Cream Cheese Turtle Cake

From "Loca Luna" restaurant in Little Rock, Arkansas. Taken from Bon Apetit. This looks decadently ooey and gooey and rich!

• Ready In: 1 hr 10 mins
• Serves: 12-16

Ingredients

• Cake

• 1  cup  sliced almonds, lightly toasted
• 1  cup  chopped pecans, lightly toasted
• 1 (18 1/4ounce) box  German chocolate cake mix
• 1 1⁄4 cups water
• 1⁄3 cup  vegetable oil
• 3  large eggs
• 1⁄2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
• 3 1⁄2 cups powdered sugar
• 1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, cut into pieces,room temperature

• ICING

• 1 3⁄4 cups powdered sugar
• 2  tablespoons  unsweetened cocoa powder
• 5  tablespoons  whole milk
• 1⁄4 cup unsalted butter
• 1  teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1⁄2 cup  caramel topping

Directions

1. For Cake: Preheat oven to 350.
2. Butter and flour 13x9x2-inch metal cake pan.
3. Sprinkle 1/2 cup almonds and 1/2 cup pecans over bottom of pan.
4. Combine cake mix, 1 1/4 cups water, oil, and eggs in large bowl.
5. Using electic mixer, beat at low speed until mixture is moistened, about 30 seconds.
6. Beat at medium speed 2 minutes.
7. Pour batter into pan.
8. Melt buttter in medium saucepan over medium-low heat.
9. Gradually stir in powdered sugar (mixture will form clumps); stir in cream cheese.
10. Whisk until smooth, about 1 miute.
11. Pour cream cheese mixture in large ribbons atop cake batter in pan.
12. Using knife, swirl mixture into batter (do not overmix).
13. Bake cake until tester inserted into center (in cake part only) comes out clean, about 50 minutes (bottom of cake will be very moist).
14. Cool cake in pan on rack.
15. Sprinkle remaining 1/2 cup almonds and 1/2 cup pecans over cake.
16. For Icing: Mix sugar and cocoa in medium bowl.
17. Bring milk and buter to simmer in heavy medium saucepan.
18. Reduce heat to medium-low; add powdered sugar mixture and whisk until melted.
19. Add chocolate chips and whisk until smooth.
20. Mix in vailla.
21. Drizzle warm icing over cake.
22. Let stand until set, about 2 hours.
23. Drizzle caramel topping over.