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This Turtle Cheesecake Recipe is made with a graham cracker crust and plenty of caramel, chocolate and pecans! It’s rich, creamy and sure to be a hit!
This post is sponsored by Challenge Dairy, but all opinions are my own.
I am a big fan of turtle candies. The combination of chocolate and caramel is my jam. Not to mention the cute shape of them when you actually get them in their true shape. If you aren’t familiar, turtle candies are called “turtles” because the pecans are placed in a way that looks like turtle legs and the caramel and chocolate are placed so that they look like turtle shells. They are delicious and cute little candies that is great for the holidays.
But perhaps even though you love the turtle flavors, but really want a cheesecake. Well then, this cheesecake is for you!
What’s in a Turtle Cheesecake?
This Turtle Cheesecake is made with several layers of turtle flavors throughout. To start, there’s the crust. In addition to graham cracker crumbs, the crust has pecans right it in for extra flavor and crunch. The cheesecake filling has a layer of caramel with more pecan chips mixed in, a layer of chocolate and then a creamy brown sugar cheesecake. The whole cheesecake is topped with even more buttery caramel, smooth chocolate and crunchy pecan chips. Delicious!
How to Make a Turtle Cheesecake
First, you’ll make the caramel sauce – arguably the best part of this Turtle Cheesecake. It’s basically the same as my Homemade Caramel Sauce, with a few tweaks to make it a little thicker.
The first ingredient for the caramel is the sugar, which gets melted down. Once melted, butter is added, then heavy whipping cream. It makes the most amazing caramel sauce with such a smooth, buttery flavor. Seriously, that buttery flavor is to die for, which is why I used my favorite Challenge Butter.
You’ve heard me say it before and I’ll say it again – Challenge Butter is a wonderful, high quality butter that is perfect for baked goods. Their butter is made from fresh milk at family-owned dairies and goes from farm to fridge in just two days. It has no added hormones, artificial flavors or fillers, which I’m a big fan of. I usually find it at Walmart, but it’s now also available in Kroger. And if you’re near a Harris Teeter, you can also usually find it there. If you aren’t sure, find a location near you where they carry it. It’s good stuff!
When your caramel sauce is made, it’s time for the crust. Combine all the ingredients and bake for 10 minutes.
Next up is the filling. You’ll start by adding some of the caramel sauce to the crust, then making the chocolate ganache. Add the chocolate ganache in an even layer on top of the caramel.
The next part of the cheesecake filling is the cream cheese mixture. Again, I rely on my trusty Challenge Cream Cheese, which is as close to homemade as it gets with nothing artificial and no added hormones. It’s super creamy and perfect as the base of the cheesecake filling. It’s combined with brown sugar, vanilla and your usual ingredients for a silky-smooth filling.
Bake the cheesecake in a water bath, then refrigerate until firm.
How do you bake a cheesecake in a water bath?
While water baths can seem intimidating, they really aren’t hard and they are totally worth it. I have a tutorial on how I set up my water baths that is quite helpful. I not only use aluminum foil, but also a crock pot liner bag to ensure that water doesn’t get into the cheesecake. Works like a charm!
As for benefits of a water bath, it’ll keep your cheesecake from browning too much, sinking and will help prevent cracks. Definitely the way to go!
Once the cheesecake has cooled, it’s topped with some of the remaining caramel sauce, more chocolate ganache and pecan chips. There’s nothing quite a beautiful as a dessert covered in caramel and chocolate! Nothing quite as tasty either!
The final cheesecake is smooth, creamy and the perfect combination of turtle candy flavors and cheesecake. Such a fun holiday dessert that makes a great alternative to pumpkin! Bring it on!
Watch How To Make It
You might also like Turtle candy desserts:
Turtle Brownie Cheesecake
Turtle Chocolate Layer Cake
Chocolate Turtle Cupcakes
Chocolate Turtle Poke Cake
Turtle Chocolate Cookie Cups
Chocolate Caramel Turtle Cake Roll
Turtle Cheesecake
- Prep Time: 1 hour 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 2 hours 45 minutes
- Total Time: 3 hours 55 minutes
- Yield: 12-14 slices
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: American
Description
This Turtle Cheesecake Recipe is made with a graham cracker crust and plenty of caramel, chocolate and pecans! It’s rich, creamy and sure to be a hit!
Ingredients
Caramel Sauce
- 2 cups (414g) sugar
- 1/2 cup (112g) salted Challenge butter, room temperature*
- 1 cup (240ml) heavy whipping cream, room temperature*
- 5 tbsp (41g) all-purpose flour, sifted
- 1/4 cup (28g) pecan chips
Crust
- 2 cups (268g) graham cracker crumbs
- 1/2 cup (112g) salted Challenge butter, melted
- 3 tbsp brown sugar
- 1/4 cup (28g) pecan chips
Filling
- 4 oz (2/3 cup | 116g) semi-sweet chocolate chips
- 6 tbsp (90ml) heavy whipping cream
- 24 oz (678g) Challenge cream cheese, room temperature
- 1 cup (144g) light brown sugar
- 3 tbsp (24g) all-purpose flour
- 1 cup (230g) sour cream
- 1 1/2 tbsp vanilla extract
- 3 large eggs
Chocolate Drizzle
- 2 oz (1/3 cup | 58g) semi-sweet chocolate chips
- 3 tbsp (45ml) heavy whipping cream
Instructions
1. To make the caramel sauce, pour the sugar into an even layer in a large saucepan.
2. Heat on medium-high heat, whisking the sugar until melted. The sugar will clump up first, but will eventually completely melt. This should take about 10 minutes.
3. Once the sugar has melted, stop whisking and allow to cook until the sugar has turned to a little darker amber color. You may notice a nutty aroma. The change in color will happen quickly, so don’t let it go too long or get too dark or it’ll burn. Remove the caramel from the heat.
4. Add the butter and whisk until combined. The mixture will bubble up quite a bit, but keep whisking until all the butter has melted and combined.
5. Slowly pour the heavy cream into the caramel and whisk until incorporated. I find it can help to add just a bit at a time until the caramel starts to thin out, then you can add the rest. Whisk until well incorporated and smooth.
6. Set about 1 cup of caramel sauce aside for topping. Add the flour and pecan chips to the remaining caramel and set that aside.
7. To make the cheesecake crust, preheat oven to 325°F (163°C). Line a 9-inch (23cm) springform pan with parchment paper in the bottom and grease the sides.
8. Combine the crust ingredients in a small bowl. Press the mixture into the bottom and up the sides of the springform pan.
9. Bake the crust for 10 minutes, then set aside to cool.
10. Cover the outsides of the pan with aluminum foil so that water from the water bath cannot get in (see how I prepare my pan for a water bath). Set prepared pan aside.
11. Reduce oven temperature to 300°F (148°C).
12. Pour the caramel sauce with the pecans and flour into the bottom of the crust and spread into an even layer.
13. To make the cheesecake filling, put the chocolate chips in a small bowl.
14. Heat the heavy whipping cream just until it begins to boil, then pour over the chocolate chips. Allow it to sit for 2-3 minutes, then whisk until smooth.
15. Pour the chocolate into an even layer over the caramel sauce in the crust.
16. In a large bowl, beat the cream cheese, brown sugar and flour on low speed until well combined and smooth. Be sure to use low speed to reduce the amount of air added to the batter, which can cause cracks. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.
17. Add the sour cream and vanilla extract and mix on low speed until well combined.
18. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing slowly to combine after each addition. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed to make sure everything is well combined.
19. Pour the cheesecake batter into the crust, over the chocolate.
20. Place the springform pan inside another larger pan. Fill the outside pan with enough warm water to go about halfway up the sides of the springform pan. The water should not go above the top edge of the aluminum foil on the springform pan.
21. Bake for 1 hour 35 minutes. The center should be set, but still jiggly.
22. Turn off the oven and leave the door closed for 30 minutes. The cheesecake will continue to cook, but slowly begin to cool as well.
23. Crack the door of the oven for 30 minutes to allow the cheesecake to continue to cool slowly. This process helps prevent cracking.
24. Remove the cheesecake from the oven and remove the water bath and wrapping.
25. Pour about 1/2 cup of the remaining caramel sauce over the top of the cheesecake and spread into an even layer. If the caramel sauce has firmed up too much to pour, heat it up for about 10 seconds.
26. Refrigerate cheesecake until completely cool and firm, 5-6 hours. When the cheesecake is cool and firm, remove it from the springform pan and place on a serving dish.
27. Place the chocolate chips for the drizzle in a small bowl. Heat the heavy whipping cream just until it begins to boil, then pour over the chocolate chips. Allow it to sit for 3-4 minutes, then whisk until smooth.
28. Drizzle the remaining caramel sauce and chocolate sauce over the cheesecake and sprinkle with a few more pecan chips. Refrigerate cheesecake until ready to serve.
Notes
Caramel sauce: The butter and heavy cream need need to be at least room temperature, or warmer. Since every home is a little different in temperature, you may want to melt your butter and gently warm your cream, to ensure that they aren’t too cool. If they are, the caramel with seize.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 Slice
- Calories: 659
- Sugar: 55.8 g
- Sodium: 396.5 mg
- Fat: 37.6 g
- Carbohydrates: 73.5 g
- Protein: 10 g
- Cholesterol: 119.4 mg
Enjoy!
What a beautiful looking cheesecake! Before the covid every Friday evening my husband and I would go out to dinner and my dessert was Turtle Cheesecake! Then last week a friend called me and asked to make a cheesecake for a birthday, thankfully I found your recipe and gave it a try ~ I looks amazing, my husband being the artist he is did the swirls of chocolate and carmel on the top with chopped pecans – then decided to add a few mint leaves and fresh raspberries from our garden.
I did tweak your recipe a tad, added a title of filling 1 – chocolate and heavy cream layer, then filling 2 with the cream cheese ingredients.
I tried and This recipe is absolutely delicious
Thank you
I think your measurement for the light brown sugar is off (in grams). 1 cup of light brown sugar is NOT 144 g, in fact, it is 200 grams. I was trying to follow the metric measurements then figured out it didn’t look right with the brown sugar
So it depends on if it’s packed or not. The brown sugar isn’t tightly packed, so it’s less. The 144g is the measurement that I use, so it is correct.
Thank you for clarifying that. I kept weighing and re -weighing my brown sugar. I apologize if I came across rude in my comment.
This is the second one I’ve made the first turned out perfect but the second one when I tried taking it off of the pan the side’s seemed to just fall and chocolate and caramel with it what did I do wrong! 😢
Is it possible that it was a little under baked this time?
Hello!
I followed the recipe but had trouble with the water bath… I had to cook it for almost double the time and it just wasn’t getting cooked, so I finally took it out of the water bath and am continuing to cook it without it. What did I do wrong?
It’s hard to say without being there. I’m sorry. I’m not sure if you did anything wrong or not. Did it end up ok?
I made this cheesecake this past weekend and it came out outstanding! I followed the recipe to the letter, including the instructions for wrapping the pan in a slow cooker bag then foil. While I experienced some moisture inside the plastic bag, likely due to condensation, I did not have a soggy bottom. All stayed dry… Question: Any suggestion on how to adapt this recipe to make in a mini cheesecake pan? (I have the brilliant Norpro Nonstick Mini Cheesecake Pan, 12 count). I suppose I could half the recipe and leave out the caramel/chocolate on the bottom.
Glad you enjoyed it! Yes, I’d half the recipe to get about a dozen minis. Beyond thats, it’s hard to advise for sure, since I haven’t made minis. But the general process would be similar, just in a smaller size. I’d check out some other minis of mine for suggestions on baking times.
I’m not quite finished making the cheesecake. It is in the fridge cooling right now. I only have to put the rest of the caramel and chocolate/peans on the top. HOWEVER, I did want to mention that I used the slow cooker liner and also the tin foil to wrap and put in the water bath while cooking. I let it cool for 30 minutes with heat off, then another 30 minutes with door open, but when I removed the liner and the tin foil, there was water in them. I hope that my crust is not spoiled.
This is amazingggg! I just made two for my ladies at work and they loved them! Question— I baked them separately because I was unsure, but have you tried baking two at the same time(both in water baths)? I was afraid they wouldn’t cook evenly… any advice is welcome!
I’m so glad it was a hit! I haven’t tried baking two at the same time. They could bake unevenly, plus you’d need to increase the baking time I’d think.
Just to add – the butter I used was room temperature, left out overnight so it was very soft (just short of liquid). It still clumped up and parts of the sauce were rocks, like Britt mentioned above.
I am wondering how you make the caramel without it clumping and sticking to everything (the whisk, the pan, etc). It melts okay and then just becomes a big mess in the pan and on the whisk. I would say I’ve lost about 20% of the sauce because of the clumping. I heated it back up to try and melt the rest, but what’s on the whisk is wasted in the sink to try and clean it off. Is there a method that you can elaborate on in the process of making the caramel which I find to be the most challenging.
Thank you
Not even done making it but as soon as I put the butter in the Carmel it all rocked up and wouldn’t break down. Became extremely clumpy and Ended up breaking my whisk actually. Am tips pretty sure I have to throw my pan away at this point too. Really frustrated!
Definitely don’t throw away the pan. Even I’ve had that happen. Just keep soaking it in hot water. It’ll come of.
The problem was that the butter was too cold. Melted sugar is SUPER sensitive to cool temperatures so if it seizes, that’s why. To be sure your butter isn’t too cool, you could even melt it a little bit.
Sorry you had trouble with it! Even after making this dozens of times, I occasionally get it wrong. It definitely happens.
Am I able to use a larger springform pan?
Sure, you just may want to adjust ingredients or baking time.
What would the ratios be if I made this in an instant pot sized pan? I would still make it in the oven though! Just trying to figure out the ingredient ratio?
I don’t actually know, since I haven’t made an instant pot cheesecake yet. I’ve been meaning to – I have the instant pot and the pan. I just haven’t gotten to it yet. Sorry!
Thank you! BTW your new cookbook is the bomb! Let’s cross our fingers I am going to attempt the minis today
Your site is always my go to website for cheesecake recipes and also cakes! The recipes are always delicious and show stoppers 🙂 My question is can you make this recipe as mini cheesecakes? If so how do you convert it to minis?
I’m so glad to hear you enjoyed the recipes! You could do it as minis, I just haven’t done it myself to say what exact measurements of things should be. But typically I cut a full cheesecake recipe in half to make about 12 to 14 minis.
My caramel sauce has a slight bitter aftertaste. Will that ruin the whole cheesecake?
Unless that slight taste bothers you a whole lot, it should be fine.
Hi Lindsay, My caramel sauce clumped a little :/ I tried to get most of them out before adding the layer to the cheesecake. If some small clumps got in do you think they’ll melt in the oven? I am nervous that some people will be biting into them!!!
Yea, it can be tricky. It’s possible that they’d melt, but I’m really not sure. I hope it turns out well for you!
I just pulled the cheesecake and I wish it was for me but it’s for my Aunts birthday. It looks good already!!