Tunnel of Fudge Cake - #BundtBakers

It's April 21 and two things are happening today. First, it's Bundt Bakers day! And second, it's the sixth anniversary of my craniotomy. I always celebrate with a special cake. However, with the unexpected move, I had no plan in place. I decided to make the bundt the cake this year. But what to bake? The theme this month is a really good one - retro desserts. However, I couldn't think of anything that felt special enough for the anniversary celebration. I asked friends for suggestions and pulled out my mother's cookbooks from the 60s/70s. Lots of great cakes but I just could not think of how to turn them into Bundts. Plus, there are a few ingredient limitations here.

One cake kept coming up over and over though - the Boston Cream Pie. I have always wanted to make one and I had all the ingredients on hand. I even wrote it into the list for this month's Bundt then changed to the Tunnel of Fudge cake right before hitting submit. Bundt cakes themselves are retro and the Tunnel of Fudge cake is the cake that made the Bundt famous. Would that make it the ultimate retro Bundt? Perhaps.

I should point out that I am breaking the host's rules a bit. Felice asked us to recreate retro desserts in Bundt form. I missed that key word. I honestly did not notice it until yesterday. The Tunnel of Fudge isn't a recreation since it was always in Bundt form. Sorry, Felice! I will work on a Lady Baltimore Bundt as my penance. It requires figs though and the likelihood of me getting figs here is miniscule so I'll need a worthy substitute.

This version of the Tunnel of Fudge cake comes from the amazing recipe developers and testers over in America's Test Kitchen. Unlike other versions, this does not include nuts. I don't mind nuts in my cakes but I tend to skip them when I plan to share the cake with friends who may not like nuts in desserts.

Happy anniversary to me! And happy Bundt Bakers day! As usual, links to all the other Bundts are below.

PS. I'm still itching to do a layer cake for my anniversary cake. When I get my all baking supplies in a couple weeks, it just might happen.

PPS. Is it weird that I travel with a Bundt pan and a kitchen scale? I didn't think so.

Tunnel of Fudge Cake

Recipe slightly adapted from:  America's Test Kitchen

Yield: 1 six cup Bundt cake

Ingredients For greasing the pan: 1 tablespoon butter, melted 1 tablespoon cocoa Cake 1/4 cup boiling water 1 ounce semi-sweet chocolate chips 1 cup all purpose flour 1 cup confectioner's sugar 6 tablespoons cocoa powder 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/2 tablespoon vanilla extract 2 eggs 1 egg yolk 10 tablespoons butter, room temperature 1/2 cup granulated sugar 6 tablespoons brown sugar Glaze 3/4 cup confectioner's sugar 1/4 cup cocoa powder milk to reach desired consistency

Directions Preheat oven to 350 F. Mix together the cocoa powder and melted butter then completely coat the inside of a 6 cup Bundt pan. Pour the boiling water over the chocolate chips. Let it sit for about 30 seconds and then whisk until smooth. Whisk together flour, cocoa powder, confectioner's sugar, and salt. In a separate bowl, lightly beat the vanilla, whole eggs, and egg yolk. Cream together the butter and two sugars until light and fluffy. Add the egg mixture and beat until just combined. It might look curdled. Next, beat in the chocolate mixture. Finally, stir in the flour mixture until just combined. Pour into the prepared Bundt pan and bake 30 minutes or until the edges start pulling away from the side of the pan and the cake springs back when lightly touched. Note that the centre will be fudgy. Allow to cool in the pan for about an hour then invert onto a plate and allow to cool completely. When completely cooled, whisk together the glaze ingredients then pour over cake.

Notes Be careful not to overbake or you'll lose the fudge effect. My cake here is slightly overdone.

You can see all our of lovely Bundts by following our Pinterest board. Updated links for all of our past events and more information about #BundtBakers, can be found on our home page. And don’t forget to take a peek at what other talented bakers have baked this month ~

• Boston Cream Bundt by Andrea at Adventures in All Things Food
• Boston Cream Pie Bundt Cake by Mary at Los Chatos Chefs
• Campbell's Tomato Soup Cake by Wendy at A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Coca~Cola Bundt Cake by Mondo at I Bake He Shoots
• Hummingbird Bundt Cake by Teri at The Freshman Cook
• Inside-Out Ho Hos Lava Bundt Cake by Colleen at Faith, Hope, Love & Luck Survive Despite a Whiskered Accomplice
• Key Lime Bundt Cake by Sarah at The Chef Next Door
• Lemon Meringue Pie Bundt by Felice at All That's Left are the Crumbs
• New York Style Crumb Cake by Tammy at Living the Gourmet
• Nutella Chocolate MIlkshake Bundt Cake by Bea and Mara at I Love Bundt Cakes
• Orange Creamsicle Cake by Sue at Palatable Pastime
• Pantera Rosa Bundt Cake by Rocío at kidsandchic
• Root Beer Float Bundt Cake by Rebekah at Making Miracles
• Sock It To Me Cake by Stacy at Food Lust People Love
• Strawberry Milkshake Swirl Bundt Cake by Laura at Baking in Pyjamas
• Tomato Soup Bundt Cake by Tux at Brooklyn Homemaker
• Tunnel of Fudge Cake by Kelly at Passion Kneaded