This is an old recipe–a Pillsbury Bake-Off winner from 1966! As the cake bakes, it mysteriously develops a “tunnel of fudge” filling. This is the first time Dennis & I have tried it and we both agree with the 1966 Bake-Off judges–it’s a winner!
Originally a Pillsbury fudge frosting mix was stirred into the batter but when that product was discontinued, Pillsbury updated the recipe (with powdered sugar & cocoa to replace the mix) so that we could continue to enjoy this timeless classic.
Tunnel of Fudge Cake
Don’t scrimp on the nuts or it won’t work!
Cake
1 3/4 cups sugar
1 3/4 cups butter, room temperature
6 eggs
2 cups powdered sugar
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa
2 cups chopped walnuts
Glaze
3/4 cup powdered sugar
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa
4-6 teaspoons milk
Heat oven to 350°F. Grease and flour 12-cup fluted tube cake pan or 10-inch tube pan. In large bowl, combine sugar and butter; beat until light and fluffy–about five minutes. Add eggs 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Gradually add 2 cups powdered sugar; blend well. By hand, stir in flour and remaining cake ingredients until well blended. Spoon batter into greased and floured pan; spread evenly.
Bake at 350°F. for 45 to 50 minutes or until top is set and edges are beginning to pull away from sides of pan (don’t bother testing for doneness as the fudgy tunnel will leave a wet toothpick even when the cake is done). Cool upright in pan on wire rack 1 1/2 hours. Invert onto serving plate; cool at least 2 hours.
In small bowl, combine all glaze ingredients, adding enough milk for desired drizzling consistency. Spoon over top of cake, allowing some to run down sides. Store tightly covered.
*Veronica’s notes: I only baked mine for 40 minutes, but you can see that it had quite a large “tunnel” so I recommend baking for the full 45 minutes, even if using a dark pan and/or the top looks set any earlier. Also, after inverting the cake onto the cake plate, I just left the bundt pan on top to keep it covered until we were ready to eat it. Since my cake was underdone, this also helped it keep it’s shape until it was set up (it wanted to spread when I turned it out).
Veronica's Cornucopia 