Tunnel of Fudge Banana Cake

Submitted by Food.com

"An irresistible reimagining of a fudge-filled banana bread in the shape of a comforting Bundt cake. The best of all worlds!"

 

• Ready In: 1hr 5mins
• Ingredients: 20
• Yields: 1 12-cup bundt cake

ingredients

• For the fudge filling

• 6 ounces semisweet chocolate
• 6 tablespoons heavy cream
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter

• For the pan

• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
• 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder

• For the cake

• 3⁄4 cup unsalted butter, softened
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 3⁄4 cup dark brown sugar
• 4 large eggs
• 1⁄2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3⁄4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1⁄2 cup vegetable oil
• 1⁄2 cup mashed banana (about 1 large)
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 3⁄4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

• For the frosting

• 2⁄3 cup powdered sugar
• 3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
• 3 tablespoons whole milk
• 12 dried banana pieces, for decoration

directions

1. For the fudge filling:

2. Finely chop the chocolate and place into a medium heat-proof bowl.
3. Heat the cream and butter in a small pot until the butter has melted and the cream is gently steaming.
4. Pour this over the chocolate in the bowl. Let sit for 5 minutes then gently stir until all the chocolate has melted.
5. Let this mixture cool at room temperature for 45-60 minutes, stirring occasionally, until thickened but still pipeable.

6. Prepare the pan:

7. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
8. Use the 2 tablespoons of softened butter and a pastry brush to coat a 12-cup bundt pan very well. Add the cocoa powder to the the pan, tilting and tapping the pan to coat as much of the inside as possible. Tap out any excess cocoa powder.

9. For the cake:

10. In a large bowl, beat the butter, granulated sugar and dark brown sugar together until smooth. Beat in the eggs one at a time until smooth. Add the salt, vanilla, baking powder, vegetable oil and mashed banana and stir together until well-combined.
11. Add the flour and cocoa powder to the bowl and mix until just combined.
12. Scoop 3 cups of the cake batter into the prepared bundt pan. Spread out into an even layer.
13. Transfer the thickened, cooled fudge filling to a piping bag. Pipe the fudge filling in a thick ring all the way around in the centre of the batter.
14. Cover the fudge filling with the remaining cake batter and spread out evenly in the pan.
15. Bake for 35-40 minutes. The cake will look risen and dry on top. You won’t be able to test this cake with a toothpick as the centre will still be gooey when the cake is finished baking, so you must ensure your oven is at the correct temperature.
16. Remove the cake from the oven and let cool for 20 minutes in the pan. Loosen the edges of the cake with a small spatula or butter knife, flip the cake out onto a wire rack and leave to cool completely.

17. For the frosting:

18. In a small bowl, stir together the powdered sugar, cocoa powder and milk until smooth.
19. Spoon over the top of the cooled cake, letting it drip down the sides of the cake. Top with the dried banana chips and leave the icing to set for a few minutes before cutting into the cake.

20. Tools:

21. 12-cup Nordicware Classic Bundt Pan (aka Anniverary Bundt Pan). Buy it now on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Nordic-Ware-12-Cup-Bundt-Pan/dp/B0000CFLM2.

Reviews

[barbarahowell9]

Now I may have missed something, but if not... I've just read the banana chocolate Tunnel of Fudge cake recipe. It looks great!! The fudge filling directions tell you to 'add the butter' at the end. However, the fudge filling ingredient list has only chocolate and heavy cream - unless i'm wrong it appears the butter quantity is not listed here, only listed in the cake batter portion. It makes me suspect the whole recipe hasn't been tested. I won't make it. It's a very good idea to always have someone make your recipe, following the directions you intend to post on a recipe site, before you post it. It's so easy to omit some ingredient or a step, when you copy out a recipe. We've all done it. Proof baking is a good practice to use, but you must have someone else do it for it to work, because you already know what goes into the recipe and might not realize an item is not listed in the ingredients.

 

[foxypatsy]

Does it really only take 20 minutes to bake??????

 

[Izy Hossack]

I loved the fudgy chocolate filling in this cake, it was a delicious addition to an already great chocolate cake and was akin to a hidden layer of frosting in the middle of the cake. The banana flavour is subtle which I liked and the banana mostly helped the cake stay moist for longer.

 

[Gail Q.]

I just tried to make this cake but my fudge that was suppose to be piped into the cake was too thin to pipe. Was it suppose to be chilled? And so when I baked it, the fudge ran all over and the cake was so gooey at 20 min. I baked it longer in hopes that the cake part would cook enough. It is now cooling for the 15 minutes. I hope the cake and fudge sets so that it is edible. I will update this post if it comes out okay. Otherwise, GK, please review this recipe.

 

[CynthiaA123]

It says 1 Tablespoon of butter in the filling ingredients list!