Revisiting the Tunnel of Fudge

LITTLE ROCK — I have made my share of chocolate cakes, but this updated version of the original Tunnel of Fudge Cake outshines most of them. Did you know that the Tunnel of Fudge cake put Bundt pans on the baking map? According to numerous accounts, in 1966, Ella Rita Helfrich submitted her recipe for a chocolate cake with a gooey, fudgy center to the Pillsbury Bake-Off contest. She came in second (though her cake remains much better known than that year’s winner).

As Christie Matheson recounts in her new book Cake Simple (Chronicle Books, $20), the original recipe “called for lots of sugar, no actual chocolate and Pillsbury’s since-discontinued Double-Dutch Fudge Buttercream frosting mix.

It was tasty, for sure, but overly sweet. While you do need a substantial amount of sugar to make the chemistry work right, it doesn’t need to be quite so cloying.” This version is deeply chocolaty, made with bittersweet chocolate and spiked with cacao nibs, then topped with a rich, dark chocolate ganache with a touch of fleur de sel. (You can find cacao nibs in specialty stores, online or at your grocery store.) And, yes, it still has the magical tunnel of gooey fudge running through the center. I can’t think of anything better for Valentine’s Day than to have a big slice of this cake with your sweetheart. Enjoy.

TUNNEL OF FUDGE REDUX Reprinted with permission from Cake Simple by Christie Matheson (Chronicle Books, 2011).

Serves 12 to 14.

Ingredients: 1 1/4 cups unsalted butter, at room temperature, plus melted butter for greasing the pan 3/4 cup cocoa powder, plus more for dusting the pan 3 ounces bittersweet chocolate 1/2 cup boiling water 2 cups all-purpose flour2 cups confectioners’ sugar 1 teaspoon salt 1 cup cacao nibs 1 cup packed dark-brown sugar 3/4 cup granulated sugar 5 large eggs 1 tablespoon vanilla extract Bittersweet chocolate ganache (recipe follows) Directions: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Brush the inside of a 12-cup Bundt pan with melted butter and dust lightly with cocoa powder. (Use a pastry brush to help distribute the cocoa powder and tap out any excess.) Place the bittersweet chocolate in a small heatproof bowl. Pour the boiling water over the chocolate and whisk until smooth. Let cool to room temperature before using.

Whisk together the cocoa powder with the flour, confectioners’ sugar, salt and cacao nibs in a large bowl until thoroughly combined.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter with the brown sugarand granulated sugar on medium speed for 2 to 3 minutes, until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, and then beat in the vanilla. Add the cooled melted chocolate mixture and beat until just combined. With the mixer on low, add the flour mixture and beat until just combined.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan, smooth the top, and bake for about 45 minutes, until the edges begin to pull away from the sides of the pan. (Don’t use a cake tester for this cake - it won’t come out clean.) Let the cake cool in the pan on a wire rack for 1 hour and 30 minutes. Do not try to take the cake out of the pan any earlier than this!

Then invert the cake onto the rack and let it cool completely (another 1 hour and 30 minutes to 2 hours).

Drizzle the cake with the ganache (see recipe below) and let it set for 5 to 10 minutes before serving. The cake will keep in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.

BITTERSWEET

CHOCOLATE GANACHE Ingredients: 4 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped 1/3 cup heavy cream Pinch of fleur de sel Directions: Put the chopped bittersweet chocolate in a heatproof bowl.

In a small nonreactive saucepan over medium-low heat, heat the cream to scalding (when little bubbles form around the edge of the cream but before it begins to boil).

Pour the cream over the chocolate, cover, and let sit for about 3 minutes, or until the chocolate has melted.

Add the fleur de sel and whisk together until smooth and uniform. Diane Rossen Worthington is an authority on new American cooking. She is the author of 18 cookbooks, including Seriously Simple Holidays, and also a James Beard award-winning radio show host. You can contact her at www.seriouslysimple.com.

River Valley Ozark, Pages 59 on 02/02/2012

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