Cheese & Chocolate Tunnel Cake

Cut into this chocolate cake and there’s a surprise waiting: a tunnel of sweetened cream cheese running through the center. The technique is simple but the result looks like a bakery did it.

You start with a chocolate cake mix prepared with margarine instead of oil for a richer crumb. Most of the batter goes into a fluted tube pan, then a cream cheese mixture (beaten smooth with sugar and eggs) gets poured right on top. The reserved cup of chocolate batter goes over the cream cheese layer. As it bakes, the cream cheese sinks into the middle and the chocolate batter closes around it, forming that tunnel.

The glaze is melted semi-sweet chocolate with corn syrup and margarine, poured over the cooled cake so it drips down the fluted ridges.

Kitchen Tips

• Soften the cream cheese fully before beating. Cold cream cheese leaves lumps that won’t disappear during baking.
• Add the eggs one at a time to the cream cheese mixture. Dumping them all in at once makes it thin and splashy.
• Cool the cake in the pan for a full 30 minutes before inverting. The cream cheese center needs time to set or it’ll collapse.
• Pour the glaze slowly over the top center and let gravity pull it down the sides. Don’t spread it or you’ll lose the drip effect.

Variations

• Add a teaspoon of vanilla to the cream cheese filling for extra warmth.
• Use peanut butter chips in place of the cream cheese layer for a chocolate-peanut butter tunnel.
• Dust with powdered sugar instead of glazing for a simpler finish.