Cream Cheese Turtle Cake

With Father's Day coming up you might be looking for a good cake recipe. I made this one for Tory last year and it was so delicious! I actually got the recipe from my sister Amy.




Cream Cheese Turtle Cake

Cake:

1 c. sliced almonds, toasted
1 c. chopped pecans, toasted
1 (18.25 oz.) German chocolate cake mix
1 1/4 c. water
1/3 c. vegetable oil
3 eggs
1/2 c. butter, room temperature
3 1/2 c. powder sugar
1 (8 oz.) cream cheese, cut into pieces, room temp


Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Divide and sprinkle 1/2 c. almonds and 1/2 c. pecans into two prepared (greased and floured) round cake pans. Set aside. Combine cake mix, water, oil, and eggs in large bowl. Beat on low until moist. Pour into pans. Melt butter over med/lo heat. Gradually stir in powder sugar. Mixture will form clumps. Stir in cream cheese. Whisk until smooth about 1 minute. Pour cream cheese mixture in ribbons over cake. Use knife to swirl. Bake about 40 min. or until tester in cake part is clean. Try not to test in a cream cheese part. It will be very moist. Cool cake in pan on rack for 10 minutes. Then remove from pans. Sprinkle remaining nut mixture on top while warm.


Icing:

1 3/4 c. powder sugar
2 Tbsp. cocoa
5 Tbsp. whole milk
1/4 c. butter
3/4 c. semi sweet chocolate chips
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 c. dulce de leche/caramel topping (drizzled for looks-I just used caramel ice cream topping that I already had)


Mix sugar and cocoa. Bring milk and butter to simmer in a heavy medium saucepan over med/lo heat. Add powder sugar mixture and whisk until melted. Add chocolate chips. Mix until smooth. Stir in vanilla. Drizzle warm icing over cake. Let stand until set. About 2 hours. Drizzle caramel topping over the frosting. Store at room temperature.