Turtles Layer Cake

Name: Turtles Layer Cake
Prep time: 180 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 210 min
Yield: 12
Ingredients: 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour; 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar; 3/4 cup Dutch-processed cocoa powder; 1 1/2 tsp baking soda; 1 tsp baking powder; 1 tsp salt; 1/4 cup vegetable oil; 3/4 cup buttermilk; 3/4 cup hot water; 2 large eggs; 2 tsp vanilla; 1 cup granulated sugar (200g); 1/4 cup water; 150 ml heavy whipping cream (room temperature); 1/2 cup unsalted butter (100g, room temperature); 4.5 oz milk chocolate (good quality, finely chopped); 3 oz heavy whipping cream; 5 large egg whites; 1 1/4 cup granulated sugar; 2 cups unsalted butter (cubed, room temperature); 1/2 cup caramel (cooled); 1 cup pecans (chopped); 6 Turtles Minis

September 11, 2016 by Olivia 106 Comments

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Transform your favorite candy into this Turtles Layer Cake! Layers of rich chocolate cake, caramel buttercream, caramel sauce, and chopped pecans.

We’ve been in our new place just over a week now, and it’s finally starting to feel a bit less chaotic and a bit more like home — some rooms, anyhow. I was super nervous about the kitchen aside from the appliances, as it’s basically a 1989 original. It’s in good shape considering its age, but it’s a far cry from the modern kitchens these days. So I baked up a batch of my favourite chocolate chip cookies to test the setup and the oven. I’ve made those cookies so many times that I know exactly how they should turn out.

I actually struggled with them for the past 3 years, as our previous place had a gas oven. I can now say with confidence that I will never use a gas oven again. EVER. I love a gas cooktop (and miss it), but the inconsistency of the gas oven is horrible for baking. This was proven the other day when I baked up the cookies in an electric oven and they turned out better than they have in years.

The kitchen was actually quite pleasant to bake in. I have a separate “pantry” section for all my baking needs, so it doesn’t feel as cramped as I thought it would. The kitchen sink leaves a lot to be desired (small/cramped), but all in all the kitchen is pretty functional.

We still have a bunch of boxes (most empty) in the basement, but the main floor is done and some of the upstairs. I haven’t touched my photography room yet though. I’m kinda procrastinating it because I don’t really know where to start. It’s a huge mess right now and I need to put up some shelving and a table, etc. I have to get that done next week because I’ve only got so many recipes in the backlog! Like this Turtles Layer Cake.

This Turtles Layer Cake is another one of Ryan’s suggestions. I can always count on him to come up with crazy and delicious ideas. Turtles happen to be my favourite chocolate candy, so it really only made sense to make a cake version, naturally, keeping in line with my never-ending desire to turn other desserts into cakes. Because everything is better as a cake!

In true Olivia fashion, I did more to this Turtles Layer Cake than I should have, and I’m not totally happy with how it turned out. I mean, it looks GOOD, but it looked BETTER before I added the frosting rosettes and mini-Turtles on top.

See, caramel doesn’t set as well as ganache. I had these perfect, and I mean PERFECT, alternating drips and a smooth top going. It was a stunner. But I had some leftover buttercream and wanted to incorporate the mini-Turtles into the cake, so I took it a bit further. Big mistake. The weight of it all started pushing the caramel down the sides and the rosettes literally started sliding down the cake. So much so that one actually slid off and I had to redo it (it’s in the back so you wouldn’t see it in the pics).

I was in a mad rush to take these pics so that the rest of the cake wouldn’t end up a complete disaster. As such, I hate the pics too, and literally re-edited them 3 whole times (countless hours). I keep telling myself that no one will notice the imperfections and no one knows what it looked like “before” so who cares. Except now I’ve told you, and you totally know.

So, if you make this cake, I would recommend skipping the rosettes and Turtles on top. Or at least just do one or the other. I think it was actually the Turtles that did me in. Those suckers are dense.

Cake decorating issues aside, this is one seriously delicious cake. If you’re a Turtles fan (and really, who isn’t?), you will love it! Dense chocolate cake with caramel buttercream and caramel sauce between the layers, and chopped up pecans for some crunch. Pure decadence.

Notes & tips for this Turtles Layer Cake:

Adding rosettes and Turtles will cause the caramel to slide down more. I recommend skipping this step.
To enhance the chocolate flavour of the cake, you can use strong hot coffee instead of hot water.
For the ganache, I let mine set overnight (with plastic wrap placed directly on the surface). It will be too thick at this point, so I microwave it for 10 secs and stir it until it’s the right consistency.
The drip technique works best on a chilled cake so that the drips set quickly.
To help ensure your cake layers bake up nice and flat, see my tips here.

4.89 from 17 votes