Mình là Minh

I just love the fall- and am so excited for fall baking! Today I’m sharing a collection of the BEST Fall Cake recipes!

These are fantastic go-to moist and flavorful cake recipes no matter what time of year- but especially for fall and Thanksgiving. 

Whether you love pumpkin, caramel, spice cakes, gingerbread, maple cakes, apple cakes, and more-you are sure to find something in this collection of recipes to try! 

Favorite Fall Cake Decorating Designs

We’ve made lots of cake decorating tutorials over the years for fall as well! Make sure to check out our full collection of Thanksgiving Cake Designs!

Enjoy these fall cake recipes! If you give any of them a try, we would love for you to leave a comment or photo below! 

MY CAKE SCHOOL- MORE FAVORITE CAKE RECIPES AND ONLINE CAKE TUTORIALS!

Or if you are interested in learning even more about cake decorating, you should consider becoming a member of My Cake School!

Today we are sharing a Chocolate Turtle Cake Recipe that is absolutely delicious- I love this flavorful combination of decadent chocolate cake, homemade caramel sauce, toasted pecans, and a drizzle of rich ganache.

With this lineup of key ingredients, you just cannot go wrong! 

This Chocolate Turtle Cake has become one of my personal favorites.

It’s inspired by Chocolate Turtle candies, which are delicious pecan and caramel clusters dipped in chocolate, which resemble turtles. If you love chocolate turtles, you are going to fall in love with this recipe!

How to Make Chocolate Turtle Cake 

For this Chocolate Turtle Cake, we are using one of our go-to scratch chocolate cake recipes, our Chocolate Sour Cream Cake! So ultra moist and chocolatey- it’s always a favorite.

However, if you would rather go with another chocolate layer cake, whether a doctored cake mix (like our Doctored Chocolate Sour Cream Cake) or our scratch Classic Chocolate Cake, feel free to substitute!

The perfect homemade caramel sauce!

When you are ready to assemble your cake, place the first chocolate cake layer on the pedestal or cake base.

Next, spread with a layer of chocolate buttercream, drizzle with caramel, ganache, and sprinkle with toasted chopped pecans.

Add the next layers and repeat, and top with the final chocolate cake layer.

A Note about Settling:

 Settling the cake is an optional step, but it is a helpful way to ensure that your cake doesn’t develop frosting bulges around the sides over time. To settle your cake tier, wrap the unfrosted, filled cake with plastic wrap and then place a weight of some sort on top. 

This weight should not be a crushing weight–just something that will apply a light, steady pressure- like a couple of cake pans, a book, etc.

After a few hours or overnight, frost the cake as usual. ****For cakes with perishable fillings, you will need to settle the cake in the refrigerator rather than at room temperature.

Frosting and Decorating the Cake

If you settle your cake as mentioned above, remove the plastic wrap once you are ready to decorate the cake and fill in any remaining gaps between cake layers with buttercream.

Next, frost a thin layer of (crumb coat) of chocolate buttercream all over the cake. At this point, I like to chill the cake in the freezer for about 15-20 minutes to firm up the crumb coat before going in with the final coat of buttercream.

I then combed the buttercream using a cake comb as an optional step.

Chill the cake again for 15 minutes and then add your ganache drip. When creating my chocolate drips, I load the ganache into a disposable piping bag with the tip snipped away (just a smallish snip will do). 

Pipe your drips as you rotate the cake on a turntable (if you have one) and then top the cake with more ganache drizzles, caramel drizzles and chopped pecans.

Finally, I created stars around the top of the cake using a Wilton 6B tip and topped each one with a pecan.

I used a star tip 21 to create a simple shell border around the base.

Additional Details on Drip Cakes

If you’d like more details on our Chocolate Drip, check out this quick free cake video!: Easy Chocolate Drip Video Tutorial

We love dramatic chocolate drips and use them often. They are so quick to make!

Don’t miss these other favorite Chocolate Cakes!

Almond Joy Cake Recipe

Black Forest Cake

Chocolate Buttermilk Cake

Chocolate Italian Cream Cake

Chocolate Pecan Pie Cake

Chocolate Sour Cream Cake

…and so many more! You can find a full roundup here: Favorite Chocolate Cake Recipes!

Simple Time Saving Options for this Recipe

The homemade ganache and caramel recipes used in this cake are simple to make  and taste amazing. However, if you would rather use store-bought caramel or chocolate sauce to drizzle between the cake layers, that is a good option as well! 

Also, as we mentioned earlier, you can substitute a favorite doctored chocolate cake mix as well if you prefer to work with doctored mixes.

Enjoy the recipe!

My Cake School – Favorite Cake Recipes, Cake Tutorials, and More!

We hope that you enjoy this Chocolate Turtle Layer Cake! If you give it a try, please leave a comment or photo below!

Thank you for stopping by! Don’t miss our full collection of FAVORITE cake, cupcake, and frosting recipes in our Recipes section! 

If you are interested in learning more about cake decorating, you’ve come to the right place. We have a Free Cake Tutorials section, which also includes a Free Cake Video section. Make sure to check out our fun tutorials!

Also, if you’d like to learn even more about cake decorating, you should consider becoming a member of My Cake School!

We’ve made hundreds of cake video tutorials over the years for our Member Cake Tutorial section.

We’d love to have you! You can find all of the joining information here: Learn Cake Decorating Online- My Cake School Joining Information

In this quick cake video tutorial, we’re going to demonstrate a beautiful piping technique that incorporates buttercream ruffles and shells.

I love the look of cakes covered in buttercream piping. Today’s design has an elegant look, but the pink and green color scheme also gives it more of a casual, fun look. Keep this design in mind for birthday cakes, shower cakes, and even wedding cakes (in white or ivory)!

How to create the Buttercream Ruffles and Shells Cake Design

For today’s cake design, we’re using a petal tip 104 and star tip 21. 

This design would be beautiful on cakes of any size (including sheet cakes), but we decorated a 6 inch double barrel cake. A double barrel cake is an extra tall cake which has supports within it. 

Our cake was four layers high, with a cake cardboard halfway up and four bubble tea straw supports beneath. It is also resting on it’s own cake cardboard cut down to the size of the cake. We frosted it with our Fluffy Vanilla Buttercream (but our Classic Vanilla Buttercream is a great choice also). 

After crumb coating the cake, I began the design by piping a vertical row of ruffles. I started at the bottom of the cake and worked my way up. The small end of the piping tip was facing to the left as I used a back and forth motion to create the ruffles.

Next, I piped another row of ruffles right next to the first. This time, I worked from the top of the cake to the bottom, and the small end of my 104 piping tip was facing to the right. 

Finally, I piped a shell border using my tip 21 down the center of the two ruffles. I repeated the ruffle and shell design all the way around the cake.

Enjoy the video!

My Cake School- Cake Decorating Recipes & Tutorials

For more on cake decorating, make sure to click over to our Free Tutorials Section. Or, if you are interested in accessing our entire collection of hundreds of cake decorating tutorials, you should consider becoming a member of My Cake School!

If you love to bake or finding new cake recipes to try, don’t miss our full collection of tried and true cake and frosting recipes from our Recipes Section!

Our memberships are $30/year and will give you online access to every cake decorating video we’ve made for as long as you are a member. You can find the joining details here: Joining Information for My Cake School. We would love to have you!

Alternate Video Format:

Today we are sharing a delicious Kahlua Espresso Buttercream which is not only easy to make, but it also tastes amazing with our Chocolate Kahlua Cake as well as any favorite chocolate or coffee flavored cakes! 

Kahlua is a popular liqueur that contains rum, sugar, and coffee. The Kahlua and espresso flavors in this buttercream make for a wonderful combination without being overpowering. 

This creamy, flavorful Kahlua Espresso Buttercream is easy to make, works perfectly as a filling or frosting, and is the ideal consistency for piping also! We hope that you enjoy it!

How to Make Kahlula Espresso Buttercream Frosting

As with most of the American Buttercream recipes in our Recipes Section, this combination of butter, confectioners sugar, and flavorings can be whipped up in no time! 

*You can find the full, printable recipe further down in this post!

1. Simply beat the slightly softened butter on medium speed until smooth. Dissolve espresso granules into 1 teaspoon hot water.                                                                                                                                                                                
2. Add half of the powdered sugar, espresso, and half of the Kahlua. Mix at medium speed until the powdered sugar is incorporated.                                                                                                                                                                      
3. Add the remaining powdered sugar and Kahlua and mix at medium speed another 3 to 6 minutes scraping the sides of the bowl occasionally. You will be left with a creamy, dreamy bowl of buttercream deliciousness.

Frosting too thick? Too Thin?                   

If you want to change the consistency of your frosting, it is very simple to do. If your Kahlua Espresso buttercream is too stiff, simply add a little more Kahlua or milk. If it is too thick, you can add a little more powdered sugar.

Cakes that Would pair well with Kahlua Espresso Buttercream

I’m always going to lean towards chocolate cakes when pairing coffee (or in this cake Kahlua Espresso) flavors of frosting. I just love that combo! My first choice is our Chocolate Kahlua Cake, but here are a few others to keep in mind!

Chocolate Kahlua Cake

Chocolate Buttermilk Cake

Chocolate Sour Cream Cake- Doctored Mix

Espresso Cake Layers (from our Tiramisu Cake)

More Fabulous Coffee-Flavored Frostings and Cakes to Try!

If you love this recipe, make sure to check out our other coffee-infused recipes! We have a thing for coffee around here ;0) – Oh and if you love Kahlua recipes as well, you must also try our Tiramisu Cake. SO good!

Caramel Vanilla Latte Cake

Pumpkin Spice Latte Cake

Tiramisu Layer Cake

Gingerbread Latte Cake

Mocha Buttercream Frosting

Espresso Cream Cheese Frosting

Cinnamon Espresso Cream Cheese Frosting

MY CAKE SCHOOL CAKE RECIPES, TUTORIALS, AND MORE!

We hope that you enjoy the recipe! If you give it a try, please leave a comment or photo below. Don’t miss our full collection of the BEST Cake and Frosting Recipes in our Recipes Section!

If you’re interested in having full online access to every cake video tutorial we’ve made, you should consider joining our site!

We’ve made hundreds of cake decorating tutorials over the years! Hop over for more details:  Membership Details  

For non-members, we also have a Free Cake Tutorials section as well as our collection of Favorite Cake & Frosting Recipes! There is truly something for everybody. Enjoy!

Today’s decadent Chocolate Kahlua Cake consists of moist chocolate cake layers brushed with Kahlua, and filled and frosted with a creamy Kahlua espresso buttercream frosting.

Kahlua is a popular liqueur that contains rum, sugar, and coffee. When paired with our rich chocolate cake layers, the combination of flavors is perfection.

We’ve also used Kahlua in another favorite cake recipe- Our Tiramisu Cake! It’s a great way to add just a little something extra to your coffee or chocolate recipes.

The recipe for our Chocolate Kahlua cake layers is based on our Classic Chocolate Cake recipe (yummm) with the addition of Kahlua. 

We brushed the cake layers with a Kahlua Espresso Syrup and frosted with our Kahlua Espressso Buttercream, lending just the right amount of Kahlua flavor to this dessert.

The Kahlua flavor in this recipe is subtle yet unmistakable- and of course, you can adjust amounts to your liking! This “grown up” chocolate cake is sure to make any special occasion feel even more special. We hope that you enjoy it!

How to Make a Chocolate Kahlua Cake

Freezing (optional): Freezing is a step that I do with all of my cakes whenever time allows because wrapping and freezing the freshly baked cake layers while still warm makes them extra moist.  

After baking the chocolate cake layers, I allowed them to cool (still in the pans) on a cooling rack for about five minutes before flipping them onto individually foil-wrapped cake boards. I then wrapped each cake layer with plastic wrap and foil and placed in the freezer. 

I like to wrap and freeze my cake layers while they are still warm- and leave them for at least 3 hours (up to three months is fine)! 

The Kahlua Espresso Frosting is an American Buttercream  frosting that combines butter, confectioners sugar, and in this case a little espresso and Kahlua as well! It is smooth and creamy, super easy to make, and it pipes perfectly!

The Kahlua Espresso Syrup: This syrup or glaze is a combination of Kahlua, espresso granules, and a touch of confectioners sugar. Once dissolved, simply brush over your cake layers to give the cake an added layer of Kahlua flavor.  

Assembly: When you are ready to begin to assemble the cake, place the first (thawed) cake layer on your cake base or pedestal. Brush the Kahlua Syrup over the layer (you can poke small holes into the cake layer with a wooden skewer to help it seep in).

Spread with a layer of the Kahlua Espresso Buttercream, and repeat these steps for the next two cake layers.

Settling Option:  The next step is optional but one that I always try to make time for- especially when the cake will be frosted & decorated with a smooth rather than textured finish. All cakes settle a little bit, becoming slightly shorter over time.

This is bad news if it happens after you’ve applied a final, smooth coat of frosting to the cake as it causes bulges around the sides.

Luckily, there’s a fix for this- settle the cake in advance. After filling your cake layers (but before frosting), wrap the assembled, unfrosted cake with plastic wrap and place a “weight” on top.

The weight could be a couple of stacked cake pans, or thin book, etc. You want something that will add a light, steady pressure to the top of the cake-  Be careful not to add too much weight, you don’t want to crush your cake. After at least a few hours or overnight, unwrap and proceed as usual! 

Frosting and Decorating:

Frost the cake however you like! This batch of Kahlua frosting is enough to fill, frost, an add decorative borders, etc.

Hot Knife Method of Smoothing Option: I frosted my cake as usual, first with a thin crumb coat of buttercream. Then I froze the cake to firm it up for about 15 minutes before following with my second coat of frosting.

I smoothed over the frosting with my bench scraper, getting it as smooth as possible and placed in the freezer again for about 15-20 minutes. This step is optional, but useful if you want a super smooth finish around the sides.

Remove from the freezer, heat your metal bench scraper or spatula under very hot water, dry, and glide over any imperfections. You may need to add a little fresh buttercream here and there in problem areas and glide over with the hot bench scraper. The heat softens and smooths the buttercream as you go.

Borders: For the top border, I used a 2D piping tip to pipe a chunky shell border. For the bottom border, I piped a bead border using a small round tip 3. Then I created another bead border just above it. Finally, using my tip 3, I added dots over the top of the cake.  

Learn Cake Decorating Online!

If you love to bake or finding new cake recipes to try, don’t miss our full collection of tried and true cake and frosting recipes from our Recipes Section!

For more on cake decorating, make sure to click over to our Free Tutorials Section. Or, if you are interested in accessing our entire collection of hundreds of cake decorating tutorials, you should consider becoming a member of My Cake School! 

Our memberships are $30/year and will give you online access to every cake decorating video we’ve made for as long as you are a member. You can find the joining details here: Joining Information for My Cake School. We would love to have you!

If you love lemon as much as we do, this roundup of the best lemon cakes, fillings, and frostings is for you! 

There’s just something about lemon– no matter what time of year, lemon cakes are always at the top of my list of favorite desserts for any occasion (or no occasion at all). 

We’ve made so many lemon cakes over the years- from lemon layer cakes to amazing lemon fillings, to fantastic cakes that pair lemon with coconut, lime, strawberry, blueberry, and more!  

Enjoy scrolling through all of the lemony goodness! We hope that you find a recipe that inspires you to run to the kitchen and whip up something delicious.

Thanks so much for stopping by our site today! If you give any of these lemon recipes a try we would love to hear what you think!

More Favorite Fruity Cake Recipes

If you are looking for more delicious light and fruity cake recipes, make sure to check out these Summer Cake Favorites!

We refer to them as spring & summer cakes as they are especially popular in the warmer months, but just as with lemon cakes, these delicious recipes are in demand year-round! (From strawberry cake to pineapple cake, orange dreamsicle and more!)

Sharing the best cake recipes, online cake tutorials, and more!

If you love finding new cake recipes, don’t miss our full collection of favorite cake and frosting recipes from our Recipes Section!

If you would like to learn about cake decorating, make sure to visit our Free Tutorials Section. Or, if you are interested in accessing our entire collection of hundreds of cake decorating tutorials, you should consider becoming a member of My Cake School! 

My Cake School memberships are $30/year and will give you access to every video we’ve made for as long as you are a member. You can find the joining details here: Joining Information for My Cake School. It is the best, simplest way to learn cake decorating- we would love to have you!