With its wealthy, gooey middle, it’s no shock that the Tunnel of Fudge cake rose to prominence. Although it didn’t win first place on the Pillsbury Bake-Off® Contest in 1966—it got here in second place—Ella Helfrich’s chocolaty creation took over the hearts and kitchens of bakers throughout the USA.
The Pillsbury Bake-Off® Contest, initially titled the Grand Nationwide Recipe and Baking Contest, began in 1949 as a method for the Pillsbury household to rejoice the corporate’s eightieth birthday and to advertise its model of flour. Bakers from everywhere in the nation submitted their recipes, however simply 100 fortunate bakers had been chosen for an opportunity to win $25,000—equal to greater than $315,000 at the moment! The bakers had been flown to New York Metropolis to compete on the Waldorf-Astoria lodge. This was not a straightforward feat, since in 1949, the lodge didn’t have the power to maintain 100 ovens and baking stations and was compelled to faucet into the town subway’s electrical system to energy the ovens. The competition was so extremely anticipated that even former First Girl Eleanor Roosevelt was in attendance to assist with the proceedings and handy out awards on the finish. The Bake-Off® was an immense success, turning into an annual occasion, drawing in followers from across the nation, every vying for his or her probability to win the money prize or just eager to bake the profitable recipe. On the 1966 Bake-Off®, one contestant would are available in second place, however her recipe would perpetually stay on in cookbooks and recipe playing cards by bakers in every single place.
Ella Helfrich, a house baker from Texas, entered the 1966 Pillsbury Bake-Off® Contest armed along with her Bundt pan and a recipe that might develop into so standard that the first-place winner can be forgotten. The walnut-studded cake was wealthy and chocolaty and, most significantly, had a river of fudge operating by means of the middle. With no apparent motive for the fudgy middle in addition to the distinctive pan through which Helfrich baked the cake, the Tunnel of Fudge was a thriller that folks had been all too wanting to discover. Quickly after the winners had been introduced, Pillsbury obtained greater than 200,000 letters requesting Ella’s recipe and details about the pan she used.
On the time, Bundt pans weren’t frequent items of bakeware. In actual fact, the phrase “Bundt” was not used till after the founding of Nordic Ware and the inception of the Bundt pan. Began in 1946 by Dotty and Dave Dalquist in Minnesota, Nordic Ware started promoting Scandinavian cookware out of the younger couple’s basement. The Bundt pan got here into being as a light-weight aluminum counterpart to a cast-iron gugelhupf pan. (Gugelhupf, or kugelhopf, is a German yeasted cake also referred to as bundkuchen.) The pan is characterised by its tube-like form that enables for even baking, in addition to the fluted edges that give the cake a sublime aptitude and make it simple to chop and serve. Ella and her artistic cake launched this fashionable pan into stardom, and the Bundt pan quickly turned a staple of each baker’s kitchen. The Dalquists obtained hundreds of requests for his or her pan after the Bake-Off® competitors and needed to hold their manufacturing unit operating 24 hours a day to maintain up with the flood of orders.
Pillsbury saved Ella’s unique recipe unchanged till the mid-Eighties, when one in every of its key elements, Double Dutch Frosting Combine, was discontinued. Nobody may re-create the recipe with out it, and followers of Ella’s cake had been offended. Pillsbury obtained letters of criticism till the corporate up to date the recipe to incorporate a substitution utilizing confectioners’ sugar and cocoa powder, although some say it didn’t yield the identical outcome as the unique model. The discontinuating of the frosting combine each compelled and inspired bakers to present the cake their very own private aptitude, although creating the fudge inside was a tough activity—the cake requires precision and following each step precisely as is written. Any misstep may end in a collapsed or fudge-less cake.
The magic of the cake lies in its oozy middle, which requires an virtually two-hour cooling time within the pan earlier than being turned out onto a cooling rack. This permits the partitions of the cake across the tunnel to solidify and maintain the fudge inside. If the cake is turned out of the pan too quickly, the partitions will break up open, leaving you with a collapsed pile of fudge. The cake batter is much like a brownie batter, with a better quantity of fats and sugar than flour when in comparison with a typical cake; because of this it received’t bake right through, leaving you with a scrumptious gooey center. One other key facet of the cake is that the nuts assist create the construction of the tunnel—the dense cake would in any other case collapse in on itself as a result of the mushy inside is unable to assist its personal weight.
The lasting impact of Ella’s iconic Tunnel of Fudge is greater than merely rising gross sales at Nordic Ware and excessive demand for her recipe. Nordic Ware and Pillsbury collaborated on a boxed cake combine made solely for Bundt pans. With all of the flavors any house baker may need, the boxed mixes remained standard properly into the Nineties. It’s not simple to seek out these packaged Bundt cake mixes on grocery retailer cabinets at the moment, however they’re nonetheless being offered on-line.
In true Bake from Scratch style, we’ve taken this basic cake and made it our personal. Slightly than utilizing walnuts, we’ve swapped them out for pecans. Their distinct taste helps them stand out from the richness of the cake. Ella herself was rumored to desire pecans, although her unique recipe contained walnuts. When Pillsbury up to date her recipe, additionally they included a thick chocolate glaze on prime of the cake. Our Dulce de Leche Glaze provides a level of class, with flecks of vanilla bean seeds glinting all through. Our Tunnel of Fudge pays homage to historical past of the cake, from the pan to the nut garnish on prime, but it’s a contemporary basic that can proceed to be liked for generations to return.
Tunnel of Fudge Cake
- ¾ cup (168 grams) refined coconut oil, room temperature
- 1 cup (227 grams) unsalted butter, softened
- ¾ cup (150 grams) granulated sugar
- ¾ cup (165 grams) firmly packed gentle brown sugar
- 6 giant eggs (300 grams), room temperature
- 1½ teaspoons (9 grams) vanilla bean paste
- 1¾ cups (210 grams) confectioners’ sugar
- 2¼ cups (281 grams) all-purpose flour
- 1 cup (85 grams) sifted Dutch course of cocoa powder
- 2 teaspoons (3 grams) immediate espresso powder
- 1½ teaspoons (4.5 grams) kosher salt
- 2 cups (226 grams) finely chopped toasted pecans* (¼-inch items or smaller)
- Dulce de Leche Glaze (recipe follows)
- Garnish: chopped toasted pecans
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Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C).
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Within the bowl of a stand mixer, stir coconut oil by hand till clean and softened. Add butter, granulated sugar, and brown sugar; utilizing the paddle attachment, beat at medium-low pace simply till mixed. Enhance mixer pace to medium, and beat till fluffy, about 3 minutes, stopping to scrape sides of bowl. Add eggs, one after the other, beating properly after every addition. Beat in vanilla bean paste. With mixer on medium-low pace, beat in confectioners’ sugar.
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In a medium bowl, whisk collectively flour, cocoa, espresso powder, and salt. With mixer on low pace, steadily add flour combination and finely chopped pecans to butter combination, beating till virtually mixed. Fold by hand simply till mixed.
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Spray a 15-cup Bundt pan with baking spray with flour. Unfold batter into ready pan. Firmly faucet pan on a kitchen towel-lined counter 10 instances.
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Bake till prime is shiny and set and an instant-read thermometer inserted close to middle registers at the least 165°F (74°C), 40 to 45 minutes. Let cool in pan on a wire rack for half-hour. Utilizing your fingertips, gently press down middle and edges of cake. (This helps reduce the hole within the middle of the cake.) Let cool in pan on a wire rack for 1½ hours.
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Invert cake onto wire rack, and let cool utterly. Spoon Dulce de Leche Glaze onto cooled cake. Garnish with pecans, if desired.
Dulce de Leche Glaze
Makes about ½ cup
- ½ cup (148 grams) dulce de leche
- 1 tablespoon (15 grams) water, room temperature
- ¾ teaspoon (4.5 grams) vanilla bean paste
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
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In a medium microwave-safe bowl, stir collectively dulce de leche, 1 tablespoon (15 grams) water, vanilla bean paste, and salt; warmth on excessive in 10-second intervals, stirring between every, till pourable. Use instantly.
