Turtle Cake

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Super indulgent turtle cake made with my favorite black cocoa cake, frosted with a simple chocolate buttercream and a caramel pecan filling made with homemade salted caramel sauce.

chocolate turtle cake with a few slices removed

Here is another spin off of my black cocoa cake that I LOVE! I’ve already lost count how many times I’ve used this new chocolate cake recipe. So that should tell you how good it really is right? It also gets more compliments than any other cake I’ve made!

Why You’ll Love This Turtle Cake

If you’re ready to take your baking game to the next level this fall, this cake is sooooo worth it. This may not be the simplest recipe, but I sure bet you won’t regret spending time making this beauty!
Take an indulgent chocolate cake and mix with homemade salted caramel goodness and toasted pecans!
This turtle cake will be sure to impress anyone you make it for, whether it be a party, thanksgiving, or just for friends, they won’t believe that you made it yourself. It’s perfect for the holidays or any time of the year!

Like I mentioned before, my new black cocoa cake recipe is now my go to for all my chocolate cakes. I used it to make my chocolate s’mores cake, ice cream sandwiches, lemon chocolate cake, and a chocolate pistachio cake.

Other fall favorites that use this same homemade caramel sauce are my caramel pecan pie, caramel tart, and caramel apple cake. These are all great ideas for thanksgiving or friendsgivings.

slice of chocolate turtle cake with a piece on a fork

What is a Turtle Cake?

A turtle cake is a rich, layered dessert inspired by the classic turtle candy, which combines chocolate, caramel, and pecans. It typically features moist chocolate cake layers filled and topped with gooey caramel sauce, crunchy pecans, and a luscious chocolate ganache or buttercream.

My secret to getting a beautiful turtle cake that not only looks good, but slices smoothly, stays together, and tastes great is homemade caramel sauce. I don’t recommend using a store bought caramel UNLESS you find one that’s a little thicker and tastes really good because runny bottled stuff will likely leak out and not keep the filling inside the cake. Also spending a few extra minutes toasting your pecans adds that extra mmm to your bites, although it’s not 100% necessary.

Ingredients

Flour: I use all purpose flour in most of my recipes BUT sometimes you just cannot beat the texture of cake flour. I highly recommend King Arthur’s Cake Flour. It is far superior to some alternatives in the grocery stores.
- I have used the “homemade cake flour” trick by replacing 1 tablespoon of all-purpose flour with cornstarch.
- I HIGHLY recommend using a digital scale, as flour is so often over measured.
Baking Powder: to leaven the cake. I haven’t tested this with baking soda but it should work fine with ¾ tsp.
Cocoa Powder: I use dutch-processed, but natural is fine too.
Sugar: I used granulated sugar in the caramel sauce and cake and I don’t recommend cutting any out as it contributes a lot to texture and it’s not overly sweet… it’s actually not very sweet at all (even though it seems like a lot).
- I also used powdered sugar in the frosting and don’t recommend cutting any out.
Butter: I love salted butter for the caramel sauce and unsalted for the buttercream.
- If you only have unsalted butter, you can add an extra pinch of salt to the butter for the caramel.
Oil: I like oil in chocolate cake recipes – any neutral oil, like avocado, canola, etc. is fine.
Eggs: I use large eggs, make sure they’re room temperature. If not, then just place it in a cup of hot water for 10 minutes before using it.
Sour Cream: I’ve used greek yogurt and sour cream in this recipe and they both work well. You can also use plain yogurt.
Coffee: I use hot coffee in this recipe. I usually use Americanos but fresh brewed coffee is fine too. If you don’t want to use coffee, hot water will work as well, the flavor will just be a little less intense… The acid from the coffee also helps make it a little more tender and it’s not a noticeable coffee flavor so I do recommend the coffee.
Whipped Cream: Make sure it’s heavy whipping cream and works best at room temperature for the butter cream. I also use the heavy whipping cream for the caramel sauce.
Pecans: Any store bought is fine, you will chop them somewhat finely.
Vanilla: I used a little vanilla bean paste in the buttercream but extract works too.
Salt: I like fine sea salt for use in baking, which really helps bring out flavors.

Step-by-Step Instructions

Black Cocoa Cake

Step 1: Whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt until they’re evenly distributed.

Step 2: In a separate bowl, whisk the oil, sugar, eggs and sour cream until they’re well combined and smooth.

Step 3: Sift the dry ingredients over the wet and whisk just a little – about halfway.

Step 4: Pour in the hot coffee and whisk until the batter is completely smooth.

Step 5: Scrape the edge of the bowl and give it a good mix. Pour into prepared cake tin(s).

Step 6: Bake for 40ish minutes, until the tallest part of the cake, in the center, springs back when you press on it. If you’re hesitant, give it another minute or so.

You can also bake the cake in three 8 inch pans instead of one pan and slicing into thirds. 3 layers would be about 14-15 ounces each and bake for about 20 minutes.

Step 7: Let the cake rest for 10 minutes in the pan, then flip over onto a tea towel.

Step 8: Let the cake cool upside down for 30 minutes or so and then flip back over.

Step 9: Once it’s cooled, slice the cake into thirds so you have a three layer cake.

dry ingredients whisked together — wet ingredients whisked together

Caramel Pecan Filling

Step 1: Make the caramel sauce by cooking water and sugar on the stovetop until it turns into an amber color while swirling (not stirring). Remove from the heat.

Step 2: Add the butter and whisk until it’s combined. Then add the heavy cream and whisk until it’s smooth

Step 3: Pour the caramel into a heat safe bowl and add the salt, whisking just until they’re combined. Cover and allow to cool completely to room temperature or chill in the refrigerator.

Step 4: Meanwhile, place the pecans in a pot over medium heat to toast, stirring every couple of minutes until browned.

Step 5: Chop the pecans somewhat finely and fold them into a measured out caramel sauce in a medium bowl.

sugar water heating — heat sugar over medium-low heat

sugar turning into an amber color — heat sugar over medium-low heat

Chocolate Buttercream

Step 1: Beat the butter for a few minutes, scraping the bottom and sides of the bowl halfway through.

Step 2: Add the powdered sugar, cocoa powder and salt and beat the frosting for another few minutes, scraping the bottom and sides of the bowl halfway through.

Step 3: Add the vanilla and slowly stream in the heavy whipping cream with the mixer going on low speed, scrape and mix at a medium-high speed until combined and fluffy.

Assemble

Step 1: Spread a thin layer of frosting on the first layer of cake and then pipe a border of frosting around the edge.

make sure it’s a nice thick border to hold the caramel in.

Step 2: Fill the border in with a layer of the caramel pecan mixture

If the cake feels soft/unsteady at this point, refrigerate it for about 15-20 minutes before placing the next layer of cake on top.

Step 3: Repeat with the second layer of cake. Refrigerate and then place the third layer on top.

Step 4: Refrigerate the cake for 30 minutes, then frost the outside of the cake and top with leftover pecan filling or caramel sauce.

black cocoa cake with a layer of chocolate frosting and a border or frosting piped around the edge.

border filled in with caramel pecan filling — black cocoa cake with a layer of chocolate frosting and a border or frosting piped around the edge.

Expert Tips On Getting Perfect Turtle Cake

Don’t swap ingredients unless I mentioned them in the ingredient section above.
Don’t reduce the sugar. I know a lot of people do that for some recipes but not this one.
Weigh your ingredients with a digital scale.
Weigh the batter for each cake tin to get even layers (if you’re using two pans).
Use homemade caramel sauce, cheap store bought ones are usually runny and will likely leak out and not keep the filling inside the cake.

What Sizes Can I Make This Turtle Cake

Make sure to read my Black Cocoa Cake post for more details on how to adjust the cake to the different sizes but if you’re using just the recipe in the recipe card and not adjust that at all then you could get:

Three (taller) or four (shorter) 6 inch cakes
Three 8 inch cake layers
Two 9 inch cakes
One 10 inch cake
One 9×13” cake
24 cupcakes

If you’re making cupcakes, I put 50 grams in each cupcake tin and bake for about 18-20 minutes. You could add the caramel pecan filling inside and/or on top of the cupcake frosting like I did with my chocolate caramel cupcake recipe.

When baking, generally a thinner layer will get 20-25 minutes of baking and a thicker cake layer will get 30-40 minutes.

Once it no longer looks wet, press on the center of the cake gently and it will spring back when it’s done baking. If it doesn’t spring back, give it another few minutes.

You’ll likely have leftover filling if you change the size of the cake layers though.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I use all-purpose flour?

I have used the “homemade cake flour” trick by replacing 1 tablespoon of all-purpose flour with cornstarch. The cake will work if you make them this way but they won’t be quite as soft and tender.
I HIGHLY recommend using a digital scale, as flour is so often over measured.

Can this be made dairy free?

You can definitely use a dairy free yogurt or sour cream, whatever you find. For the frosting, you can use dairy free cream and butter.

Can this be made gluten-free?

I haven’t tested it but pretty much all my other cakes work fine with a 1:1 substitute like Bob’s or King Arthurs so I don’t see why not.

Can I make this ahead of time?

This cake holds on to moisture really well so you can make it ahead (even frozen). The caramel can stay covered in the fridge for weeks. Frosting can be made ahead but I recommend making it fresh because it’s usually easier to work with.

Do I have to use black cocoa powder?

I used black cocoa powder because this is my black cocoa cake and I love it but it should work just fine with regular cocoa powder.

How do I know when it’s done baking?

Just like all the rest of my cakes, I test if it’s done baking by pressing gently on the tallest part of the cake. The cake will spring back if it’s done baking. If it stays indented, give it a few minutes in the oven, before testing again.

chocolate turtle cake with a couple slices cut out

How To Store This Turtle Cake

This cake can be really soft so I actually recommend refrigerating it. I would store it airtight in the fridge for up to a week. I don’t like when things taste like “the fridge” lol so if you leave it uncovered it can get a weird fridge taste (maybe that’s just me?) so I recommend covering it with plastic wrap (once the frosting feels firm) or a tall cake dome would work best if you have one.

To freeze, refrigerate the cake until it’s solid and then wrap it in plastic wrap followed by foil. Make sure to cover it well. I usually just slice it and lay them in a large pan and cover the pan with plastic wrap and foil.

Thanks so much for reading today’s post, if you have any questions just comment down below. If you make this fabulous turtle cake, I’d love it if you left a star rating or a review for me!

As always, have a blessed day and happy baking!

Love, B

Turtle Cake

Super indulgent turtle cake made with my favorite black cocoa cake, frosted with a simple chocolate buttercream and a caramel pecan filling made with homemade salted caramel sauce.

5 from 2 votes

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 1 30

Cook Time 35

Total Time 3 5

Course Cakes

Cuisine American

Servings servings

Calories 765 kcal

Equipment

1 large bowl
1 Whisk
1 Rubber Spatula
1 stand mixer or hand mixer
1 8×3 inch or three 8 inch pans see blog post for other size options
1 offset spatula
1 large knife