Lucky Leaf Winner and 'Tunnel of Fudge' Bundt Cake

.  And we go onward with my Valentine's Day inspired chocolate recipes.  I told you I had a few up my sleeve and you do not want to miss this one in particular.  Trust.

But first things first.  I do believe it's about time I announced the winner of the Lucky Leaf giveaway I posted a few weeks back.  Drum roll pleaseeeeeeee....

Congratulations to Amelia!!

I'll be sending you [Amelia] an e-mail to get all of the deets I'll need to get you your prize.  And thanks again, everyone, for entering!

But let's get back to this here cake.  I started the month out with the Cosmic Brownies, moved on to Deep Dark Chocolate Muffins [link above], and now we have the 'Tunnel of Fudge' Bundt Cake [like my play on words there?].  Now, each of these decadent goodies are simply great in their own right, but this recipe has got to be my favorite.  It was by a narrow, narrow margin, but the bundt cake pulled it out in the end.

And why is that, you ask?  Well...look at it.  My pictures by no means do this rich cake any justice, but you're just going to have to go with me on this one.  The cake itself is wonderfully moist and that 'tunnel of fudge' I referenced?  Yeah, it's really there.  In some magical fashion, the center of the bundt cake turns into an almost gooey-like, but fudgey consistency.  A.k.a, a tunnel of fudge. Get it now?

But why stop there?!  To add to the decadence I just described, lets go ahead and add a shiny, smooth chocolate ganache that runs gracefully down the curves of the cake.  The ganache is simply the quintessential topping to this perfection of a bundt cake.  Yep, I just said it.

So grab some bars of chocolate and get bakin'!  .

My Notes:

• Please be sure to check out Sweet Tooth's Fudge Tunnel Bundt Cake post, which is where I got the recipe, because her pictures do do this recipe justice.  You can't quite see the fudgey-ness in my pictures, so just take a quick gander and you'll see what I'm talking about.
• The ganache ingredients make a good amount of ganache, and I actually didn't end up using it all.  But I would save it for serving, just in case some people want a little extra chocolate.

From Sweet Tooth

Ingredients:

For the Pan:

1 tbsp. Dutch processed cocoa powder

1 tbsp. unsalted butter, melted

Bundt Cake:

1/2 c. boiling water

2 oz. bittersweet chocolate, chopped

2 c. all purpose flour

3/4 c. Dutch processed cocoa powder

2 c. powdered sugar

1 tsp. salt

5 large eggs, at room temperature

1 tbsp. vanilla extract

1 c. sugar

3/4 c. packed light brown sugar

1-1/2 c. unsalted butter, at room temperature

Chocolate Ganache:

3/4 c. heavy whipping cream

1/4 c. light corn syrup

8 oz. bittersweet chocolate, chopped

1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 350F.  In a small bowl, combine the cocoa powder and melted butter and using a pastry brush, evenly coat the inside of a 12-cup bundt pan; set aside.
2. In a small bowl, pour the boiling water over the chopped chocolate and whisk together until smooth.  In medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, powdered sugar, and salt.  In another small bowl, lightly beat the eggs and vanilla extract.
3. In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat together sugar, light brown sugar, and butter on medium-high speed until light and fluffy (about 3 minutes).  Turn down the speed to low, add the egg mixture, and mix well.  Add the chocolate mixture and mix until incorporated.  Slowly add the dry ingredients and mix until just combined.  Pour the batter into the prepared pan.
4. Bake 45 minutes or until the edges of the cake begin to pull away from the pan.  Let the cake cool in the pan for one hour before unmolding to serving platter.  Let cool for two hours.
5. For the ganache, combine the heavy whipping cream, light corn syrup, and chocolate in a small saucepan over medium heat.  Stir frequently until completely smooth.  Add vanilla extract and stir to combine.  Set the mixture aside for 30 minutes to thicken.  Using a spoon, drizzle the ganache over the top of the bundt cake.  Let ganache set for 10 minutes before slicing.

Yield: 12 servings