| Level: | Easy |
| Total: | 1 hr 20 min |
| Prep: | 20 min |
| Inactive: | 30 min |
| Cook: | 30 min |
| Yield: | 1 (9-inch, 3 layer) cake |
Ingredients
- 1 egg
- 2/3 cup vegetable oil
- 1 cup buttermilk
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 3/4 cups sugar
- 1/2 cup good-quality cocoa
- 1 tablespoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup hot coffee
- 1/2 cup milk
- 1 cup sugar
- 6 tablespoons butter
- 2 cups good-quality semisweet chocolate chips
- 3/4 cup caramel
- 1 1/2 cups pecans, toasted
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease 3 (9-inch) cake pans.
- Cover the bottom of each pan with parchment paper, cut to size.
- In a medium bowl, combine the egg, oil, and buttermilk. In another larger bowl, stir together the flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, and salt. Gradually add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients until well mixed. Gradually add the hot coffee, and stir again to combine. Scrape the batter into the prepared pans. Bake the cakes for 25 to 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let the cakes rest in the pans for 10 minutes, and then turn out onto wire racks to cool completely.
- Combine the milk and sugar together in a medium saucepan. Add the butter, and then bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring frequently. Remove pan from heat. Add chocolate chips to the pan and, using a wire whisk, mix until smooth. (Note: If frosting is too thick, add 1 or 2 tablespoons hot coffee.)
- Place 1 cooled cake layer with the top side down on a cake plate. Spread with 1/3 of the frosting, pushing it out slightly from the edges to make a ripple or petal effect. Sprinkle frosting with 1/2 cup toasted pecans and drizzle with 1/4 cup caramel. Add the next layer, again with the top side down. Repeat frosting layers. Place the top layer with the top side up. Repeat frosting layers.
Reviews
I first got this recipe in the St. Paul paper in the 90s. I can tell you it is amazing!! I’m going to Cafe Latte soon and plan to have a piece of this
taste great! Love it
One of the Best cake’s ever made. Anyone rating this cake less than 5 full stars made the cake incorrectly, or used ill-quality ingredients. Period.
If Cafe Latte’ would release their carrot cake recipe….it might just invoke world peace ;
This is the best chocolate cake I have ever eaten. It’s moist and the texture is great. I entered it in our county fair and it not only got a blue ribbon ;it also got the best of division-the highest award given.!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Very moist, easy to make. Patience is a virtue though; it smells so wonderful it will take a lot of will power to dive right in
I grew up in St. Paul right down the street from Cafe Latte, and made it a point to search out the recipe for this cake almost as soon as I learned how to bake. It always turns out amazingly well, even better than in the restaurant because it is always fresh and warm 🙂 I don’t usually like chocolate cake because it’s never as chocolate-y as I think it should be but this one is perfect 🙂
At first I thought it was hard to make, but after making it a couple times it’s easier. It also is like the best cake ever.
This cake is great- the texture is good and its just delicious! The frosting is a bit too sweet but other than that…this cake is awesome.
I was very pleased with this recipe. I changed it just a bit. I was preparing for a weekday dessert so I made it in a 9×13. While the cake was warm I punched holes in it with the bottom of a wooden spoon & drizzled the caramel on it. I then put half of the pecans. I covered with the frosting and the rest of the pecans and drizzled a little more caramel on top for decoration.
It turned out to be better than just a weekday dessert!
I am asked by friends to make that wonderful turtle cake no matter where I go, or when people come to visit me. This is a receipe I never want to loose. AWSOME!!!!!