Ever have that urge to eat something that is incredibly chocolaty, decadent, and then consumed with guilt after eating a slice because it's just so good that you can't stop eating? I do! Well, fortunately for me, my wonderful boyfriend got me the BakeWise cookbook by Shirley O. Corriher. The first recipe I decided to bake from it is the Tunnel of Fudge Cake :o) This book is absolutely amazing since it has baking down to the science. If you're someone like me who enjoys baking, then I highly recommend this book!
Anyway, onto the Tunnel of Fudge Cake :o) It is incredibly decadent and probably the best I've ever tried. It has a TON of sugar in the recipe so it's a diabetics worst nightmare. Fortunately for me, I'm not diabetic, and neither is my boyfriend. This cake is definitely fudgey but not to the point where everything is just ooooozing out and it becomes a hot mess. I think it's also because I left the cake to cool completely so some of the fudge may have been soaked up by the cake. Regardless, this cake is incredibly good and I highly recommend you try it at home :o)
Improved Tunnel of Fudge Cake
(Source: BakeWise Cookbook by Shirley O. Corriher)
2 1/2 cups walnut pieces or mixed walnuts and pecans
1 1/4 cups plus 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into 2 tablespoon pieces, divided
3/4 teaspoon salt, divided
Nonstick cooking spray
1 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup dark brown sugar, packed
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/3 cup canola oil
2 large egg yolks
2 cups confectioner's sugar
3/4 cup natural cocoa powder
4 large eggs
2 1/4 cups spooned and leveled all purpose flour
Confectioner's sugar to garnish
Place a heavy baking sheet or pizza stone on a shelf in the
lower third of the oven. Heat the oven to 350 degrees. On a large baking sheet,
roast nuts in the oven for 10 minutes. Keep watch that they do not burn. Pour
into a bowl, and add butter and 1/8 teaspoon salt. Toss well and set aside.
Generously apply nonstick cooking spray to the inside of a large Bundt cake
pan. In a mixer, beat butter to soften until it becomes fluffy. Add sugar, then
the brown sugar and continue to beat until airy. While beating, if the bowl does
not feel cool, place it in the freezer for five minutes, then resume beating.
Beat in 1/2 teaspoon salt, vanilla and vegetable oil. Beat in two egg yolks.
Crack the four whole eggs into a large mixing bowl. With a small knife, cut
yolks and barely stir the eggs, minimally blending the whites and yolks. With
the mixer on the lowest speed, beat the eggs into the batter in three batches.
Mix in confectioners' sugar and the cocoa. In a large mixing bowl, stir flour
and walnuts together. Then with a spatula stir the flour-nut mixture into the
batter. Pour the batter into the Bundt pan. Bake for 45 minutes. You cannot use
the toothpick test because the cake contains so much sugar that the center will
not set but will remain a tunnel-of-fudge. You are dependent on a correct oven
temperature and the 45-minute cooking time. When removed from the oven, the
cake will have a runny fudge core with an air pocket above the fudge. About 30
minutes after taking the cake out of the oven, press the inside and outside edge
of the cake bottom down all the way around to minimize the air pocket. Let the
cake, still in the pan, cool on a rack for two to three hours. Invert the cake
onto a platter and let cool completely.
