Shirley Corriher & The Tunnel of Fudge Cake

[blazedog]

There's a great article in today's NY Times about Shirley Corrhiher -- the food chemist that often appears on the AB Show.

It's got a great discussion of the chemical interactions of ingredients in a cake -- specifically the Tunnel of Fudge cake.

Here's the link

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/12/28/science/28bake.html?oref=login&pagewanted=all&position=

[blazedog]

Here are the two recipes she discusses in the article. If you read the article, it's got a great explanation of why the specific ingredients and techniques are used and how variations will produce a less desirable result -- or depending on whether one is reworking a recipe, a new result. :D

Shirley's Tunnel-of-Fudge Cake
A recipe for The Great American Pound Cake adapted from Shirley Corriher.


dapted from Shirley O. Corriher

Time: 2 hours plus 2 hours to cool

2 1/2 cups roasted walnuts or walnuts and pecans, chopped
2 tablespoons butter
5/8 teaspoon salt
Nonstick cooking spray
1 3/4 cups butter, cut into tablespoon-size pieces
1 cup sugar
3/4 cup dark brown sugar, packed
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 large egg yolks
4 large eggs
2 cups confectioners' sugar
2 1/4 cups bleached all-purpose flour
3/4 cup natural cocoa powder.

1. Place a heavy baking sheet or pizza stone on a shelf in the lower third of the oven. Heat the oven to 350 degrees.

2. On a large baking sheet, roast nuts in the oven for 10 minutes. Keep watch that they do not burn. Pour into a bowl, and add butter and 1/8 teaspoon salt. Toss well and set aside.

3. Generously apply nonstick cooking spray to the inside of a large Bundt cake pan.

4. In a mixer, beat butter to soften until it becomes fluffy. Add sugar, then the brown sugar and continue to beat until airy. While beating, if the bowl does not feel cool, place it in the freezer for five minutes, then resume beating.

5. Beat in 1/2 teaspoon salt, vanilla and vegetable oil.

6. Beat in two egg yolks. Crack the four whole eggs into a large mixing bowl. With a small knife, cut yolks and barely stir the eggs, minimally blending the whites and yolks.

7. With the mixer on the lowest speed, beat the eggs into the batter in three batches. Mix in confectioners' sugar and the cocoa.

8. In a large mixing bowl, stir flour and walnuts together. Then with a spatula stir the flour-nut mixture into the batter. Pour the batter into the Bundt pan.

9. Bake for 45 minutes. You cannot use the toothpick test because the cake contains so much sugar that the center will not set but will remain a tunnel-of-fudge. You are dependent on a correct oven temperature and the 45-minute cooking time.

10. When removed from the oven, the cake will have a runny fudge core with an air pocket above the fudge. About 30 minutes after taking the cake out of the oven, press the inside and outside edge of the cake bottom down all the way around to minimize the air pocket. Let the cake, still in the pan, cool on a rack for two to three hours. Invert the cake onto a platter and let cool completely.
The Great American Pound Cake
A recipe for The Great American Pound Cake adapted from Shirley Corriher.

Published: December 28, 2004



dapted from Shirley O. Corriher

Time: two hours

Nonstick cooking spray
3/4 cup butter
1/2 cup shortening
2 3/4 cups sugar
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
1 teaspoon pure almond extract
Zest of one lemon
1/3 cup vegetable oil
5 large eggs
2 2/3 cups bleached all-purpose flour
1/4 cup potato starch or potato flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup milk or buttermilk

1. Place a pizza stone or a heavy baking sheet on a shelf in the lower third of the oven. Heat the oven to 350 degrees.

2. Spray a Bundt cake pan with nonstick cooking spray.

3. With a mixer on medium speed, beat the butter to soften. Add shortening and beat until the mixture is light and pale in color, about 3 minutes. Add sugar and continue to beat until very light, scraping down the sides of the bowl.

4. Beat in vanilla, almond extract and lemon zest. Beat in the vegetable oil a little at a time. With a minimum of beating, add the eggs, one at a time.

5. In a medium bowl, use a fork to mix flour, potato starch, baking powder, and salt.

6. With the mixer on the slowest speed, blend 1/3 of the flour mixture into the butter mixture. Alternate adding cream and flour until all of the cream is incorporated, scraping down the sides. Then alternate adding the buttermilk and the rest of the flour.

7. Pour the batter into the pan. Drop the pan onto the counter from a height of four inches to remove air pockets. Smooth with a spatula.

8. Bake until the cake springs back when touched, about one hour. Place the cake in the pan on a rack to cool, about 15 minutes. Loosen the cake from the pan by jarring it against the counter. Invert cake onto a serving platter.

[cher48603]

Thanks for the link. Interesting stuff!

[funniegrrl]

I love Shirley. Ruth Levy Beranbaum quotes her often, and she also shows up occastionally on public radio's The Splendid Table.

[Jazzmatazz49]

I remember a tunnel of fudge cake from 40 years ago that had a package of dry frosting mix in it. Do they even still make dry frosting mix? We thought that was a great cake at the time~~~

[blazedog]

Jazz -- The cake you are describing was a Pillsbury Bake Off 2nd place winner (or maybe first?). It was made with ingredients (or a mix) that was discontinued by Pillsbury so people have tried to recreate it.

[Little Bit]

Hey, I noticed the truly important part of the article: She's got a new cookbook in the works! Yay! (Fortunately for my budget, it won't be out for a while, lol.)

[madpots]

I started making the Tunnel of Fudge cake when it was first in the Bake-off contest. I don't know why it wasn't the big winner. But as Pillsbury and those companies so often do, they stopped making the icing mix. I have tried other recipes - pillsbury has one - but they are not quite as good.

[blazedog]

Well madpots -- as the Tunnel of Fudge expert I designate you as the official tester of the Shirley Corriher version -- we will expect a full report:D

[Okiedokie]

Here's Pillsbury's updated version of the TUNNEL OF FUDGE CAKE (http://www.pillsbury.com/recipesearch/showRecipe.asp?recipeID=2868) It's suppose to be pretty good.

[HRJ]

Thanks for posting this -- interesting article. I bought Cookwise a little while back, and haven't spent nearly enough time looking through it.

Totally OT -- whenever I hear mention of that famous Pillsbury cake, my brain starts to play the Bruce Springsteen song "Tunnel of Love," but substituting the phrase "Tunnel of Fudge." ("We'll ride down baby, into this Tunnel of Fudge ... ") :rolleyes: It takes forever to clear it from my head.

Helene

[Okiedokie]

LOL that's some connection, Helene. I hate to get something like that in my head when I can't get rid of it.

I have never yet made this cake, but I intend to make some version of it before I hang up my apron because I want to see what happens when it all takes it proper place. ;) Shouldn't be too hard to eat either.

[pschambers]

Thanks for the link. I have her book Cookwise and it is great. The biscuit recipe in that book is easy and fantastic!

Great to hear she has a new book coming out also.

Patti

[madpots]

Well, blazedog, I will accept your challenge...only I don't know when! Right now I am recovering from Christmas, a cold, and too many calories. But I would like to try it again.
If anyone else would like to try it first...be my guest!