Hey there y’all,

As you may know, I am currently on a Southern Food kick. Its not my fault, its the book I am reading…or rather listening to. A couple of years back I discovered audio books on Audible.com. I always wanted to read certain books but rarely had time to sit down and have a read. With audio books I can listen anywhere and while I am doing virtually anything – driving, cooking, cleaning and I don’t know about you but I love being read to. Anyway, I was listening to a series of books which take place in the Southern US, more specifically in Gatlin County, a fictional town in South Carolina. They mention food a lot throughout the books and that is where I discovered the alluring Tunnel of Fudge cake. Housekeeper Ama Trudeau, a feisty secondary character, always made this cake especially for Ethan, the main character. It was his special dessert. They described it so well in the book that I just had to “Google it”. At first “tunnel of fudge” sounded like it could be complicated. Mainly, how do you achieve that molten centre?? I was surprised to find that it is very easy to do – no extra steps.

About the cake: A Tunnel of Fudge cake is a beautifully rich chocolate cake with a slightly molten or rather, fudgey centre with a gorgeous glossy chocolate ganache poured overtop. Pouring the ganache over the cake is so pleasing to do and see if you love chocolate. It’s tantalizing and mesmerizing to me. (never thought I’d use those words in the same sentence. Who says tantalizing? lol) That is why I included a video rather than just stills of the process. I felt that you needed to see it in action 🙂

I’ve always made good chocolate cake of course because I live with a chocoholic but it is not MY signature recipe. I wanted one all my own; one that people will ask me to make and I’d be like, “Ok” *sigh* 😉 Anyway, I think I’ve found that in this cake. As you may know from watching cooks/chefs like Paula Deen and Emeril Lagasse, Southerners do not skimp on anything! (i.e Butter , sugar, eggs, lard, bacon fat etc..) This recipe is not exempt from that. Although to be fair, when you’ve decided that you’re gonna have cake, then go all the way! You wanna have the most bang for your bite.

Notes:

1) Trust in the cooking time. If you are sure your oven temperature is accurate, then 45 minutes will be the perfect cooking time. You won’t really be able to use a skewer or cake tester because it will come out “wet” with chocolate as the centre is supposed to be slightly molten. (I recently bought an oven thermometer to test my oven.)

2) This recipe does not require baking powder or baking soda; its not a mistake.

3) This recipe has a bit of waiting in it. Its important to follow the guidelines as closely as you can. Applying the ganache while the cake is even a little warm, can ruin the look and texture of it or waiting too long or too little to pop the cake out of the pan can be problematic. If you’re in a rush though, try putting it in the fridge for a bit before applying your ganache.

Tunnel of Fudge Cake

Yield: about 12-14 servings

INGREDIENTS

To prep the pan:
1 tbsp. Dutch-processed cocoa powder
1 tbsp. unsalted butter, melted

For the cake:
½ cup boiling water
2 oz. bittersweet chocolate, chopped
2 cups (10 oz.) all-purpose flour
¾ cup (2¼ oz.) Dutch-processed cocoa powder
2 cups (8 oz.) confectioners’ sugar
1 tsp. salt
5 large eggs, at room temperature
1 tbsp. vanilla extract
1 cup (7 oz.) granulated sugar
¾ cup packed (5¼ oz.) light brown sugar
20 tbsp. (2½ sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature

For the glaze:
¾ cup heavy cream
¼ cup light corn syrup
8 oz. bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
½ tsp. vanilla extract

DIRECTIONS

Preheat the oven to 350˚ F. 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.
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, confectioners’ 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.

Allow the cake to cool on a wire rack for 1½ hours before inverting onto a cake platter. Invert onto a cake platter and allow to cool completely, about 1½ hours.

To make 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.

Then….reap the rewards 🙂

PICTURES & CREDITS