Karin's BONUS Week Seven Recipe: Tunnel of Fudge Cake

At some point in the past, I thought it would be fun to have a Bundt pan, to make the fancy looking cakes that come out of it. Being me, I bought the big 12-cup sized pan, and at the time, being single had no one to bake giant cakes for, as eating too much cake is not good for oneself. Now, however, that has changed, and I reside with someone who loves to eat (and cook when the occasion presents itself). Now, the world of Bundt has opened itself to me.

These cakes are usually quite easy to make, and turn out looking fabulous, as long as you grease the pan well. I'd heard quite a bit about the Tunnel of Fudge cake over the years, and how it won a bake-off, but never made it. It was also in my Bundt Classics Cookbook. I had to make a chocolate cake for my father-in-law's birthday on Valentine's Day, and thought, "What better cake to try than Tunnel of Fudge?"

I will warn you, gentle readers, the ingredients in this cake may put you into shock, as it really does only make 1 cake.

Tunnel of Fudge Cake

Cake
1 3/4 c butter, softened
1 3/4 c sugar
6 eggs (Yes 6!)
2 c powdered sugar
2 1/4 c flour
3/4 c cocoa
2 c chopped walnuts*

Glaze
3/4 c powdered sugar
1/4 c cocoa
1 1/2 - 2 T milk

*Nuts are essential to the success of the cake

Heat oven to 325. Grease and flour a 12-c Bundt pan (I used cocoa powder instead of flour, as this is a chocolate cake, and I did not want white flour powder on my finished cake). In a large bowl, mix butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Gradually add powdered sugar; mixing well.

By hand, stire in all remaining cake ingredients until well blended. Spoon batter into prepared pan; spread evenly. Bake at 325 for 60-64 minutes. Accurate temp and time are important, as you cannot use a toothpick to test for doneness. (I looked up several versions of this on the web, and most said when the cake pulls away from the edge of the pan, it's done.)

Cool upright in pan on cooling rack 1 hour; invert onto serving plate. Cool completely.

In a small bowl, combine all glaze ingredients; mix well. Spoon over top of cake, allowing some to run down sides. I actually used about 2x as much milk as called for in order to get the glaze to be runny enough to drip down the sides of the cake.

I would make this cake again, as it was very moist and chocolatey, however, it did not have a "tunnel of fudge" as promised, but a very moist and chewy brownie-like center. I looked up several versions of this recipe online, including the one on Pillsbury's website (as it won a Pillsbury bake-off), and they are the same as this one. Some comments though, said that the original recipe had a packet of powdered fudge frosting mix in it, and that created the tunnel of fudge part. The cake didn't look at all like any of the pictures I've seen of a cut Tunnel of Fudge cake, which was disappointing. But in terms of taste, Yum!