Recipe from Shirley O. Corriher
Adapted by The New York Times
Updated Feb. 29, 2024
- Total Time
- 2 hours plus 2 hours to cool
- Rating
- 4(328)
- Notes
- Read community notes
The original tunnel-of-fudge cake won second place in the 1966 Pillsbury Bake-Off Contest for the late Ella Rita Helfrich of Houston. That version used a fudge icing mix to create a gooey chocolate center. But Pillsbury discontinued the icing mix, and the resulting clamor of home bakers led Pillsbury to release a recipe for making tunnel-of-fudge cake from scratch. In 2004, The Times presented an adaptation of that recipe with the help of Shirley Corriher, a biochemist and the author of "Cookwise" and "Bakewise," books about how scientific principles can be applied to cooking and baking. —The New York Times
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Ingredients
Yield:1 cake
- 2½cups walnuts or pecans, chopped
- 2tablespoons unsalted butter
- ¼teaspoon salt
- 1¼cups unsalted butter, cut into tablespoon-size pieces, softened, plus more for greasing the pan
- 1cup sugar
- ¾cup dark brown sugar, packed
- ¾teaspoon salt
- 1teaspoon vanilla
- ⅓cup vegetable oil
- 2large egg yolks
- 4large eggs
- 2cups confectioners sugar
- 2¼cups bleached all-purpose flour
- ¾cup natural cocoa powder
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (10 servings)
877 calories; 56 grams fat; 20 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 17 grams monounsaturated fat; 17 grams polyunsaturated fat; 90 grams carbohydrates; 5 grams dietary fiber; 61 grams sugars; 12 grams protein; 274 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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Preparation
Step
1
Place a heavy baking sheet or pizza stone on a shelf in the lower third of the oven. Heat the oven to 350 degrees (see note).
Step
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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 2 tablespoons butter and ¼ teaspoon salt. Toss well and set aside.
Step
3
Generously butter the inside of a large 12-cup Bundt cake pan.
Step
4
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.
Step
5
Beat in ¾ teaspoon salt, vanilla and vegetable oil.
Step
6
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.
Step
7
With the mixer on the lowest speed, beat the eggs into the batter in three batches. Mix in confectioners' sugar and the cocoa.
Step
8
In a large mixing bowl, stir flour and nuts together. Then with a spatula stir the flour-nut mixture into the batter. Pour the batter into the Bundt pan.
Step
9
Bake for 40 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 40-minute cooking time.
Step
10
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.
- This cake is supposed to have an oozing center, so a poke test will not accurately test doneness; you are dependent on a correct oven temperature and the 40-minute cooking time. Because of this, we recommend using an external oven thermometer and also making sure your oven is properly calibrated.
Ratings
4
out of 5
328
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Private Notes
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Cooking Notes
Phyllis
If we are not using nuts, should we add butter and salt to the flour, or skip it altogether and simply add flour, or flour and salt, to sugar mixture?
Sarah
Liz, either "natural" or "Dutch-processed" (sometimes just called Dutched) cocoa should work here. Dutch-processed is darker-colored and less acidic than natural. American cocoas like Hershey's are what this cake would have been made with back in the 60's and will make a reddish cake with classic flavor. However, using one versus the other only matters when the acidity of the cocoa is factored into chemical leavening, which it isn't here.
Lisa
I've made a "tunnel of fudge" cake many, many times before but this recipe is perfect...just what I would expect from Shirley Corriher. Follow the instructions exactly. And use GOOD cocoa.
Natalia
No nuts are not necessary
Paul
1 1/2 c butter (3 sticks)6 eggs300 g sugar250 g flour15 oz chocolate frosting mix8 oz toasted walnuts, chopped-------------------90 g 10X20 g cocoa4 T milkCream butter 5 min. Add eggs, beating until incorporated after each. Add sugar. Beat 3 min. Fold in flour-frosting (sift)-nut mix, first with mixer, then with spatula.45 min @350Cool in pan 2 hr. Glaze.
Harriet123
I believe it refers to unprocessed, i.e., not dutch processed; just regular cocoa like Hershey's.
Grumpy
"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." So I think you have your answer.
TAE
This recipe does not nearly recreate the cake my mother used to make using the original Pillsbury recipe with the mix that was ultimately discontinued. I made this recipe today and it is 1) way too sweet, 2) way too gooey (the tunnel of fudge should be like a piece of fudge running through the cake, not a molten mess), and 3) way too much work, especially for the outcome. It's going in the garbage. I may try the revised recipe Pillsbury developed.
Kathy F
Made this cake for a party. HUGE waste of time. Way too sweet.
Moe
Made this baby twice , both times everyone loved it including me. My only comment when flipping out of the pan place directly on the dish you are serving on. Impossible to move without the bottom falling apart
Grace
I made this cake for a 1960s portion of a decades progressive dinner. It is delicious!! I followed the recipe almost exactly as written. I accidentally added the whole eggs at the same time, instead of in 3 additions, but I think it still turned out great. I planned to cut the pieces and serve on a platter but it is so fudgy and messy when I tried to plate a few pieces I had to leave it whole and have guests cut a piece if they wanted it. Overall it was a great addition to my 60s themed menu!
Corinne
So very important to let cool as instructed and to push it down, as instructed. My husband cut into it too soon and the whole cake collapsed. Looked like a total failure, but it tasted fantastic! Next time I'll make it in the morning so it will have ample time to cool before dessert after dinner!
Virginia
Can I use chocolate chips instead of nuts? My kids do not eat nuts. THANK YOU !
Kim
I think it has too many nuts for the amount of batter but otherwise a winner.
Larico
I cooked this in a stoneware bundt pan and when I removed it after cooling for a few hours, the cake collapsed and the pudding spilled out. It tasted great, but looked like a mess. i did use unbleached flour, so maybe that was it. I'm not sure. Any suggestions?
Shinta
Did anyone have any success making this with gluten-free flour (King Arthur, Bob’s Red Mills, or Cup4Cup)?
John
I've cooked this several times, including her book version. I add the nuts while serving due to an allergy. As she says, they just elevate it. It tastes better the next day, and is good warm as it is cold.
Sue G.
I just made this. I didn't have high hopes based on some of the reviews, but it came out exactly as it was supposed to and tasted just like I hoped it would. Super-delicious. I followed the recipe exactly with the exception of using unbleached flour instead of bleached. Used Hershey's natural cocoa.I would definitely make again. The instructions seem a lot more finicky than they really are, but I was organized and careful to make sure my ingredients were room temp and weighed properly.
sheila
Well, I made this twice this weekend, thinking I must have done something wrong. The only change I made was substituting in GF flour. It was sludge both times. Delicious sludge, but sludge, nonetheless. If there is a tip about thickness of pan or some other direction that was missing, I would love to be let in on the secret. Good news was also made the cheesecake pudding and served the chocolate sludge on top. Nobody was the wiser.
Debra Vass
Why the pizza stone? Are you supposed to put the bundt pan directly on it?
Megan
Did anyone else have trouble getting it out of the pan? Any suggestions?
kay
Yes, we had to go around the edges with a knife just around the top of the cake.
Claire
Curious as to how long you would bake this cake if made in a 6 c bundt pan. Has anyone tried this?
Shwillary
Wondering the same - has this recipe been halved by anybody?
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