Turtle Cheesecake Pie
With Thanksgiving quickly approaching, I thought it would be great to share a few pie recipes with you. It’s funny how traditions during the holidays live on and on, and each holiday seems to have it’s own traditions. Thanksgiving and Pies just go together.
This Turtle Cheesecake Pie is perfect for Thanksgiving, but scrumptious of course any time of year. Ever since I gave the Cake Mix Pie Crust a try, I have been dreaming of a pie to make with a chocolate cake mix pie crust. And I’ll have to say…it turned out pretty good!
Let’s begin by chatting about the crust…like I mentioned, this is a Chocolate Cake Mix Pie Crust, while it wasn’t as easy to work with as the yellow cake mix I used in the Mini Pumpkin Mousse Pies, it was not difficult either. I did figure out a couple tricks along the way…
- Use cocoa powder to lightly dust the surface before rolling, you can use flour but it will coat the crust white
- Do not fold the crust over on itself, it will stick together
Now I’ll have to admit, I’m not the best pie crust baker in the world – not even close – but looks aren’t everything, right? As long as it’s delicious, that’s all that matters.
After the crust is baked and cooled, the filling is super easy. I used my favorite No Bake Cheesecake Recipe and changed it a bit to pair with the caramel and hot fudge flavors, I used cream cheese, brown sugar, vanilla and Cool Whip whipped topping, it can also be made up a day or two ahead of the holiday, making it a great make-ahead Thanksgiving Dessert.
For the topping, I made Caramel Sauce and Homemade Hot Fudge Sauce, which are both made with just 2 or 3 ingredients and go together in minutes. But you could very easily pick up bottles of ice cream topping.
Turtle Cheesecake Pie
Delicious pie that's perfect for the holidays, a dinner party or birthday. But easy enough for a weeknight dessert. Recipe on HoosierHomemade.com
Ingredients
Crust
- 1 Chocolate Cake Mix, standard size
- 1 egg
- 3 egg yolks
- 1 tablespoon butter, softened
Filling
- 1 (8 oz) pkg cream cheese, softened
- 1/3 cup brown sugar, packed
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 (8 oz) tub COOL WHIP Whipped Topping, thawed
Toppings
- Caramel Sauce - 1 bag caramels + 2 tablespoons water
- Hot Fudge - 1 can (14 oz) Sweetened Condensed Milk + 1/2 cup chocolate pieces + 1/4 cup butter
- Pecans - chopped and/or whole
Instructions
Crust
- Combine all ingredients in a large bowl
- Turn dough out onto a slightly cocoa powder dusted counter and knead until well combined
- Wrap in plastic and chill at least 15 minutes
- Divide in half and roll out dough
- Place in pie pan, prick bottom with fork
- Bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes for full size pie
- Bake at 350 degrees for 5-7 minutes for mini pies
- Cool completely
Filling
- Beat cream cheese and brown sugar until smooth and well blended
- Add vanilla and beat
- Fold in COOL WHIP Whipped Topping until smooth
- Spoon into crust and place in fridge for at least 2 hours or overnight
Caramel Sauce
- Combine caramels and water in a small saucepan and cook, stirring constantly until caramels are melted and mixture is smooth
- Remove from heat and let cool about 10-15 minutes
- Place in plastic squeeze bottle for ease
Hot Fudge Sauce
- Place all ingredients in small saucepan and heat until all ingredients are melted, smooth and creamy, stirring frequently
- Let cool slightly, serve immediately or store in a container in the fridge for up to a month
- To reheat, spoon into a microwave safe bowl and heat until smooth
- Place in plastic squeeze bottle for ease
Assemble
- Drizzle pie with caramel and hot fudge and sprinkle with pecans
- Cover and store leftovers in fridge
Notes
Cook time is for the pie crust
Simplify your holiday with our Thanksgiving Inspiration
how do you determine with the chocolate cake pie when it is done cooking
Hi John, it resemble a cookie crust. Not too brown, but baked enough to be firm to the touch.
Happy Baking!
-Liz
This looks amazing! A question for you though, can you use heavy whipping cream and make the whipped cream as opposed to using coolwhip?
Hi Janie, you can try, I have never made it that way. The Cool Whip has a stabilizer in it that works well. But I think it’s definitely worth a try to use regular whipping cream.
-Liz
Okay, so I had a horrible time with the crust it was so so sticky. What did I do wrong? I ended up just putting it in the pan and spreading it with a wet spoon. The filling was very easy. I gave it chilling now and hope it is going to be easy to cut into tomorrow. Really I just hope it tastes good.The filling tasted so yummy.
Hi Kimberly, sorry you had trouble. I’m not sure, it wasn’t super sticky for me. Possibly add a little flour or cocoa powder and work it into the crust.
Hope it turns out okay for you. Let me know.
~Liz
This pie is RIDICULOUS! In the best of ways, of course. I had never heard of cake mix pie crust, but now I’ll have to try it. This looks amazing!
Thanks Valentina, it is an amazing way to make a pie crust. Here’s the directions if you need them. http://hoosierhomemade.com/how-to-make-pie-crust-from-cake-mix/
Why do you split the dough in half. And how do you get nice edges of the crust
Hi Katie, the dough makes 2 crusts. The edges are shaped with your fingers, just like a normal pie crust would be. You can also use a fork around the edge.
Does the filling make enough for 2 pies as well?
Hi Cathy, only 1 pie for the cheesecake recipe.
Happy Baking!
~Liz
hi how many individual tartlets would this recipe make?
thanks
Hi Tracy, I’m sorry I haven’t made them into individual tartlets. It would depend on the size, I would assume 6-8.
~Liz