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. 
Oh my goodness, those look AMAZING!
Wow, that’s a lot of brownies. They do look heavenly! Thanks for sharing the recipe!
Happy Thanksgiving!
~ingrid
Wow, these look amazing!
These are amazing! And they’re very chocolatey. Definitely need a glass of milk with them 🙂
Whoa! Those look insanely decadent and delicious!
Hi Jan. These Orio Crunch Brownies look delicious and I would like to try an make them. Being in Australia the recipe needs some clarification for me. How much butter is in a stick? We get butter in 1kg and 500 gm packs… Thanks so much. Just found your blog today and oh! oh!, everything looks so nice. I would like to leave my email address for you: jong2505@hotmail.com
Thanks ever so much…
Glenice
These look so great! Can I eliminate the instant coffee or is it essential to the taste? I am making these for my 3-year-old niece’s birthday party, and she LOVES chocolate, but I don’t think she should have something with coffee in it. What are your thoughts?
Sarah – The coffe in the brownies is there to enhance the flavor of the chocolate. It is not necessary, you could definitely take it out without any issues. I hope you enjoy the brownies!
Sorry to be a pest with questions, but what kind of pan is the size you mentioned? I did a search online and I got two results – a jelly roll pan and also a much deeper roasting pan. The brownies in your photos look thick but I’m not sure if I need to pick up a new pan. Thanks for all of your help!!! 🙂
Sarah – Sorry for not getting back to you sooner. The pan I used is 11x17x1. So it’s not very deep. I always call it a jelly roll pan. Hope that helps!