Julie Peterson of Wonder Lake, Ill., requested a recipe for a Tunnel of Fudge Cake. "I had this in the 1960s or '70s and have lost it. I think it was made from Pillsbury Angel Food Cake Mix with a whipped-cream filling. It was a favorite of our family of eight. Can you help?"
Carol McIlvain of Clarksville responded: "I was delighted to see the request because I used to make this cake in the late '60s and early '70s, from a recipe I copied from the back of a Pillsbury frosting mix box. At that time, Pillsbury was marketing a box mix for `Double Fudge Buttercream Frosting,' and the Tunnel of Fudge Cake was a featured use of this powdered frosting mix. Sometime in the 1970s the mix was discontinued, and I filed away the recipe and never made the cake again.
"Today I was reminded that I had a recent copy of a Pillsbury Bake-Off winners cookbook (1987). Lo and behold, the Tunnel of Fudge Cake is on the cover of this cookbook, and the recipe from a 17th bake-off prize winner is inside (minus the Pillsbury frosting mix, of course). I am enclosing a copy of the page from the cookbook.
"This prize-winning recipe substitutes the cocoa and powdered sugar for the boxed frosting mix that I used, and adds an additional 1/4 cup each of granulated sugar, butter and flour to my original recipe. This recipe also adds the glaze to the cake. (I just dusted the top with powdered sugar when I served my cake.)
"I have not tested this bake-off winning version, but now that I have rediscovered the recipe, I will. I am responding to the title rather than the recalled ingredients. At the very least, it prompted me to rediscover the possibility of enjoying this cake again."
Tunnel of Fudge Cake
Serves 16
CAKE:
1 3/4 cups butter or margarine, at room temperature
1 3/4 cups granulated sugar
6 eggs
2 cups powdered sugar
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup cocoa
2 cups chopped walnuts
GLAZE:
3/4 cup powdered sugar
1/4 cup cocoa
1 1/2 to 2 tablespoons milk
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour a 12-cup fluted tube pan or a 10-inch regular tube pan. In a large bowl, beat butter and granulated sugar until light and fluffy.
Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Gradually add powdered sugar; blend well. Lightly spoon flour into measuring cup; level off. By hand, stir in remaining cake ingredients until well-blended. Spoon batter into prepared pan; spread evenly.
