Turtle Cake

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Prepare two 9″ round cake pans with cooking spray and dust the pan with a bit of cocoa powder, or spray with Baker’s Joy. (*Tip from my cake decorating class: using the bottom of the pan as a stencil, cut out 2 circles of parchment paper or nonstick aluminum foil. Place these circles in the bottom of your pans so that after the cake cools, the top will come out perfect.)

2. Beat all of the cake ingredients together on low speed for 1 minute. Increase to medium speed for 2 minutes. Divide the batter evenly between the two round pans.

3. Bake for 30-32 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in pans for 10 minutes and then remove from the pans and cool on rack until completely cool. (Or completely forget to get them out of the pan like I did and you’ll still be fine). Wrap each round cake in plastic wrap and cool in the refrigerator (or freezer if making at a later date).

4. To make cream cheese frosting: Beat cream cheese and butter until smooth and creamy. On low speed, add powdered sugar little by little and then add vanilla. Set aside.

5. To make chocolate frosting: Melt chocolate in microwave in 30 second increments. Stir after each increment and heat just until completely melted. Add sugar, butter and vanilla into the melted chocolate and mix to combine. Slowly, add milk and mix until incorporated. (If this is too thick add another 1-2 tablespoons of milk. After putting it in the fridge overnight it was very thick and needed an additional 2 Tablespoons of milk to be spreadable for me.)

6. Assemble the cake: Chop all but 2 of the Turtles coarsely. Leave 2 turtles out for decoration on top. Mix the cream cheese frosting with 1/2 cup of the dulce de leche.

Cut each round cake in half horizontally, so you get 4 cake layers. Place first layer onto the serving platter. Spread one-third of cream cheese/dulce de leche frosting. Sprinkle one-third of chopped turtles. Add second layer of cake crumb-side down. Spread one-third of cream cheese/dulce de leche frosting. Sprinkle one-third of chopped turtles. Add third layer of cake crumb-side down. Spread last one-third of cream cheese/dulce de leche frosting. Sprinkle remaining chopped turtles. Top with last layer of cake.

Spread chocolate frosting on top and sides of cake. Before serving and displaying, drizzle dulce de leche on top of cake and decorate with whole Turtles that you saved earlier. Or cut those in half and make 4 half turtles. Whatever looks pretty.