This irresistible Chocolate Turtle Bundt Cake is a made-from-scratch chocolate caramel pecan delight. It’s drizzled with a buttery pecan-caramel sauce and a healthy drizzle of silky chocolate ganache. It’s a cake that’s dressed to impress even the pickiest of dessert eaters.

Ingredients to Make Chocolate Turtle Bundt Cake Recipe from Scratch

I’ve had a love of baking since I was a little girl. While I sometimes use convenience baking products like cake mix, my true passion is building a dessert from the ground up. This scrumptious cake begins with my chocolate buttermilk cake recipe to form the rich chocolate cake base. In this instance, I’m baking it in a bundt pan because I love the look of the warm chocolate and caramel drizzled on top. It’s sheer perfection. Ingredients to make caramel and chocolate drizzled Chocolate Turtle Bundt Cake: (Scroll down for full printable recipe.)

Chocolate Cake – One recipe Chocolate Buttermilk Cake made in a bundt pan.
Nuts – One cup roughly chopped toasted pecan pieces for crunch.
Caramel Sauce – Light brown sugar, heavy cream, salted or unsalted butter, light corn syrup, salt and vanilla extract.
Chocolate Ganache – Milk chocolate chips and heavy cream.

How to Make the Best Chocolate Turtle Bundt Cake Recipe

This chocolate bundt cake is one of my favorite original recipe creations and I hope you’ll love it, too. It features a perfect blend of flavors and textures combining them into a cake that’s sheer decadence.

Chocolate Cake – Prepare the chocolate buttermilk cake per the directions in the recipe. Bake the cake batter in a buttered and floured bundt pan per the recipe until a toothpick inserted into the center comes back clean. Cool in the pan on a cooling rack.
Toast Pecans – Spread the pecan pieces in a single layer on a sheet pan. Toast in a 350°F oven for 6-8 minute then set aside to cool.
Buttery Caramel Sauce – While the cake cools, melt together the brown sugar, heavy cream, butter, corn syrup and salt. Bring to a boil then lower the heat to a simmer.
Add the Pecans to Sauce – Remove the caramel sauce from the heat then add the vanilla and toasted pecans. Stir until the pecans are coated.
Chocolate Ganache – In the microwave melt the chocolate chips and heavy cream in 20 second increments stopping to stir each time. Repeat until completely smooth.
Drizzle Cooled Cake – Place the bundt cake on a cake pedestal or platter. Drizzle with 1/3 of the rich chocolate glaze and 1/3 of the caramel pecan sauce at a time.
Refrigerate – Store Turtle Bundt Cake chilled bringing to room temperature for serving.

Tips for Making Turtle Bundt Cake

Kitchen Tools You’ll Need: A stand mixer or a hand mixer, large bowl, medium bowl, measuring cups and spoons, a Bundt pan for baking the cake, a saucepan to make the caramel sauce and a microwave safe bowl for making the chocolate ganache. You’ll need spoons and silicone spatulas for mixing and scraping the bowls and saucepan.
Drizzle Slowly: When adding the toppings, go slowly so it all doesn’t run off the cake. Use a tablespoon to drizzle and repeat. The caramel-pecan sauce and chocolate ganache should still be warm, but still pourable before drizzling onto the cake.
Make-Ahead Tip: This Turtle Bundt Cake can be made in advance and stored chilled in the fridge. Bring it to room temperature for serving.
How to Serve Turtle Cake: It can also be served while the topping is still slightly warm and gooey with a dollop of whipped cream or a scoop of vanilla ice cream.
When to Serve: Serve this cake for special gatherings with friends and family, birthdays, as a Christmas dessert, Thanksgiving, Valentine’s Day, Easter, summer cookouts and potluck parties.

Recipe Variations

Pecan Substitution: Turtle candies are made with chocolate, caramel and pecans and those flavors are the inspiration for this rich turtle cake. That said, you could use toasted walnuts for a variation.
Chocolate Chips: I recommend using milk chocolate for the ganache but you can use semi-sweet chocolate chips or dark chocolate chips, in the same amount.
Cake: You could use a boxed cake mix made per the instructions on the package, and top it with these toppings. Cake mixes have far less volume than a homemade cake, so you may not need the same amount of caramel sauce or chocolate ganache. I highly recommend making the cake homemade.

Storage and Leftovers

Leftovers: When making this chocolate cake in advance, store the cake chilled in the refrigerator for up to one week.
Freezer: You can make the bundt cake and freeze it for up to 2 months. Thaw in the fridge and add the toppings just before serving.

More Southern Style Bundt Cakes to Make

I really love make big beautiful layer cakes. From time to time, it’s nice to make a full bundt cake or pound cake in an angel food pan skipping the layers and icing. More delicious bundt cake recipes you might also like to try:

Pineapple Upside Down Bundt Cake is a riff on the vintage cake we all love.
Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Banana Bundt Cake is delicious for brunch, tea time or dessert.
Delicious made from scratch Caramel Bundt Cake.
Lemon Butter Bundt Cake can be served dusted with powdered sugar alongside coffee or tea.
Buttered Rum Cake is a holiday must make.
You’ll enjoy a punch of citrus in every bite of this homemade Orange Pound Cake.
Lemon Rhubarb Bundt Cake from Affair From the Heart.

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