Tunnel O' Fudge Cake

I saw this recipe on a website recently (I believe someone on the Nest posted it?) and just had to try it out before Thanksgiving! The verdict? It was gooooooood.

Ingredients:

2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
2 sticks (1/2 pound) soft unsalted butter
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
4 large eggs, at room temperature
1 can (15 ounces) solid-pack pumpkin
2 ounces semisweet chocolate, melted
Chocolate Glaze:
1 cup heavy cream
6 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped
1 tablespoon butter

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350F. Grease a 12-cup Bundt pan; dust with flour or cocoa.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and ginger. Set aside.
In a large bowl, cream the butter, both sugars and the vanilla with an electric mixer until fluffy. Add the eggs 1 at a time, beating well after each. At low speed, mix in the dry ingredients in 3 additions, alternating with the pumpkin.
Transfer 1 cup of batter to a small bowl; stir in the chocolate. Spoon 3 cups of the pumpkin batter into the prepared pan; smooth the top. Using a small spoon, make a shallow ditch in the center of the batter, forming a ring. Drop the chocolate batter into the ditch. Cover with the remaining pumpkin batter, smoothing the top.
Bake for 45–50 minutes, until a cake tester comes out clean. Let the cake cool in the pan on a rack for 15 minutes, then turn out to cool completely. If desired, prepare Chocolate Glaze and drizzle over the cooled cake. Let stand until set.
Chocolate Glaze :
In a saucepan, bring the cream to a boil. Remove from heat. Add the chocolate and butter; stir until smooth. Let cool for 1 hour, until thickened but pourable.

Funny story: In the ingredients, the semi-sweet chocolate appears twice. It first appears in 2 ounces, for the chocolate center of the cake. Soon after, it appears in 6 ounces for the chocolate glaze. You can probably guess what I did- I mistakenly used 6 ounces of semi-sweet chocolate for the center of the cake instead of 2 ounces. Oops! Well, my cake is extra chocolatey. Mmm....

Cream Cheese Icing (glaze)

In a small mixing bowl combine 3 ounces of cream cheese, softened, and 1 teaspoon vanilla; beat with an electric mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy. Gradually beat in 2 cups sifted powdered sugar. Beat in enough milk (1 to 2 tablespoons) to read desired consistency.

This recipe was found in my favorite cookbook, from Better Homes and Gardens.

Purple's commentary: This icing is not technically a glaze, but it worked beautifully on the Tunnel O' Fudge cake. I used 1 tablespoon of milk and since the cake was still a bit warm, it slid nicely down the sides, but it was pretty thick. If you'd like it to be more of a thin glaze and less like frosting, use 2 tablespoons of milk.