This Red Wine Chocolate Cake is an easy chocolate cake spiked with red wine, then drizzled with a red wine chocolate sauce. Perfect for the holidays!
It literally feels like only yesterday I was planning for 2017, but then I wake up the next morning and suddenly it’s Christmas! I’m trying to put into perspective how my 2017 went and I must say it wasn’t one of my best years. As I take a moment and look back though, I realize it wasn’t the worst either. And because of that I popped open a bottle of booze and made this Red Wine Chocolate Cake to celebrate.
MERRY CHRISTMAS, EVERYONE!
I don’t want to make this post too wordy since I know you guys probably have lots of Christmas-y things to do, but I really just wanted to put this Red Wine Chocolate Cake up here as my way to celebrate with you, and also to thank you for being with me for yet another year. I haven’t been very good at keeping to my blogging schedule at all this year. Lots of stuff happened that really drained me, but I’m grateful for the people who continue to read my blog. This is for you. 🙂
I hope we all have a fantastic 2018. I’m looking forward to it already!
Just a few notes about this Red Wine Chocolate Cake before I let you go on to the recipe: You can use any of your favorite sweet red wines such as Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, or Pinot Noir. I only had this particular sweet Shiraz wine at home so I used it and it worked really well. The strong flavors of the wine was able to permeate the chocolate really nicely.
Also remember not to overmix the batter so that you don’t get a dry cake. Check on the cake during the 35 minute mark to avoid overbaking as well. And if you were wondering whether the ganache is optional, I recommend NOT to skip it. It’s so good with the cake!
Red Wine Chocolate Cake
Ingredients
For the bundt cake
- 12 Tablespoons 1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature
- ¼ cup brown sugar
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- 3 large eggs
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
- ¾ cup unsweetened cocoa powder, NOT dutch-processed
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup yogurt
- ¾ cup red wine, Pinot Noir, Merlot, Shiraz, etc.
For the red wine chocolate ganache
- 5 ounces dark chocolate
- ⅓ cup red wine, Pinot Noir, Merlot, Shiraz, etc.
Instructions
Make the cake
- 1. Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C). Grease and coat a large bundt pan with cocoa powder and set aside. In a medium bowl, sift together flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
- 2. In a large bowl, whip together butter and both sugars. (Whip for 2 minutes on high if using a stand mixer.) Add in the eggs one at a time, mixing well between each addition. Add in vanilla extract.
- 3. Carefully incorporate half of the dry mixture into the wet ingredients, then add in the yogurt and red wine. Give it a little mix before adding in the rest of the dry ingredients. Mix until just combined. (Do not overmix this batter to avoid the cake becoming dry and tough.)
- 4. Pour batter into prepared bundt pan and bake for 35 to 40 minutes, or until a knife inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean. Allow to cool slightly before inverting and topping with the ganache.
Make the red wine ganache
- 5. Using the double boiler method, heat the chocolate over low heat. Once fully melted, whisk in the ⅓ cup of red wine. If the mixture solidifies slightly, add in a tablespoon more of wine. Once the cake is ready to serve, pour the ganache over the cake. Slice and enjoy!
Notes
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