I was craving something sweet earlier tonight and checked my cabinets and saw boxed chocolate cake mix* and Nutella. The little light bulb over my head said “hey, how about chocolate bundt cake wit a gooey core of Nutella?” And I responded “I like the way you think!”. I was thinking of the “Tunnel O’ Fudge” box cake mix and just tried putting most of the cake mix in the pan, then putting a small ring of Nutella around the center of the ring and then put the last of the cake mix on top. Well, all the Nutella sunk to the bottom. It was still good because it’s chocolate cake with Nutella but it got me to wondering how one would go about making one of those “Tunnel O’” cakes? If I recall correctly the stuff used in the tunnel center was of a thicker consistency, it pretty much needs to stay where you put it and the batter sort of rises up over it. So any ideas on how I could make a better Tunnel O’ Nutella?
If there is no way to do this I may just have to go with my second idea which was a Nutella glaze.
*Please, if you are a baking “snob”**, do not bother to post disparaging remarks about the use of boxed cake mix. I do also bake from scratch but I like to keep a boxed cake mix on hand for those urgent cake emergencies. If I can find a good recipe for the center part, I may try making the whole thing from scratch.
**I mean that in the nicest way. 
Two ideas:
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Put the ring of Nutella on top of all of the cake batter. Then, as you said, the batter would rise around it. I make plum cake this way–the plums start out on top, but end up in the middle.
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I was under the impression that most molten-center cakes were simply half-baked? As in, the molten core is just unbaked cake batter…?
I made cupcakes in a similar fashion not too long ago with gooey centers. The gooey center was a cream cheese concoction, which may be lighter than the Nutella.
I want one right now.
FYI, the original “Tunnel of Fudge Cake” was a prize winner in the Pillsbury Bake-Off back in the 1960’s. According to my Bake-Off cookbook, the key to the cake is chopped walnuts. I haven’t tried to make this, so I have no idea why it works.
FYI, the original “Tunnel of Fudge Cake” was a prize winner in the Pillsbury Bake-Off back in 1966. According to my Bake-Off cookbook, the key to the cake is chopped walnuts. I haven’t tried to make this, so I have no idea why it works.
This sounds like a good idea. It did seem to me that the Nutella needed to have more to it.
Thanks for the other comments and suggestion, too.
Sattua’s first suggestion is right. Next time put the filling, no matter what it is, on top of all the cake batter.
White cake mix with lemon zest added & blueberry pie filling is good.
FWIW, “Bundt” is a registered trademark. Put a little “R” in a circle next to the word whenever you write it, or the Cake Police will swoop in and confiscate your rubber spatula.
Actually, the key to that particular version of the recipe was the ready-made frosting that actually formed the gooey fudge that ended up in the center. After a few years, Pillsbury came out with a “new and improved” frosting that simply didn’t work in that recipe anymore – the whole cake came out cooked solid, no fudge. So my mother tried every chocolate frosting on the market at the time and not a single one would yield the tunnel of fudge. I still have the original recipe and would be happy to post it here later if anyone wants to give it a try. I had no idea there were now boxed mixes for this cake.
Great minds think alike! I tried the Nutella thing once as well, and it got all funky–but tasted divine.
I’ve always used pudding to make the gooey ring in a cake like that, and it worked great. I think the problem with the Nutella is that it’s too heavy to work properly. But if you put chocolate pudding in for the gooeyness and then made a Nutella glaze [Homer Simpson]Mmmmmmm . . . [/Homer Simpson].
'Scuse me while i wipe the drool from my chin.
The two recipes that I am familiar with featuring the “tunnel of fudge” motif are basically an undercooked cake. Instead of cooking until done all of the way through, you cook until you have a relatively solid outside and a fudgy liquid inside.
In fact, the recipe for Tunnel of Fudge cake that I have uses the frosting as a main ingredient in the mix. You combine all the ingredients together like a regular cake and bake for a set time rather than baking and checking.
I’ll get back to you when I’ve dug up my recipe. Daughter’s home and the WIngs are on. I should be back tonight.