Red Wine Chocolate Cake is one of those amazing desserts which can be a star dish at any party!
This red wine chocolate cake screams ‘festive’ to me!
This Xmas vacation has put me in a baking overdrive, despite the fact that Bangalore isn’t too cold. I guess it’s the feeling of festivity in the air, the desire of the smell of spices and cakes that makes it like this. Last week, I wanted to bake something different, in my head I clearly wanted something chocolatey and something boozy, yet rum was too boring. Tried this red wine chocolate and I think it has the potential to be the star of any party. Different from the usual fruits cake, yet has all the elements of the holiday celebrations.
I was just reading a bit about using wine in cooking and I must admit I found some interesting stuff online. One of the best reasons to cook with wine is the flavor it adds to food. Heating wine concentrates the flavor of wine and gives the food that extra zing! Alcohol does burn off during cooking and using wine for baking means that the cake turns out pretty light and fluffy. It is important to use the right kind of wine while cooking. Always use the wine which you drink to cook or bake!
Also, when you cook with wine, allow it to shimmer or cook for a while to get the intense flavor. If its added just before the dish is served, the whole dish will taste a bit wine-y! 🙂 The best way to get some wine in desserts is by baking and if you have some left over wine, you just bake some yum stuff with it!
Another tip I read online was that never cook with wine that you get as ‘cooking wine’. Apparently these have too many preservatives and do not really add any taste to the food. So basically, use get that bottle of wine which you would drink and go ahead and bake or cook with it!
I did a post on Alcohol in Baking. Have you checked that yet?
Red Wine Chocolate Cake
Ingredients
- 1/3 cup unsalted butter at room temprature
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 1 egg + egg yolk 1 large egg + yolk , at room temperature
- 3/4 cup red wine (you can go upto 1 cup)
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- 1/2 cup cocoa Dutch powder
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon powder
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180C.
- Line the bottom of a 9-inch round cake pan with parchment paper.
- Sift the flour, cocoa, baking powder, cinnamon and salt together. Keep aside
- In a large bowl, using the electric mixer, cream the butter and sugar together. Continue till light until fluffy, about 3-4 minutes. Add the egg and yolk and beat till well mixed.
- Add the red wine and vanilla. Beat for another minute or so.
- Fold in half the flour mixture. When combined, fold the rest in.
- Spread batter in prepared pan. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean.
- Let it cool completely before slicing or serving.
- Serve sprinkled with icing sugar, a scoop of ice cream or a dollop of whipped cream
Leave a Reply