Chocolate Covered Banana Turtle Torte Recipes

BANANA TURTLE TORTE

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350°F (325°F for dark or nonstick pans). Grease or spray two 9-inch round cake pans.
• Make and bake cake as directed on box for 9-inch rounds. Cool 10 minutes. Run knife around sides of pans to loosen cakes; remove from pans to cooling racks. Cool completely, about 30 minutes. Refrigerate layers about 45 minutes for easier handling. Trim off rounded top of one layer. Slice each cake in half horizontally to make a total of 4 layers. Reserve untrimmed cake layer top.
• In chilled medium bowl, beat whipping cream with electric mixer on high speed until stiff peaks form. Place 1 cake layer bottom, cut side up, on serving plate. Spread 2/3 cup whipped cream over layer to within 1/4 inch of edge. Slice 1 banana; arrange on whipped cream, overlapping slices if necessary. Drizzle 1/4 cup butterscotch caramel topping over banana, spreading to coat slices. Sprinkle with 2 tablespoons pecans.
• Repeat with second and third layers. Top with reserved cake layer, rounded side up. Frost top of cake with remaining whipped cream. Spoon remaining butterscotch caramel topping over whipped cream. Swirl caramel into whipped cream with tip of knife.
• Cover; refrigerate about 2 hours or until ready to serve. For best results, serve cake the same day. Store covered in refrigerator.

CHOCOLATE COVERED TURTLES

Steps:

• Generously butter 2 baking sheets.
• On the baking sheets, arrange the pecan halves in snowflake-shaped clusters of 5 pecans each, overlapping the nuts in the center, leaving 2 inches of space between each.
• In a medium saucepan, combine 1/2 cup of the evaporated milk, the corn syrup, and sugar and bring to a boil. Add the remaining 1/2 cup evaporated milk and the 4 tablespoons butter, and cook, stirring constantly, until it reaches the soft ball stage, 240 degrees F. Stir in the vanilla and remove from the heat. Let cool to 200 degrees F.
• Using a tablespoon, spoon caramel on top of each nut cluster and let harden. (If the caramel becomes too stiff to pour, return to low heat, and cook, stirring constantly, until it returns to the proper consistency.)
• To make the chocolate coating, in the top of a double boiler or in a metal bowl set over barely simmering water, combine 6 ounces of the chocolate and the shortening. Melt over low heat, stirring, until it reaches 116 to 118 degrees F, or feels fairly warm but not hot to the touch.
• Remove from the heat and stir in the remaining 2 ounces of chocolate. Continue stirring until the chocolate reaches 80 degrees F or feels cool to the touch. Return to low heat and cook, stirring, until the temperature rises to 85 to 87 degrees F, or feels barely cool. Remove from the heat.
• Drizzle 1 tablespoon of tempered chocolate over each cluster. Set aside in a cool place to harden. Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 weeks, with waxed paper separating the layers to prevent sticking.

BANANA CHOCOLATE TART

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°F.
• Blend crumbs, butter, 1/3 cup sugar, and salt in a food processor until mixture begins to hold together and pat onto bottom and up side of a 9-inch tart pan with a removable bottom. Bake in middle of oven until side of crust is firm to the touch, 14 to 18 minutes.
• Sprinkle chocolate chips into hot crust and let stand 5 minutes to soften. Spread evenly over bottom of crust. Beat cream with remaining 1 1/2 tablespoons sugar and rum until it holds soft peaks. Cut bananas into 1/4-inch-thick slices. Whisk preserves and add bananas, tossing to coat. Spoon banana mixture into crust and top with whipped cream.

CHOCOLATE-COVERED TURTLES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Toast nuts on a baking pan for 10 minutes; remove from oven. Generously butter 5 baking pans. Arrange 5 pecan halves in a snowflake-shaped cluster, overlapping nuts in center. Repeat with remaining nuts, spacing clusters 2 inches apart.
• In a heavy saucepan, combine corn syrup, whole milk, and sugar. Place over medium-high heat; cook, stirring occasionally with a wooden spoon, until syrup mixture comes to a boil, about 6 minutes. Stir in baking soda. Clip a candy thermometer to pan; add butter, stirring constantly until melted, keeping mixture at full boil. Slowly pour in evaporated milk; cook at a boil, stirring constantly, until temperature reaches 240 degrees (soft-ball stage), about 45 minutes. If pan starts to overflow, turn down heat for a few minutes; return to a boil.
• Remove caramel from heat; transfer to a medium metal bowl. Cool to 200 degrees. Caramel will have the consistency of thick honey.
• Using a spoon, gently mound 1 tablespoon caramel on top of each cluster. Allow caramel to harden. If caramel becomes too stiff, place bowl over low heat; stir constantly for several minutes until returned to proper consistency.
• To temper chocolate, cover a heating pad with a kitchen towel, and set pad to lowest setting. Line two baking pans with parchment paper, and set aside. Using a sharp knife, shave chocolate.
• In a medium glass bowl, heat two-thirds of the chocolate in microwave at 30 percent power for 1 minute. Stir chocolate, and continue heating at 30 percent power in 10-second intervals until an instant-read thermometer registers 120 degrees. Remove from microwave.
• Stir in remaining shaved chocolate with rubber spatula. Stir constantly, bringing chocolate up sides and back down into bowl until temperature reaches between 86 degrees and 89 degrees. To determine if tempered, drizzle a thin line onto a cool stainless-steel surface. The chocolate should dry to a matte finish in about 5 minutes. Place bowl on covered heating pad; stir occasionally to maintain temperature between 86 degrees and 89 degrees adjusting setting if necessary.
• Drizzle 1 tablespoon of tempered chocolate over each cluster; set aside in a cool place to harden.

CHOCOLATE-COVERED BANANA TURTLE TORTE

Steps:

• Line 8-inch round pan with plastic wrap; set aside. Beat cream cheese and ice cream topping in large bowl with mixer until blended. Stir in 2 cups COOL WHIP.
• Spoon 3/4 cup cream cheese mixture into prepared pan; spread to within 1 inch of edge. Cover with 10 cookies, top sides down and overlapping cookies as necessary to form even layer. Repeat layers 4 times. Refrigerate 2 hours.
• Invert dessert onto serving plate just before serving. Remove plastic wrap. Spoon remaining COOL WHIP into medium microwaveable bowl; stir in semi-sweet chocolate. Microwave on HIGH 1 min.; stir until chocolate is completely melted and mixture is well blended. Spread over dessert.
• Slice banana. Use to garnish dessert along with the nuts.