This pumpkin spice turtle cake is my fall spin on the classic chocolate turtle cake! Ain’t nothing worse than a complicated recipe boos, so I kept it simple. No crazy ingredients, no frosting to spread, and the whole assembly took me less than five minutes. I also added brown sugar and vanilla caramel because it pairs so well with pumpkin, and it truly makes the turtle candy flavor pop. Get into it!
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How to Make Pumpkin Spice Turtle Cake
Step 1: Whisk the dry ingredients in a large bowl. In another bowl, whisk the wet ingredients until smooth. Combine wet and dry ingredients, then divide the batter into three pans and bake until a toothpick comes out clean. Let the cakes rest briefly in the pans, then invert onto racks and cool completely before decorating.
Step 2: Melt the butter in a saucepan, then whisk in the brown sugar and cream until dissolved. Let it boil briefly, remove from heat, stir in a pinch of salt, and cool before using. This is your caramel.
Step 3: Melt the chocolate chips with cream in a microwave-safe bowl, then whisk until smooth and pourable. To assemble, place one cake layer on a serving platter, spread with ganache, drizzle caramel, and sprinkle with pecans. Repeat with the remaining layers, let your easy turtle cake set, and serve.
PRO TIP: You can make this turtle cake recipe in the following formats:
A 3-layer 6 inch cake
A 2-layer 8-9 inch cake
A single layer 9×13 inch sheet pan
However, the baking time for the cakes will vary based on size. 8-9-inch pans take 24 to 29 minutes, 6-inch pans 22 to 27 minutes, 9×13 pan 20-22 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Pumpkin Spice Turtle Cake
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Ingredients
For the Cake
- 2 cups Baker’s Corner All Purpose Flour
- 3/4 cup Baker’s Corner Brown Sugar packed
- 3/4 cup Simply Nature Organic Cane sugar
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 2 tsp Stonemill Ground Cinnamon
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
- 1/4 tsp ground cloves
- 3 large eggs room temperature
- 15 oz pumpkin puree can
- 1 cup vegetable oil
For the Caramel Sauce
- 1/2 cup Countryside Creamery Unsalted Butter Quarters
- 1 cup Baker’s Corner Brown Sugar packed
- 1/3 cup Friendly Farms Heavy Whipping Cream
- 1/2 tsp Stonemill Pure Vanilla Extract
- pinch of salt
For the Ganache Sauce
- 1 cup Baker’s Corner Semi Chocolate Morsels
- 1/2 cup Friendly Farms Heavy Whipping Cream
For the Pecans
- 1 cup pecans toasted if desired
Instructions
For the Cake
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Grease three 6” round cake pans and set aside.
- In a large bowl, add flour, both sugars, baking powder, cinnamon, baking soda, salt and nutmeg and whisk together until combined.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together eggs, pumpkin puree and oil until smooth.
- Add the wet ingredients to the large bowl of dry ingredients and whisk until completely combined.
- Evenly distribute batter into the 3 cake pans and bake for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
- Remove pans from the oven and allow cakes to rest in pans for 10 minutes before inverting and removing cakes from pans and cooling on cooling racks. Allow cakes to cool until completely at room temperature before decorating.
For the Caramel
- Melt butter in a saucepan.
- Add brown sugar and heavy cream and whisk constantly over medium heat until sugar is dissolved.
- Bring to a boil and allow to boil for 3-4 minutes. Don’t go over that time.
- Remove from heat, stir in a pinch of salt and allow to cool.
For the Ganache
- In a microwave safe bowl, add chocolate chips and heavy cream.
- Microwave for about 1 minute or until chocolate chips have melted then whisk everything together until completely smooth and pourable.
To Assemble
- Set one layer of your cake on the desired serving platter, then spread with chocolate ganache and drizzle on caramel.
- Sprinkle a layer of pecans over the top.
- Repeat the steps with your desired amount of layers. Allow the cake to set up for about 30 minutes and serve!
Notes
- Room Temp: Keep the cake in a sealed container and it will stay fresh for about 4-5 days. The pumpkin keeps it nice and moist!
- Fridge: Store the cake in an airtight container if your kitchen runs warm, and it will last up to a week. Leftover caramel and ganache can be refrigerated too. Just rewarm before using.
- Freezer: Freeze the cake layers on their own for up to 2 months, then assemble when you’re ready. The caramel and ganache also freeze well! Thaw them in the fridge and warm gently until smooth.
Nutrition
Recipe Tips
- Don’t overwork the batter. Mix just until it comes together so your pumpkin pecan cake stays tender.
- When making the caramel, keep whisking and don’t step away. That sugar can turn on you FAST boos.
- Slide a few parchment strips under the cake. Keeps your serving plate clean when drizzling the caramel and ganache.
- Melt the chocolate for your ganache slowly. Use low power in short bursts.
- ALWAYS make the ganache last! It sets up fast once it’s done.
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Recipe Help
Nope. Pumpkin pie filling already has sugar and spices mixed in. Stick with plain pumpkin puree for this pumpkin turtle cake.
It probably cooled too much. Pop it back in the microwave for 10-15 seconds and stir until it loosens up again.
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I made the pumpkin spice turtle cake for my mom’s 63rd birthday and WOW was it a hit! I’ll definitely be making this cake recipe again!
Just wonderful!
Can you use any other size pan I don’t have 6” just 8 and 9 would either of those work
Yes they would. You can do 2 layers.