Turtle Pie
Looking to make someone’s day? Make them a Turtle Pie! This decadent, once-in-a-while treat is sure to make dessert a show-stopper of an affair. Add this one to your party plan, and watch your friends enjoy this easy version of turtle chocolates.
Layers of decadent fresh ganache and homemade caramel in a graham cracker crust are topped with pecans, and more chocolate, making this luscious pie one that everyone will ask you to make again and again.
While all the parts of this pie are homemade none of them are hard to make. My directions are fairly easy to follow and if you just read the directions carefully and follow them your pie will be just fine.
Why is it called turtle pie?
There’s an old-fashioned candy called turtles. Turtles are made of 3-4 pecans laid out in a semi-form of a turtle. If there are 3 pecans, there is a head and two flippers; if there are 4 pecans, there are four flippers and no head. It’s not just a jumble of pecans, caramel and chocolate; they literally look like turtles.
Turtle pie has all the flavors of Turtles and is made in a graham cracker crust.
What you need to make a turtle pie
This pie has layers and while the list looks long none of the ingredients are super specialized or hard to come by. My biggest tip? Make sure you have a candy thermometer to make the caramel correctly.
- semi-sweet chocolate chips
- heavy whipping cream
- graham cracker crumbs
- sugar (Out of sugar? Check these swaps)
- butter
- water
- chopped pecans
- chopped semi-sweet chocolate
- 9-inch pie pan
- candy thermometer
How to store turtle pie
This pie never leaves the refrigerator, because the refrigerator is the only thing holding it together. There’s a cup of heavy cream in the ganache and another three quarters of a cup in the caramel, and at room temperature the whole thing goes soft and starts to slump. Keep it covered and chilled and it’ll keep about four days. Cover it tightly, since a graham crust will go soft from fridge humidity and the chocolate will pick up other smells. Take it out ten minutes before you slice it so the ganache cuts clean instead of cracking.
Turtle Pie
Equipment
- 9-inch pie pan
- candy thermometer
Ingredients
For the ganache
- 12 oz. semi-sweet chocolate you can use chocolate chips
- 1 cup heavy whipping cream
For the crust:
- 1 ½ cups graham cracker crumbs about 9 sheets, crushed
- 2 Tablespoons sugar
- 7 Tablespoons butter
For the Caramel:
- 1 cup butter
- 1 Tablespoon water
- 1 cup brown sugar
- ¾ cup heavy whipping cream
For topping:
- 1 cup chopped pecans
- ¾ cup chopped chocolate
Instructions
- pour the chocolate into a heat-proof bowl, set aside
- for the ganache, heat cream until steaming
- remove from the heat and pour over chocolate chips
- let the bowl sit for a minute to melt the chocolate, then whisk until smooth, set aside
- make the crust: combine graham cracker crumbs and sugar
- Melt butter, and stir into crumbs
- Press into a 9” pie pan
- Pour ganache into crust, and refrigerate
- make the caramel: Combine butter, brown sugar, and water in a saucepan, and heat over medium heat, stirring occasionally while butter melts
- Clip a candy thermometer to pan, and bring to a rolling boil
- Stir in cream, and continue boiling until temperature reaches soft ball (about 245ºF)
- Remove caramel from heat after soft ball is reached
- Let cool 5 minutes or so
- Pour over the partially set ganache
- Place back into the fridge for several minutes to cool the surface a bit
- then sprinkle with pecans and chocolate
- Place back in refrigerator for 2 hours or so until pie is firm
Video
Nutrition
