I chose to prepare this dish because it was my mother’s birthday and since she could not celebrate it with friends. I used a lot of butter because there was a caramel buttercream icing and there was butter also in the cake. This was just after we came out of quarantine, so we did not have a lot of ingredients in the house, so my dad went to purchase everything. There is no story behind this dish, I just wanted to do something special for my mothers special day. I did not have to make changes to this recipe because when baking you must be precise and I do not think I am experienced enough to experiment and change the recipe around.
The cake did not look anything like the image and recipe that I was trying to follow. I was a very rich cake; you could only have a very small sliver of it because it was intense. The buttercream on the outside of the cake was evenly distributed, smooth, and overall looked pretty good. The caramel that I made from scratch was maybe one minute overdone because the taste was raw but that is because it is supposed to be added to the butter cream then it tasted good. The chocolate ganache was a bonus but, in the future, I would have made maybe a vanilla ganache because the cake was already chocolate and the taste was intense. My familly could barely finish a quater of the cake so we decided to give it away to other familly’s. The piping was also the first time I used this certain nozel and it was very tricky but soon after doing a couple of florets I became better and better at it. So the next time I make a cake I will for sure use this type of piping.
This was a new recipe and some aspects I never heard of before nor or even tried the skill before. The first skill that I learned from making these 4 layered turtle cakes is how to create a perfectly flat cake in the oven the first two came out a little bit uneven. Then I switched things up a little bit by placing the tins in the middle of the oven this time. When they came out, they were perfectly even and flat. The most challenging part of this cake was the decorating part of it because the first part of was the buttercream. It was a caramel buttercream icing and I needed to cover a four-tiered cake. It needed to be in 30-minute increments in the fridge and out of it, as needed to be smooth, straight, even and looking good. Then on the sides of it with some caramel sauce and the chocolate ganache I attempted to create a dripping effect which did not turn out the way I wanted or looking like the picture at all.
https://livforcake.com/turtles-layer-cake/
TURTLES LAYER CAKE
Transform your favorite candy into this Turtles Layer Cake! Layers of rich chocolate cake, caramel buttercream, caramel sauce, and chopped pecans.
INGREDIENTS
Cake:
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
- 3/4 cup Dutch-processed cocoa powder
- 1 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/4 cup vegetable oil
- 3/4 cup buttermilk
- 3/4 cup hot water
- 2 large eggs
- 2 tsp vanilla
Caramel:
- 1 cup granulated sugar 200g
- 1/4 cup water
- 150 ml heavy whipping cream room temperature
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter 100g, room temperature
Milk Chocolate Ganache:
- 4.5 oz milk chocolate good quality, finely chopped
- 3 oz heavy whipping cream
Caramel Buttercream:
- 5 large egg whites
- 1 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 2 cups unsalted butter cubed, room temperature
- 1/2 cup caramel cooled
Assembly:
- 1 cup pecans chopped
- 6 Turtles Minis
INSTRUCTIONS
Cake:
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Preheat oven to 350F, grease three 6″ round baking pans and dust with cocoa powder. Line bottoms with parchment.
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Place all dry ingredients into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Stir to combine.
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In a medium bowl whisk all wet ingredients (pour hot water in slowly as not to cook the eggs if very hot).
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Add wet ingredients to dry and mix on medium for 2-3 mins. Batter will be very thin.
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Pour evenly into prepared pans. I used a kitchen scale to ensure the batter is evenly distributed.
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Bake until a cake tester comes out mostly clean. A total of 30-35mins.
Caramel:
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Place sugar and water into a medium pot, stir to combine, but to not stir from this point forward. Cook over high heat, washing down the sides of the pot with a pastry brush dipped in water as needed to prevent crystals.
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Cook until desired color of caramel is reached and immediately remove from heat. Very slowly, whisk in heavy cream. The mixture will bubble up (a lot) and boil. Add butter, return to heat, and bring back to a boil. Cook for 2 minutes whisking constantly.
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Remove from heat and let cool to room temperature. Transfer to a container and place in fridge to thicken.*
Milk Chocolate Ganache:
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Place chopped chocolate and cream into a microwave safe bowl. Stir to combine. Microwave for 20 seconds, stir. Microwave in 10 second intervals, stirring in between, until smooth and silky. Set aside to cool completely before using.*
Caramel Buttercream:
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Place egg whites and sugar into the bowl of a stand mixer, whisk until combined.**
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Place bowl over a hot water bath on the stove and whisk constantly until the mixture is no longer grainy to the touch (approx. 3mins).
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Place bowl on your stand mixer and whisk on med-high until the meringue is stiff and cooled (the bowl is no longer warm to the touch (approx. 5-10mins)).
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Switch to paddle attachment. Slowly add cubed butter and mix until smooth.
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Add cooled caramel and whip until smooth.***
Assembly:
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Place one layer of cake on a cake stand or serving dish. Top with about 2/3 cup buttercream, drizzle with caramel and ganache and sprinkle with chopped pecans. Repeat with remaining layers. Crumb coat the outside and chill cake for 15mins. Frost and smooth the outside, chill for 30mins.
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Using a teaspoon, drip ganache along the edges then fill in the top. Chill for 15mins.
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Repeat with caramel and chill for 30mins.
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If desired, top with rosettes and mini Turtles.****