One of my absolute favorite things to do is cook with my kids. Cooking and baking bring me so much joy, and I love being able to share something I love with my children. My girls both love it too, and we’ve made a wide variety of things together, from homemade bread, to a million different kinds of cookies, to homemade ice cream. We’ve had our crazy moments at times, like the time my five year old dropped a bag of flour that exploded all over the kitchen, or the time my nine year old knocked over a full bottle of vanilla and our house smelled like cookies for weeks. 🙂 We’ve had a lot of recipe successes and a few spectacular fails, but it’s always a good time! In the past, it has usually been me who has chosen what we bake, but lately my girls are starting to express themselves a little more in what they want to cook. My five year old loves any kind of bread (just like her mama) and her favorite thing to make is homemade tortillas. My nine year old likes to get a little more adventurous, and she’s constantly dreaming up totally crazy desserts, like raspberry cream puffs drizzled with honey and served atop chocolate ice cream, all covered in sprinkles and whipped cream. Just thinking about some of her creations is enough to give me a sugar high! Recently, she was craving an over-the top delicious dessert, so we baked this luscious chocolate turtle poke cake together. She was able to do most of the work by herself, and was so proud of the finished product!
We were inspired by this chocolate turtle cake from Mom Loves Baking, but decided to change things up with some homemade chocolate fudge frosting and salted caramel ice cream topping instead of sweetened condensed milk. The combination of chocolate cake with gooey caramel, fudgy frosting, crunchy pecans, and chocolate chips is amazing!
Chocolate Turtle Poke Cake
The full recipe is at the bottom of the post, but here’s what you’ll need:
chocolate cake mix (and ingredients listed on the box to make the cake) caramel ice cream topping butter vanilla cocoa powder powdered sugar mini chocolate chips pecans
You’ll start by baking your cake according to the package directions. Let it cool for a few minutes, then poke holes in it using the handle of a wooden spoon. I think this was my nine year old’s favorite part!
Next, pour the caramel ice cream topping over the top of the cake, and spread to cover. Let it sit until it cools completely, so the caramel can soak into the cake.
While it’s cooling, you’ll mix up a thick, rich, fudgy chocolate frosting. This is one of my favorite frosting recipes, and it’s hard not to just eat it with a spoon!
Spread the frosting over the cake, drizzle it with a little more caramel, then sprinkle it with pecans and chocolate chips. Yum!
This cake is so outrageous and delicious! I could look at that dripping caramel all day long.
This cake would be perfect for a special occasion or birthday, and is sure to please a crowd! It’s very rich, so even though the serving size is 12, you could definitely cut the pieces even smaller and still get your chocolate and caramel fix for the day. It’s definitely not very calorie-friendly, but it’s also definitely worth it, down to the last bite. 🙂
This amazingly delicious ooey-gooey chocolate turtle poke cake is loaded with caramel, pecans, and chocolate chips. It’s so yummy and so easy to make! If you’re looking for more simple and delicious make ahead dessert ideas, try our No-Bake Chocolate Eclair Cake. Soooooo delicious! That whipped filling is absolutely dreamy!
