I have a whole bunch of bookmarked recipes that I’ve been putting off for months/years because they require Dutch processed cocoa powder, and I couldn’t be bothered to get it. But that changed recently (immediately before those truffle cookies…) and I’m getting to things I’ve been reading about for ages! This cake was worth the wait. Even the batter is super delicious, and then it does cool things when it bakes. Instead of being just a solid fluffy chocolate bundt, you get, as the name says, a tunnel of gooey fudgeyness evenly throughout the whole ring of the cake. Add a chocolate topping, and it’s pretty irresistible!

Fudgey filling!

Ingredients:

Cake:

• 1/2 cup boiling water
• 2 ounces bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup Dutch-processed cocoa powder
• 2 cups powdered sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 5 large eggs, at room temperature
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
• 20 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature

Glaze:

• 3/4 cup heavy cream
• 1/4 cup light corn syrup
• 8 oz bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 12-cup bundt pan with nonstick cooking spray with flour. I hate the cooking spray I have (it smells weird!) but refuse to open a new one until this one is finished, so just greased and floured the pan myself. 100% reasonable.

Put the chocolate in a small bowl and add the boiling water. Let stand for one minute, then stir together until smooth. Sift together the flour, cocoa powder, powdered sugar, and salt in a large bowl. Whisk together the eggs and vanilla in a small bowl. I don’t know if I was working super slow or what, but my oven was already preheated by the time I got these all done, so you might be able to start heating yours a bit later in the process. Things move quickly from here on, though!

Using your mixer’s paddle attachment, beat together the butter and both sugars on medium speed until light and fluffy.

Add the egg mixture on low and beat until just incorporated.

Still a bit lumpy, that’s ok.

Add the chocolate and beat in on low until combined, then add the dry goods and beat until just combined. This was a large enough amount of dry goods that even adding in two batches, I wished I had used the collar attachment thing that goes over the mixer bowl and keeps things from exploding out. I recommend getting in there with a spatula and just wetting the dry goods a bit before the mixer starts stirring, or you’re going to be cleaning flour off everything in a three foot radius.

Spoon the batter into the prepared pan and spread evenly.

Bake for 45 minutes, or until the edges of the cake start to separate from the pan an the top springs back when lightly pressed. Let cool in the pan for a hour and a half, then cool completely on a wire rack before glazing, about 2 more hours. I just didn’t have that much time, and pulled my cake out of the pan early, and a chunk stuck inside the pan. Luckily, it gets glazed and imperfections can be covered up!

The most minor disaster of the week.

Make the glaze by combining the cream, corn syrup, and chocolate in a small saucepan over medium-low heat. Cook, stirring frequently, until smooth and melted. Stir in the vanilla, then let stand until somewhat thickened, 20-30 minutes. Spread on the cake, let set briefly, and serve. I only made 1/2 that much glaze, and it was plenty. (A quarter cup is 4 tablespoons, if you need some help with the division.)

The chocolate flavor from the melted chocolate plus cocoa powder is pretty excellent, and the somewhat gooey center is lovely. Two thumbs up! And now… I just got the new/last Wheel of Time book and have to get reading!

Fudgey filling!

Tunnel of Fudge Cake

From Tracey’s Culinary Adventures.

Cake:

• 1/2 cup boiling water
• 2 ounces bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup Dutch-processed cocoa powder
• 2 cups powdered sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 5 large eggs, at room temperature
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
• 20 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature

Glaze:

• 3/4 cup heavy cream
• 1/4 cup light corn syrup
• 8 oz bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 12-cup bundt pan with nonstick cooking spray with flour.

Put the chocolate in a small bowl and add the boiling water. Let stand for one minute, then stir together until smooth. Sift together the flour, cocoa powder, powdered sugar, and salt in a large bowl. Whisk together the eggs and vanilla in a small bowl.

Using your mixer’s paddle attachment, beat together the butter and both sugars on medium speed until light and fluffy. Add the egg mixture on low and beat until just incorporated. Add the chocolate and beat in on low until combined, then carefully add the dry goods and beat until just combined.

Spoon the batter into the prepared pan and spread evenly. Bake for 45 minutes, or until the edges of the cake start to separate from the pan an the top springs back when lightly pressed.Let cool in the pan for a hour and a half, then cool completely on a wire rack before glazing, about 2 more hours.

Make the glaze by combining the cream, corn syrup, and chocolate in a small saucepan over medium-low heat. Cook, stirring frequently, until smooth and melted. Stir in the vanilla, then let stand until somewhat thickened, 20-30 minutes. Spread on the cake, let set briefly, and serve.