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    Home » Recipes » Dessert » Cakes

    Cheesecake Tunnel of Fudge Cake

    Published by Melissa on August 1, 2022 | Updated August 1, 2022 | 35 Comments

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    Chocolate tunnel cake with a cheesecake middle made easy by starting with a box of cake mix is the perfect easy dessert recipe. via @barbarabakesChocolate tunnel cake with a cheesecake middle made easy by starting with a box of cake mix is the perfect easy dessert recipe. via @barbarabakesChocolate tunnel cake with a cheesecake middle made easy by starting with a box of cake mix is the perfect easy dessert recipe. via @barbarabakes

    Who doesn’t love both cheesecake and regular cake? Then why not enjoy both at the same time? This decadent Cheesecake Tunnel Cake is a rich, moist chocolate cake with a cheesecake layer baked right into it and topped with a chocolate glaze. 

    chocolate tunnel or bundt cake with a dripping of ganache with sprinkles on it sitting on a mint colored cake stand

    Cheesecake Tunnel of Fudge Cake

    This recipe combines the simpleness of a box cake mix with quick prep of the cheesecake filling and chocolate drizzle to create a dessert that tastes complex and decadent. It is sure to impress your friends, family, and guests when you serve up a slice of the cheesecake tunnel cake at your next gathering. 

    Ingredients:

    • Chocolate Fudge cake mix: I love that this recipe starts with a cake mix because it makes it so fast to make, don’t follow the cake mix instructions though, we are adding other things!
    • Sour cream: This is added to the cake mix to make the cake extra thick and moist to hold the tunnel of cheesecake
    • Vegetable oil: part of the cake
    • Eggs: you’ll add more eggs than the box mix calls for which helps improve the texture and stability of the cake
    • Cream cheese: this is the base of that middle cheesecake layer
    • Egg: also in the cheesecake layer, helps the texture to be more like cheesecake and less like cream cheese
    • Sugar: to sweeten the cheese cake middle
    • Semisweet chocolate chips: you’ll use these in the cheesecake center and for the glaze on top of the cake

    How to make a bundt cake with something in the middle:

    1. Mix up your better-than-box mix, box mix (add the extras like sour cream called for in the recipe).
    2. Mix up your cheesecake layer.
    3. Put part of the chocolate cake in the prepared bundt cake pan.
    4. Put the cheesecake layer in the center on top of the chocolate layer.
    5. Top with the rest of the chocolate cake batter.
    6. Bake and then cool.
    7. Remove from the pan, drizzle with the fudgy frosting and serve.
    8. Enjoy everyone’s delight when they discover a cheesecake layer hiding in their beautiful chocolate cake.
    inside slice of a chocolate fudge cheesecake tunnel cake

    How do I grease a bundt pan? 

    You can use a pastry brush or paper towel to scoop up your fat (butter, margarine, shortening, oil). Apply an even coating around all of the sides of a bundt pan. Be thorough to avoid the cake sticking. 

    Then you can sprinkle about ¼ cup of flour on the bottom of the pan and turn the pan in circles to coat the fat in flour. You can tap the sides of the pan to help the flour move around. You can also cover the bundt pan with plastic wrap and shake the flour around. 

    Baking spray also works really well (it has flour in it!).

    ingredients for a chocolate cheesecake tunnel cake

    Frequently Asked Questions:

    Can I use a different type of pan if I don’t have a bundt pan? 

    If you have an angel food cake pan, you can use that as well!
    If you don’t have that, you can use a circular cake pan and grease a ramekin to put in the middle before pouring your batter. The hard part about this is gauging if you have a large enough pan for all of your batter and baking times will vary a bit. 

    Why do we invert the bundt pan when cooling the cake? 

    When baking a cake in a bundt pan or angel food cake pan, it is best to cool down the cake with the pan inverted. This allows for gravity to help your cake stay tall and fluffy after cooling, rather than being weighed down and a bit more dense.

    ganache being poured onto a bundt cake

    More recipes you’ll love:

    • Black Magic Cake
    • Easy 5-Ingredient German Chocolate Cake
    • Hershey’s Perfectly Chocolate Chocolate Cake and Perfectly Chocolate Chocolate Frosting
    • Peanut Butter Cheesecake Chocolate Cake

    If you’ve tried this chocolate cheesecake bundt cake recipe or any other recipe on Barbara Bakes, then don’t forget to rate the recipe and leave me a comment below! I would love to hear about your experience making it. And if you snapped some pictures of it, share it with me on Instagram so I can repost on my stories.

    inside slice of a chocolate fudge cheesecake tunnel cake
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    5 from 1 vote

    Cheesecake Tunnel Cake

    This chocolate bundt cake is hiding a secret, a layer of cheesecake right in the middle!
    Prep Time30 mins
    Cook Time55 mins
    2 hrs
    Course: Cakes, Dessert
    Cuisine: American
    Servings: 12
    Calories: 585kcal
    Prevent your screen from going to sleep

    Ingredients

    For the Cake:

    • 1 Chocolate Fudge cake mix with pudding in the mix around 15 ounce package
    • 1 cup sour cream
    • ½ cup water
    • ½ cup vegetable oil
    • 4 large eggs
    • FILLING

    For the Cheesecake Filling:

    • 8 oz. cream cheese softened
    • 1 egg
    • ⅓ cup sugar
    • 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

    For the glaze:

    • ½ cup semisweet chocolate chips
    • ⅓ cup heavy whipping cream

    Instructions

    • Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
    • For the cake: Place the cake mix, sour cream, water, oil and eggs in a large mixing bowl. Blend with an electric mixer on low speed for 1 minute. Stop the machine and scrape down the sides of the bowl. Beat 2 to 3 minutes more until combined.
    • Pour ⅔ of the batter in a greased and floured 12 cup bundt pan.
    • Mix together filling ingredients. Spread filling over the batter and top with remaining batter
    • Bake for 45-55 minutes until the cake springs back when lightly pressed and is starting to pull away from the sides of the pan.
    • Cool on wire rack for 20 min, invert it onto a rack and cool 20 minutes more.
    • For the glaze, combine the chocolate chips and heavy whipping cream in a small saucepan over low heat. Stir until the chocolate has melted and the mixture has thickened slightly, 1 to 2 minutes.
    • Place the cake on a serving platter and drizzle the warm glaze over it. (I usually just melt the chips with the cream in the microwave, put the glaze in a Ziploc, cut the corner and drizzle it over the cake.)
    • Store cake covered in the refrigerator.

    Nutrition

    Calories: 585kcal | Carbohydrates: 59g | Protein: 7g | Fat: 36g | Saturated Fat: 16g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 7g | Monounsaturated Fat: 10g | Trans Fat: 0.3g | Cholesterol: 94mg | Sodium: 390mg | Potassium: 270mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 37g | Vitamin A: 565IU | Vitamin C: 0.2mg | Calcium: 163mg | Iron: 3mg
    pin that reads "chocolate cheesecake tunnel cake" with images of the bundt

    You’ll love this show stopping chocolate bundt cake with a cheesecake middle. It’s super easy to make and even more fun to eat.

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    About Melissa & Barbara

    As of June 2022 Melissa Griffiths now is the one adding recipes. So think of it as Barbara Bakes, and Melissa too! Melissa and Barbara have been blogging friends for over 10 years and when Barbara was ready to retire and spend more time with her family, Melissa took over the site. Read more...

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      Recipe Rating




    1. Sharlana

      June 13, 2022 at 3:38 pm

      Do you think a gluten free chocolate cake mix would work with this?   Would I need to add an instant pudding mix since I don’t think they make them with pudding added?   And would the amounts of sour cream, eggs, water and oil be the same?
      I would really like to try this…looks absolutely delicious!    Thanks. 

      Reply
      • Melissa Griffiths

        June 13, 2022 at 5:42 pm

        I don’t know as I haven’t tried it but I’ve had really good luck using gluten free cake mixes in recipes in the past. I don’t know what you would need for all the sour cream and such though. So not very helpful but I think it’s possible.

        Reply
    2. mrsblocko

      December 16, 2011 at 7:15 am

      I made this cake for National Bundt day and wrote about it
      here. This is by far the best bundt I’ve ever made. Thank you for posting the recipe!

      Reply
    3. James

      May 21, 2009 at 9:09 am

      Wow.. this is looking amazing. Chocolate cake is my favourite. Let me try to follow your recipe chocolate with cheese.

      Reply
    4. Bamboo

      March 26, 2009 at 6:24 am

      chocolate plus cheese = a delicious cake!

      Reply
    5. Anita

      March 22, 2009 at 9:53 pm

      YUM! What a fantastic looking cake!

      Reply
    6. Deborah

      March 19, 2009 at 3:30 pm

      I’ve never seen a tunnel cake with cheesecake in it – this looks amazing!

      Reply
    7. Jude

      March 19, 2009 at 4:13 am

      Sinful and decadent. Tunnel cake is a hardcore indulgence for me because of its richness 🙂

      Reply
    8. Carrian

      March 18, 2009 at 11:08 pm

      This looks delicious!!!

      Reply
    9. Jerri - Simply Sweet Home

      March 17, 2009 at 5:21 am

      Now THAT looks yummy!

      Reply
    10. Marcela S.

      March 15, 2009 at 2:41 am

      Absolutely delicious! Congraculations. Yummy.

      Reply
    11. DESIGN BY CATHLEEN

      March 14, 2009 at 9:12 pm

      Please come enter at Project Create a Home for the free giveaway!

      xoxo,
      Cathleen

      Reply
    12. Gabe's Girl

      March 14, 2009 at 9:03 pm

      Yowser, this is one of the best recipes I have seen in a while!

      Reply
    13. Anj

      March 14, 2009 at 12:00 pm

      I’m always looking for new cakes to try. This one is definitely going on my list. Chocolate and cheesecake what a great combination. You have a great blog!

      Reply
    14. Judy

      March 13, 2009 at 11:53 pm

      Oh, my, Barbara, your cake looks delicoso! Who doesn’t love chocolate and cheesecake?

      Reply
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