A Southern Grace: toitles on mudda's day

May 12, 2008

toitles on mudda's day

Yum

Have you ever eaten turtle? Turtle soup? Fried turtle?


I haven't, and probably never will. (I'm fickle like that.) I have, however, eaten turtle cheesecake, and that's turtle enough for me.


These little beauties have been specifically requested by the bride (for any newbies to my blog (welcome!), I've been asked to make desserts for the reception), and they're a delightful choice. I personally think caramel may be the very best thing to pair with chocolate, and come on--it's cheesecake!

These were actually a breeze to put together, and although there was some cratering...


...it was effectively covered up by the luscious caramel...


(who knew caramel was so reflective?)

...and pecans.


One of my main concerns (aside from keeping them cool in outdoor early-July heat) was wrapper removal. Would they peel right out? Eh, almost, but not quite.


I skipped the crust because I had planned to use vanilla wafers and they wouldn't fit into the mini muffin cups--doh! Say, maybe that would aid in wrapper removal. And there we have it folks--I've found an excuse to make a second batch. :)

Miniature Toitle Cheesecakes
(based on this recipe by More Than Burnt Toast)
Yield: 24 baby turtles (hatchlings, if you will)

8 oz cream cheese, softened to room temperature
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 teaspoons all-purpose flour
4 oz dark chocolate, melted
1/4 cup sour cream
1 egg
caramel sauce and pecans, for topping

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.
Line mini muffin tin with paper cups.
In a large mixing bowl, combine cream cheese, sugar, and vanilla. Beat together until light and creamy. Add the flour and blend until smooth. Pour in melted chocolate and sour cream and mix well. Add the egg and mix. Spoon the filling into cups and bake for 12-15 minutes, until the center is almost set. Let cool at room temperature for at least 10 minutes, then refrigerate for 8 hours or overnight. Before serving, drizzle on some caramel sauce and top with a pecan.



So yesterday was Mother's Day and International Eat What You Want Day. Coincidence? I think not. This one's for you, Mammicus!

40 comments:

Anonymous said...

And don't those turtles look delicious!

Anonymous said...

those looks so fantastic. caramel is my favourite. pecans too. this is simply drool-worthy!

Elle said...

So pretty! Nice photos.

krysta said...

great photos. i would eat those turtles any day.

Anonymous said...

would it make a difference if you used foil cupcake wrappers/holder thingies?

james

Pixie said...

lol Grace I can always count on you for a bit of laughter.

Well done on the turtle cupcakes.

Anonymous said...

Beautiful photos! I love the last one with the oozing caramel. Looks utterly sexy! :P

My Sweet & Saucy said...

What lovely photos of some very yummy looking treats!

Anonymous said...

Those just look awesome! I love caramel.

And by the way, cleaning up the wrapper is half the fun of stuff like this *g*

You really have a winner here

Mama Mia said...

those turtles look much better than the reptiles!... or is it amphibians?!

Anonymous said...

they look so good! i love absolutely everything that comes out of a mini muffin tray!

giz said...

First I stopped breathing - then I started breathing again and then I stopped breating again. Thank goodness they're small so nobody will notice when I eat 10 of them - well, what would you do? (in a Howie Mandel kinda voice)

Jescel said...

hey grace...looks like it's you and me again for taste and create. you've got a lot of good recipes. I'm thinking of doing either this or the shortbread cookies. haven't decided yet.. so we'll see...

Melanie said...

Brilliant! I think they look very delicious.

Anonymous said...

Oh that's cute...maybe they turtle at the French Laundry...?

Love that last photo, it made me open my mouth...I want some too!

Anonymous said...

Happy Mothers day - chocolate, caramel, pecans? What a better way to treat yourself than that.
Photos are lovely!

Sandy said...

no turtle soup, but I'll take those choco turtles! yum!

Deborah said...

That caramel is killing me!! I'm drooling right now...

Anonymous said...

Haha! Funny. Your kind of turtles are my favorites.

toontz said...

You have never had fried snapper (turtle) Delicious...
But you know I like your kind of turtles quite a bit! I have sent you an award, check out my blog.

test it comm said...

Cheesecake, chocolate, caramel and pecans...mmm... those look really good!

RecipeGirl said...

Ok, that looks really, really good. Those pictures are AMAZING.>>! Totally worth of any food mag for sure- that's my highest compliment :)

Amy said...

Wow these look and sound delicious! Thanks for sharing

Tarah at Genesis of a Cook said...

Mmmm, that looks to die for!

Emily said...

Ohhh, they're so cute. Cute lil' baby turtles.

I had no idea caramel was so reflective. If you ever need a mirror...

Gigi said...

OMG! Seriously, why do you torture me? I would love to lay underneath the caramel ...mmm heaven!

Jeff said...

Just let me know when this wedding is. I can brave the heat for these.

Albany Jane said...

Excellent Squeezy-Tube action!

Lord knows, I could just take a bottle of that.

The thing I love about mini cheesecakes is how easily they seem to find their way into my mouth.

LyB said...

Why have I never had one of these? Why, why, why? Well, there's my excuse to make some! :)

Sharon said...

Glad you stopped by because I absolutely love your blog! I have had turtle soup but would MUCH rather one of those delectable turtles you've made!

Cheryl said...

Those sound really, really good. I'm like you...no real turtle, thanks, but I'm all for the sweet variety. ; )

Update when you figure out how to get them to peel out of the wrappers easily. I'm curious.

Ann said...

Those are some sumptuous looking foods...I'm craving for some. This post made me real hungry...

Anonymous said...

i've had turtle shell. i'm guilty of saying there's a chinese dessert (which is made by cooking the shells till you get a kind of herbal jelly) called Gui Ling Gao which i absolutely adore and it has great medicinal purposes.

cool blog! i'll be back. x

Katie said...

Yum, Yum and more Yum. This has been bookmarked.

Anonymous said...

Awww what a cute idea for wedding reception food!

Lisa said...

So cute!

My dad actually made turtle soup from a snapper he caught in our pond but I declined to try any! I much prefer your approach!

Abby said...

My great aunt and uncle had a farm when I was a kid and when we had fish fries, Uncle Hebe would have frog legs, turtle soup and he'd fry up the fish eggs if he found any. I wouldn't touch ANY of it. Well, maybe the frog legs.

These days I'll stick with cheesecake, too! Cute post.

Anonymous said...

Why Grace, Turtle Soup is a Southern staple! I was working up the courage to give this a try and your cute turtle squashed that idea.

Nic said...

Ooooh, the caramel is a winner! Save a few for me because I'm coming right over!!
(Love the title of this post!)

Katie said...

These look fantastic. I love their size then I can eat a bunch of them.