Tunnel Of Fudge: A Seriously Good Cake

First off let me say that I have not been as static lately as my blog might seem to indicate! I have been making cards that needed to be sent off and, in my haste, I forgot to photograph them. I have been working on a knitted shawl in the evenings and  ripped it all out two days ago because I did not like the way it looked and have started again. I've been reading a lot too! Project wise I have one more largeish project to finish this coming weekend and then I can get back to journaling and sewing without guilt!

I had had this recipe for a "Tunnel of Fudge Cake" marked to experiment with and yesterday was the day I finally did try the recipe. WoW ! This really is a wonderful cake. Very rich and remarkably simple. It's from "All Cakes Considered" by Melissa Gray. I love this cook book and reviewed it on my book blog some time ago.  The cake won a $5,000 prize in 1966 (worth, it was noted, $30,000. in today's coin).  The chemistry of eggs and sugar combine to make a tunnel of fudge that runs through the middle of the cake.  It would be a perfect special occasion cake. My friends at work loved it too - and DH thought it was mighty fine

Below: The recipe as it looks in the book

you can double click remember!

 

This is what the NPR website has to say about Melissa Gray and her cakes:

"October 26, 2009 ....Just about every Monday, All Things Considered producer Melissa Gray dashes off an e-mail that reads something like this: "Up front we've got sweet potato pound cake, still warm. Dig in, don't be shy." That goes without saying. When Gray started bringing cakes into the office, she discovered the staff will eat just about anything. Her adventures in baking, and the staff's adventures in eating what she created, are recounted in a new cookbook called All Cakes Considered: A Year's Worth of Weekly Recipes Tasted, Tested, and Approved by the Staff of All Things Considered...."

Below: The cover of this remarkable book

This sort of Bundt pan would be nice to have- I like the design it makes. The recipe calls for an 8" Bundt pan but all I had was a 9" - worked fine.

Below: The cake as it appears in the book.

A Sweet Tooth Cure That's Also Incredibly Easy!

I have a sweet tooth & I love to bake. I have no doubt that we would be much healthier ,& more svelte as well, if I enjoyed making entrees as much as I like to bake! The only thing better than baking an involved cookie, cake or bread is being able to bake something that tastes as though it took far more time to make than it really did. This is one of those recipes! My co-worker Jeanette, a/k/a the Baker Babe, brought these in to work one day. I just about swooned. and immediately made a pig of myself. I now insist that Jeanette bring in the recipe for anything that she brings in for us to try. That was how I managed to purloin this incredible recipe. I have seldom tasted anything this good - or this quick to prepare. Try them - you will not regret it!

Sticky Buns / Monkey Bread
From Jeanette Longan

NIGHT BEFORE:
Grease a Bundt pan.

Place 18-24 frozen Rhodes or Bridgeford dinner rolls (in freezer section of grocery store) in the bundt pan.

Sprinkle with one half of a box of Butterscotch Pudding Mix (NOT the instant variety – you need the cook and serve one.

In another pan cook 1.5 sticks of butter or margarine and 1 cup of firmly packed brown sugar. Stir constantly, until the mixture bubbles & boils & the butter & sugar no longer separate.

Pour over the rolls.

Sprinkle heavily with cinnamon and chopped pecans or walnuts.

Cover with foil and set the pan on the counter overnight to rise


NEXT MORNING

Remove the foil cover and bake in a 350 oven for 30-35 mintues or until brown.

Remove from oven – let stand for 5 minutes.

Invert onto a plate that is LARGER than the Bundt pan so that the caramel does not run over.
E –N-J-O-Y!!!!

Sometimes I just want to make these buns in a day and not wait overnight for them. To to this :
1.Follow the "Night Before" instructions and get the pan all ready to go.
2.Heat the oven to 200 . When it gets to 200. Turn the overn off.
3.Boil a pan of water. Place the pan of water in the turned off on a lower rack - place the prepared bundt pan on the rack above the boiling water. After awhile the rolls will begin to rise (as they would have done f resting over night).
4. Bake as indicated in the recipe!