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Chocolate Caramel Turtle Cake of Wonder!

by Jamie

This year MyLittleTwin boys, who are the youngest of my 5 children, up and started first grade.  My feelings were a little bit mixed, I have to admit. It marked the closing of a chapter and I felt a little blue at the prospect of sending my last little ones off for the whole day, every day.  Who would I eat lunch with, you know?

That said, I would be lying if I told you I wasn’t  also feeling pretty excited at the idea of having some quiet time to get things done. The night before school started I got into bed and lay there thinking about how wonderful it would be, to be able to get everything done. EVERYTHING! I had visions of myself getting my house totally clean, blog work done (I might even be able to answer all of my emails!!! So sorry if you’ve sent an email to me that I never answered, I try to get to them all, I truly do. Sorry if I missed ya), laundry washed and neatly folded, church work completed, my yard free from weeds, the grocery shopping done and dinner simmering on the stove every single day…all before my kids came bounding through the door at 2:30. “Maybe I will be Martha Stewart after all!!!!!”  is what I was thinking and telling myself. Heck, I might even be able to fit a couple of exercise sessions in there…how fabulous! My hips might finally recover from their food blog coma. I had high hopes, is what I am telling you here.

School started about a month ago.

Let me let you in on a little secret.

I ain’t no Martha, sister.

Turns out GETTING EVERYTHING DONE is sitting smack dab in middle of THE RIVER IMPOSSIBLE. And she’s not budging, baby. No she’s not.

And you know what? That’s ok with me. Pass the chocolate, and a fantastic  book won’t you? There’s got to be a few spare minutes in the day to soak up that kind of stuff, right? If I spend a little time on myself (and less time polishing my furniture) I’m better apt to deal with the chaos coming through the door at the end of the day. Who would have thought. Taking time to enjoy a bit of R and R makes a better mama. Note to self.

Thanks for listening. Girl in the midst of a small life change here. 🙂

Now, let me tell you about this cake. You do NOT need to be Martha to make this cake. Perfect Culinary Skills are not required. And man, is it fabulous! A moist chocolate cake is layered with caramel that gets baked right into the middle. It’s rich, decadent and will make you look like a cooking rock star of wonder. It will! Now, let’s make it!

Chocolate Caramel Turtle Cake from Jamie Cooks It Up-

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1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. 2. Grab a chocolate cake mix and dump it into your stand mixer, or large mixing bowl. Add 1/3 cup flour and 1 small package of instant chocolate pudding. Toss it around a bit to combine. 3. Add 4 eggs, 1 1/2 cups water, 1/3 cup oil, 1 teaspoon vanilla and 1/3 cup sour cream. Mix on low for 30 seconds. Scrape the bottom of the bowl with a rubber spatula and mix on medium speed for 2 minutes, or until the batter is nice and glossy.

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4. Spray a 9×13 pan with cooking spray. Pour half…(only HALF) of the batter into the pan. Toss it in the oven and bake for 15 minutes.

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5. While the bottom half of the cake bakes, grab some caramels. You need 1 (14 ounce) bag of wrapped caramels, or 2 1/2 cups of these handy caramel bits. If you are using the Caramel Bits be sure to buy two bags, one is not enough for this recipe. You could make this fabulous Halloween Munch Mix with the leftovers. 🙂

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6. Toss the caramel into a medium-sized sauce pan. Add 1/2 cup butter and put the pan on the stove. Over medium high heat, stir the caramel and butter together. Don’t be worried if it looks kind of yucky like this. Once the caramel gets warm enough it will melt nicely for you…

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and it will end up looking like this. Beautiful. Martha would be so proud!

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7. Remove the pan from the heat and add 1 can of sweetened condensed milk. Stir it well to combine.

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8. Take the cake from the oven and pour the caramel over the top.

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Make sure the whole cake gets covered up. Some of it will seep down the sides of the cake. (That’s the best part, in my book).

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9. Pour the remaining cake batter on top of the caramel and carefully smooth it out.

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10. Roughly chop 1 cup of pecans…

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and sprinkle them on top of the cake.

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11. Place the pan back in the oven and bake for 30 more minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the top layer of the cake comes out clean. 12. Allow the cake to cool for 15 minutes, then you are ready to dig in! Enjoy!

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Pinterest friendly image below…

Chocolate Caramel Turtle Cake Jamie Cooks It Up!

Thanks for dropping by today!

Serves: 12 servings Prep Time: Cooking Time:
Nutrition facts: 200 calories 20 grams fat
Rating: 5.0/5
( 1 voted )

Ingredients

  • 1 Chocolate Cake Mix
  • 1/3 C flour
  • 1 (3.4 ounce) chocolate pudding
  • 4 eggs
  • 1 1/2 C water
  • 1/3 C oil
  • 1/3 C sour cream
  • 1 t vanilla
  • 1 (14 ounce) package of wrapped caramels or 2 1/2 C caramel bits
  • 1/2 C butter 1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
  • 1 C pecans, chopped

Instructions

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
2. Grab a chocolate cake mix and dump it into your stand mixer, or large mixing bowl. Add 1/3 cup flour and 1 small package of instant chocolate pudding. Toss it around a bit to combine.
3. Add 4 eggs, 1 1/2 cups water, 1/3 cup oil, 1 teaspoon vanilla and 1/3 cup sour cream. Mix on low for 30 seconds. Scrape the bottom of the bowl with a rubber spatula and mix on medium speed for 2 minutes, or until the batter is nice and glossy.
4. Spray a 9x13 pan with cooking spray. Pour half...(only HALF) of the batter into the pan. Toss it in the oven and bake for 15 minutes.
5. While the bottom half of the cake bakes, grab some caramels. You need 1 (14 ounce) bag of wrapped caramels, or 2 1/2 cups of these handy caramel bits. If you are using the Caramel Bits be sure to buy two bags, one is not enough for this recipe. You could make this fabulous Halloween Munch Mix with the leftovers. 🙂
6. Toss the caramel into a medium-sized sauce pan. Add 1/2 cup butter and put the pan on the stove. Over medium high heat, stir the caramel and butter together. Don't be worried if it looks kind of yucky like this. Once the caramel gets warm enough it will melt nicely for you and it will end up looking like this. Beautiful. Martha would be so proud!
7. Remove the pan from the heat and add 1 can of sweetened condensed milk. Stir it well to combine.
8. Take the cake from the oven and pour the caramel over the top. Make sure the whole cake gets covered up. Some of it will seep down the sides of the cake. (That's the best part, in my book).
9. Pour the remaining cake batter on top of the caramel and carefully smooth it out.
10. Roughly chop 1 cup of pecans and sprinkle them on top of the cake.
11. Place the pan back in the oven and bake for 30 more minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the top layer of the cake comes out clean.
12. Allow the cake to cool for 15 minutes, then you are ready to dig in! Enjoy!

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17 comments

Erin R. September 27, 2013 - 12:39 pm

Oh, my goodness, I LOVE how the caramel blobs down the sides! I’m definitely saving this recipe. I’m always up for a good cake mix assist.

Also, it’s truly good to hear you’re enjoying some time to yourself. The laundry isn’t going anywhere and your family is going to be much happier with a happy Jamie than with a pristine house. You have certainly earned a little leisure. High five!

Reply
Mary September 27, 2013 - 9:20 pm

I love anything that starts with a cake mix. This recipe has it all caramel, chocolate and pecans……yummy!!! Can’t wait to make and share with my family! Thanks!

Reply
Mimi @ Culinary Cout September 27, 2013 - 10:09 pm

Love me some chocolatey caramel goodness! Those caramel bits look like chickpeas LOL!

Reply
Kim B September 28, 2013 - 1:13 am

You had me at caramel!! Looks DELISH! Thank you for sharing, will be making soon 🙂

Reply
Sandy B. September 28, 2013 - 6:31 pm

Love your website!! Gonna have to make this very soon!

Reply
Maria September 29, 2013 - 6:24 pm

I want a piece!

Reply
Sweets February 8, 2014 - 12:01 am

It’s a real plraeuse to find someone who can think like that

Reply
Emma September 30, 2013 - 6:02 pm

wow that looks delicious! This is the perfect time to stock up on caramels!!!

Reply
Carol bond November 14, 2013 - 4:16 pm

Why does it look like all the caramel is at the bottom of the cake,I want to try it but dont know!!!!

Reply
Jamie November 15, 2013 - 6:42 am

Carol,
Thanks for your question. A bit of the caramel will work it’s way over the edge of the cake, and cook onto the bottom of the pan but most of it stays right in the middle. Good luck! Let me know if you try it and how it goes. 🙂
~Jamie

Reply
N. Michel December 1, 2013 - 7:15 am

wonderful site/recipes but I dislike the fact that you can not print off a recipe without printing all of the pictures with step but stp directions.

Reply
Jamie December 1, 2013 - 7:29 am

N.Michel,
If you look just under the title and before the list of ingredients there is a link titled “Print Recipe” that will take you to a printable page. Good luck!
~Jamie

Reply
Jane S. Foster October 10, 2014 - 9:26 am

Can I make this cake one or two days ahead of serving by putting it in the refrigerator?

Reply
Ganyne Rementer February 26, 2015 - 11:53 am

I make a version of Turtle Cake using Devil’s Food cake mix. After baking the first 1/2 of the cake mix, I pour the caramel mixture, then sprinkle with mini-chocolate morsels and chopped walnuts. Then pour 2nd 1/2 of batter and bake. Once cake is cool, then I frost cake and sprinkle again with mini-morsels and walnuts

Reply
Ashton April 28, 2015 - 3:35 am

My mama made it this exact way… She called it a Turtlette cake… It was absolutely amazing. Everyone always loved it and it didn’t last very long when she made one.

Reply
Karen Howard May 27, 2015 - 10:13 am

Wow! So easy & scrumptious! Going up to Vermont to visit my New Grand daughter & I’m bringing this recipe with me! Can’t wait to try it! Thanks so much.

Reply
RoseMary Carr July 7, 2017 - 6:44 pm

love your recipes!

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