Tunnel of Fudge Cake
Tunnel of Fudge cake was made famous by the Pillsbury Bake-Off. This version from America’s Test Kitchen is chocolatey and indulgent, as the name would suggest.
Hello beautiful!
This cake just screams indulgent with it’s chocolatey cake filled with a gooey underbaked center and topped with a chocolate glaze. It’s the perfect dessert to impress friends, family members, or that special someone in your life.
I made this cake for dinner with some friends. We all went back for seconds. As you can see in the pictures, I overbaked mine a smidge since my tunnel wasn’t quite as gooey as other pictures I’ve seen of this cake. I can tell you that I’ve made it again since taking these pictures and baked it a few minutes less and it had a more gooey-underbaked center. So my suggestion is to take the cake out a little before you think you need to.
I served the cake with some fresh raspberries and at the last second added some freshly whipped cream to the table as well. Even for this chocolate lover, I enjoyed the berries and cream to cut through the intense chocolateness coming from this cake.
I love the tip from America’s Test Kitchen to paint the inside of the bundt pan with a melted butter and cocoa mixture. Not only was it fun to do, it yielded a cake that came out of it’s pan with no issues. I’m definitely going to be using that trick for other chocolate bundt cakes in the future.
Two Years Ago: Black and Tan Brownies and Cherry M&M Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies
Three Years Ago: Colorful Cumin Quinoa Salad and Black Forest Cupcakes
Four Years Ago: Chinese Restaurant Almond Cookies
Tunnel of Fudge Cake
Tunnel of Fudge cake was made famous by the Pillsbury Bake-Off. This version from America's Test Kitchen is chocolatey and indulgent, as the name would suggest.
Yield: Serves 12-14
Ingredients:
For the Pan
1 Tbsp Dutch-processed cocoa powder
1 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted
For the Cake
1/2 cup boiling water
2 oz bittersweet chocolate, chopped
2 cups flour
3/4 cup Dutch-processed cocoa powder
2 cups powdered sugar
1 tsp salt
5 eggs, at room temperature
1 Tbsp vanilla
1 cup sugar
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
20 Tbsp unsalted butter, at room temperature
For the Glaze
3/4 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup light corn syrup
8 oz bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
1/2 tsp vanilla
Directions:
For the Pan
Preheat the oven to 350 degF. In a small bowl, whisk together the cocoa powder and melted butter. Use a pastry brush to evenly coat the inside of a 12-cup bundt pan.
For the Cake
In a medium bowl, pour the boiling water over the chopped chocolate. Let stand for a minute, then whisk until smooth. In a medium bowl, combine the flour, cocoa powder, powdered sugar, and salt. Combine the eggs and vanilla in a liquid measuring cup and beat lightly.
In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine the granulated sugar, brown sugar, and butter. Beat on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. With the mixer on low speed, add in the egg mixture just until combined. Add the chocolate mixture and mix until incorporated. Blend in the dry ingredients until just combined.
Spread the batter into the prepared pan. Bake for about 45 minutes or until the edges of the cake begin to pull away from the pan.
Allow the cake to cool on a wire rack for 2 hours before inverting onto a cake platter. Allow to cool completely, about 2 more hours.
For the Glaze
Combine the cream, corn syrup, and chocolate in a small saucepan. Heat over medium heat, stirring frequently, until smooth. Blend in the vanilla. Set aside for about 30 minutes, until slightly thickened. Drizzle the glaze over the cake and let set for at least 10 minutes before slicing.
Recipe from Cook's Illustrated Entertaining, Holiday 2010
I am Jen the Beantown Baker. Engineer by day and baking maven by night. Hubby serves as my #1 fan and official taste tester. We got hitched back in 2006. Barefoot. In the sand. With the waves crashing behind us. It was one of the best decisions we’ve ever made. 
What a gorgeous chocolate!! I adore deep chocolate ice creams.
beantownbaker — May 31st, 2013 @ 10:07 am
You would definitely love this then. It’s so rich and chocolatey!
I just got an ice cream maker and cannot wait to start trying it out… this looks a bit above my skill level, but a good thing to work towards!
beantownbaker — May 31st, 2013 @ 10:08 am
I completely understand wanting to start out with an easier recipe. Sorbets are really easy. No cooking necessary for most sorbet recipes. But def keep this one in the back of your mind for when you feel more confident!
I made this dark chocolate ice cream last year, and it is definitely the best chocolate ice cream I’ve ever had. The 5-day wait time is pure torture, but it’s completely worth it. So glad you enjoyed this as much as I did!
beantownbaker — May 31st, 2013 @ 10:07 am
I agree, it was complete torture, especially after taking a taste after it had processed in the machine…
A rich, deep chocolate ice cream is worth the wait! It’s so hard to find a recipe for the decadent chocolate ice I desire, this recipe has moved to the top of my to-do list!
You can tell just by looking at this how rich and awesome it is!!
beantownbaker — June 7th, 2013 @ 8:52 am
It’s seriously difficult to scoop it’s so thick!
wowza, this certainly tell how rich and decadent it is!! i’m appreciating more and more those things that I only need a spoonful of to satisfy 😉
beantownbaker — June 7th, 2013 @ 8:53 am
This is definitely one of those things. I love chocolate but could only handle one small scoop at a time.
Who isn’t a fan of chocolate?! This looks amazing 🙂
I would love to try this recipe. I am wondering why you used coconut milk, and I’m assuming full fat coconut milk?
beantownbaker — June 16th, 2013 @ 7:47 pm
i use coconut milk because I’m lactose intolerant so I can’t use cow’s milk or heavy cream. If you want to use those dairy products, follow the instructions in the original recipe. And yes, I use full fat coconut milk.