praline turtle cake

I wish that I could say that this was my recipe, but it's not. It is sooooooo good. I made it for my friend's birthday on Friday and well worth the time it took. I saved one piece and gave it to my husband that night and he wasn't in to it, so I took it back from him and ate it myself. I don't think he appreciated the chocolate goodness. It's from Country Living and it's one of those I have saved, but have been waiting for an occasion to make it for. The photo is from the magazine since I didn't take one myself.

Praline Turtle Cake
From Country Living

Country Living shares this winning recipe from our "Mom's Best Cake Contest."

INGREDIENTS
1/2 cup butter
1 cup brown sugar
1 can (14 ounces) sweetened condensed milk
1 cup chopped pecans
2 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa
2 cup granulated sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
1 cup sour cream
1/2 cup canola oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon white vinegar
1/2 cup fudge topping
1/2 cup chocolate chips, melted

DIRECTIONS
Make the cake: Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Butter the bottoms of two 9-inch round cake pans and fit a circle of parchment paper large enough to cover 1 inch up the side of each cake pan. Heat the butter, brown sugar, and sweetened condensed milk in a 2-quart saucepan over medium heat until the butter melts and the sugar is dissolved. Do not boil. Divide the sugar mixture between the prepared pans. Sprinkle 3/4 cup pecans over sugar mixture and set aside to cool. Combine the flour, cocoa, granulated sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together in a large bowl. Add the eggs, sour cream, oil, vanilla, and vinegar, and 1 cup hot water and mix with a wooden spoon until the batter is smooth. Pour the batter into the cake pans -- over sugar mixture -- and bake until a wooden skewer inserted into the cake center comes out clean -- 35 to 40 minutes. Cool cakes in the pans for 10 minutes. Run a knife around the edge of the pans and turn cakes out onto a cooling rack. Remove the paper and cool completely.

Assemble the cake: Spread the fudge topping over the sugar mixture side of one cake layer. Place the second layer over the first and drizzle with the melted chocolate and the remaining 1/4 cup pecans. Frost the cake sides with your favorite chocolate icing*.

*I used a chocolate buttercream frosting - 3 squares melted baking chocolate, 3 cups powder sugar, 1 tsp. vanilla, 1/3 cup softened butter, and 1 to Tbs. milk.