (16-oz.) container ready-to-spread cream cheese frosting
  • 1/2 cup canned dulce de leche
  • (7-oz.) packages turtle candies
  • (16-oz.) can ready-to-spread chocolate fudge frosting 
  • (12-oz.) jar caramel ice cream topping
  • 1/4 cup pecan halves, toasted 
WHAT TO DO
  • Preheat oven to 350°. Grease 2 (9-inch) round cake pans, and dust with cocoa. Set aside.
  • 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.
  • 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.
  • 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.
  • 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. 
  • Serves: 12
Note:
The canned dulce de leche product is by Nestlé and available in a 14-oz. can. Don't worry about the fact that you are not using the whole can in your cake. Believe me....someone in your house will eat it right out of the can! It's quite thick, and when blended with ready-to-spread cream cheese frosting, makes a rich, caramel-flavored filling. Find it in your local market on the ethnic foods aisle. 

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