Tunnel of Fudge Chocolate Cake

For the past couple of months I have been craving chocolate cake - like a rich, thick chocolate cake with chocolate icing. I saw the recipe for this cake a couple of weeks ago and knew it was the one. We had friends over this past weekend for dinner, so I used that as an excuse to make this cake. And let me just tell you it was one of the best chocolate cakes I've ever had. The recipe does this crazy thing where the very inside of the cake is like molten chocolate cake, hence the "tunnel of fudge". The rest of the cake is a perfect blend between moist chocolate cake and fudgey brownies, and then it's topped off with a ganache - hello delicious!  

Tunnel of Fudge Chocolate Cake
to prep the pan:
1 Tbsp Dutch-processed cocoa powder
1 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted

for the cake:
1/2 cup boiling water
2 oz bittersweet chocolate, chopped
2 cups flour
3/4 cup Dutch-processed cocoa powder
2 cups confectioners' sugar
1 tsp salt
5 eggs, at room temperature
1 Tbsp vanilla extract
1 cup sugar
3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
2 1/2 sticks (20 Tbsp) unsalted butter, room temperature

for the glaze:
3/4 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup light corn syrup
8 oz bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Heat the oven to 350 degrees. In a small bowl, whisk together the cocoa powder and melted butter. Use a pastry brush to evenly coat the inside of a 12-cup bundt pan.

In a medium bowl, pour the boiling water over the 2 oz of chopped chocolate. Let stand for a minute, then whisk until smooth. In another medium bowl, combine the flour, cocoa powder, confectioners' sugar, and salt. Combine the eggs and vanilla in a liquid measuring cup and beat lightly.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine the sugar, brown sugar, and butter. Beat on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. With the mixer on low speed, add in the egg mixture just until combined. Add the chocolate mixture and mix until incorporated. Blend in the dry ingredients until just combined. Spread the batter into the prepared pan. Bake for about 45 minutes or until the edges of the cake begin to pull away from the pan.

Allow the cake to cool on a wire rack for 1 1/2 hours before inverting onto a cake platter. Allow to cool completely, about 2 more hours.

To make the glaze, combine the cream, corn syrup, and chocolate in a small saucepan. Heat over medium heat, stirring frequently, until smooth. Blend in the vanilla. Set aside for about 30 minutes, until slightly thickened. Drizzle the glaze over the cake and let set for at least 10 minutes before slicing.

source: recipe from annie's eats, originally from Cook's Illustrated Entertaining Holiday 2010