Turtle Poke Cake
With a caramel filling and a pecan topping, this Turtle Poke Cake is a twist on my family’s favorite Triple Chocolate Poke Cake. Pure decadence!
Turtle Poke Cake
I’ve loved turtles since I was a youngster. No, not the four-legged reptile, but instead the pecan candies with chewy caramel and chocolate. My family went crazy when I made my first poke cake and from there, the wheels started turning. How about a turtle version?
I poked holes in the baked cake and filled them with homemade caramel sauce. Followed up with a creamy chocolate buttercream and a sprinkling of pecans and chocolate chips, all the components for a turtle dessert were fulfilled. Unless you wait till the cake is fully cooled, the caramel will partially absorb into the cake, making it one of the richest, moistest chocolate cakes you’ll ever encounter.
I like an additional drizzle of caramel sauce over my slice before diving in. This isn’t a dessert for the faint of heart nor the calorie-conscious. I can’t think of a turtle dessert that is! But it’s worth the splurge.
Caramel Sauce
Two batches of my Microwave Caramel Sauce will be plenty for this recipe. You’ll have enough left to make a turtle sundae with some vanilla ice cream, fudge sauce, and toasted pecans. You can certainly use jarred caramel sauce but buy a premium brand. Check the ingredients and look for sugar, cream, vanilla, etc. You definitely want to avoid any artificial flavorings. Be forewarned, this turtle poke cake is hard to cut into beautiful slices. I refrigerated first, but it tastes best if left out on the counter for a bit before serving. But I don’t think anyone would complain if you used a spoon and scooped out a generous portion!
You’ll Need:
More Poke Cakes:
Needless to say, my kids (and they’re BIG kids now) loved this Turtle Poke Cake. I won’t deny that they all scraped off the pecans, but that’s a given around here.
- Carrot Cake Poke Cake from Something Swanky
- Baileys Poke Cake from Wine and Glue
- Milky Way Poke Cake from Chef in Training
- Chocolate Mint Poke Cake from Crazy for Crust
- Easy Margarita Poke Cake
- Boston Cream Pie Poke Cake
- Chocolate Kahlua Poke Cake
- More Cake Recipes
Turtle Poke Cake
A moist chocolate cake saturated with caramel sauce and finished off with chocolate buttercream, pecans, and chocolate chips.
Ingredients
Cake:
- 1 ¾ cup flour
- 1 ¾ cups sugar
- ¾ cup unsweetened cocoa
- 2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 2 eggs
- 1 cup coffee, cooled
- 1 cup buttermilk
- ½ cup vegetable oil
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
Filling:
- 1 ½ -2 cups caramel sauce (I used my homemade microwave caramel sauce, but any good quality store-bought is fine)
Frosting:
- ½ cup butter (1 stick), at room temperature
- ⅔ cup cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 3 cups powdered sugar
- ⅓ cup milk
Garnish:
- 1 cup chopped pecans
- ½ cup mini chocolate chips
- Caramel sauce to drizzle over slices, optional
Instructions
- Spray a 9 x 13-inch pan with non-stick cooking spray. Set aside.
- Preheat oven to 350º.
- In a large mixing bowl or bowl of a stand mixer, combine flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, and baking powder.
- In a large Pyrex measuring cup or medium mixing bowl, whisk together eggs, coffee, buttermilk, vegetable oil, and vanilla.
- Add the liquids to the dry ingredients and beat for a couple of minutes, scraping down the sides as needed.
- Pour the cake batter into the prepared pan and bake for 30-40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
- When the cake is done, let cool on a wire rack for about 5 minutes.
- Then take a wooden spoon and using the handle end, poke rows of holes across the cake.
- Pour the caramel sauce into the holes. Reserve any leftover sauce to use as a garnish.
- Cool to room temperature before frosting.
- To make the frosting, beat together butter and cocoa. Add vanilla and mix well.
- Then alternate adding milk and powdered sugar till all is incorporated and the mixture is smooth.
- Frost the cake.
- Sprinkle cake with pecans, then chocolate chips.
- To serve, cut slices and drizzle with caramel sauce.
Notes
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
24Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 391Total Fat: 14gSaturated Fat: 4gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 9gCholesterol: 26mgSodium: 341mgCarbohydrates: 66gFiber: 2gSugar: 55gProtein: 4g
30 Comments on “Turtle Poke Cake”
Making it again tonight because it’s so very good.
This is fantastic!! It was a huge hit at my house!!
Really a nice texture of the cake. I appreciate the way you prepared it.
Should be great in taste too.
Poke me with a bite of that please! I can see why this is a hit. All my faves in one bite!
That cake looks so rich and decadent!
The name is so cute, Liz. I’m still trying to figure out why the name turtle. Hahaha! Sounds like such a fun dessert. Have a good week, dear! xoxo
Liz this sounds amazing! My favorite candy growing up were turtles and I still love them this would be a huge hit in my family and especially with my mom the biggest turtle fan of all of us great recipe. Saving to try soon.
Oh my! I bet this cake doesn’t last long! Sounds delicious. What a great treat.
Fabulous! So many comments…my mouse was giving me trouble trying to get to the bottom of them. Several tries later! lol 😉
I love turtles too. This looks like my kind of cake. I would be afraid that I would eat the whole cake myself it looks so yummy.
I LOVE TURTLE DESSERTS! and the gooeyness factor with this poke cake is seriously irresistible!
That cake looks incredibly tender. I love chocolate and caramel together.
Great poke cake, Liz! My Bill would flip over this and the family would devour it quickly. Thanks for the recipe and have a great week!
I have recently made microwave caramel and I must say it was super easy. Turtle cake name has always intrigued me, and this looks super rich and super delicious! Would love to try this soon.
I love the little candied turtles, I bet this is delicious Liz!!!
This cake sounds decadent and very, very appealing! Thanks for sharing the recipe!
I am so craving a decadent dessert and a slice of this cake is exactly what I need!
Saving your microwave caramel recipe! I can see why you and Kim B are friends =) She’s a turtle fan, too. Next time I see you I’ve got to gift you with Japanese caramels and get your caramel connoisseur opinion =)
When I read the word “turtle” in your recipe title, I knew right away that I’d love it since it means all things caramel and chocolate to me from growing up with “turtle’ candy. My mother would always slip them into both my brother’s and my Christmas stockings since she knew we craved them so much. But your cake is so many times better! I’ll take turtle cake over turtle candy any day. This will be a new winner in my family of caramel and chocolate lovers!
xo
Roz
How decadent! While I don’t have a huge sweet tooth I do love both pecans and caramel.
*Decadent*! Save me a slice!
Lovely. Beyond words, Liz. I recently made a Whiskey Cake that was a four stage process. I am turning it into a poke cake the next time I make it. Great recipe for Sunday Suppers.
Okay, I am so making this with carob. That ooey gooey goodness is irresistible!
I’m not a big sweet eater, Liz, but I have a weak spot for caramel and pecans. Your poke cake is gorgeous!
I’ve always loved the amazing chocolate, caramel and nut turtles…I knew we thought alike the first time I read your blog and every time I come back it gets better and better. This is amazing. I have the Granddaughters two afternoons a week and we bake. This is first on the list!
WOWWWW
These brownies are really AMAZING !! Chocolate and caramel – I can only imagine the heavenly taste
I’m ready to splurge! Spoon me up a nice big bowl please!
I love turtles too! Who couldn’t love chocolate, caramel and pecans?!
I recently bought a can of caramel sauce from the Borden sweetened condensed milk folks-it’s pretty good! I’ve only been adding it to iced coffee, cake would be better:@)
This is super rich and tempting chocolate cake!