In Honor of Dave Marabella's Birthday - Molten Chocolate Tunnel Cake

A good friend of our, and a band-mate of my husband (Frank) - his birthday is today!  HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAVE!!

In honor of Dave's birthday, and because the band has practice tonight, I took it upon myself to make the Molten Chocolate Tunnel Cake in The Pampered Chef Deep Dish Baker this afternoon.  It went together very quickly and was very easy to do.  The only difference I did from the recipe is (1) I left it in the Deep Dish Baker so Frank could take it easily to band practice, (2) I did not use the raspberries, and (3) I did not use whipped topping as garnish.

Here is the recipe and pictures...I hope you try this one out! 

Molten Chocolate Tunnel Cake  

Ingredients:

• 1   package (3.9 ounces) chocolate instant pudding and pie filling (I used Jello pudding mix)
• 1 1/4   cups milk  (I used 1%)
• 1 1/4   cups semi-sweet chocolate morsels, divided (store brand works fine!)
• 1   package (18.25 ounces) devil's food cake mix  (store brand!)
• 1/2   cup vegetable oil
• 3   eggs (large)
• 1/2   cup water
• 1   container (8 ounces) frozen whipped topping, thawed, divided (again...store brand!)
• 1   pint fresh raspberries (you will see from the pics I did not do this...couldn't find them where I was shopping)
• whipped topping (optional) (I didn't use this, either...)

Directions:  

1.  Preheat oven to 375°F. Spray Deep Dish Baker with nonstick cooking spray. Cut a 10-inch circle of Parchment Paper; place in bottom of Baker. Spray with nonstick cooking spray. (Note: I did not remove mine from the Deep Dish Baker, so I did not put the parchment paper in the bottom)
2.  In Small Batter Bowl, combine pudding mix and milk; whisk until mixture is smooth and begins to thicken. Stir in 1/2 cup of the chocolate morsels; set aside.
3. In Classic Batter Bowl, combine cake mix, 1/2 cup oil, eggs and water; mix until smooth. Pour 1 1/4 cups of the batter; set aside. Spread remaining batter over bottom of Baker.
4. Using Small Scoop, scoop pudding in circular pattern 1/2 inch from edge of Baker. Spread remaining batter over pudding. Bake 35-40 minutes or until Cake Tester inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes. Loosen sides of cake from Baker, carefully invert cake onto Round Platter. (again...I did not invert mine as it just traveled in the Deep Dish Baker)
5. Combine remaining chocolate morsels and half of the whipped topping in Small Micro-Cooker®. Microwave on HIGH 1 minute or until melted; mix until smooth. Reserve 1/4 cup of the glaze; set aside.
6. Pour remaining glaze over cake. Spread glaze to edge of cake, allowing glaze to drip down sides. Place raspberries evenly over top of cake 1 inch from edge; drizzle with reserved glaze. Garnish with whipped topping using Easy Accent® Decorator, if desired.

Yield: 16 servings

Nutrients per serving: Calories 350, Total Fat 17 g, Saturated Fat 7 g, Cholesterol 40 mg, Carbohydrate 46 g, Protein 4 g, Sodium 420 mg, Fiber 2 g


AGAIN:  sidenote - I left the cake in the Deep Dish Baker, so I did not use the parchment, did not invert.  And I did not use the rasberries or the garnish of whipped topping on the top.  You will see from the pics that I posted that it is glazed and still in the Deep Dish Baker.

If you are interested in obtaining on of these awesome Deep Dish Bakes, or are interested in other recipes, you can go here and peruse the website and search for other recipes as well.