Chocolate Wine Cake

I first saw this chocolate wine cake several months ago, and knew I had to make it. But along with many other delicious treats it piled into a collection on Pinterest, only to resurface in my mind a few days ago.

My family has been on my case to make them one of my cakes while in Portugal, and since all we’ve been concerned with is wine, I figured this was the perfect choice.
At first I was skeptical about using gelatin, but it added a level of sweetness that complimented well with the red wine. It’d be fun to experiment with different varieties of reds to find out with packs the greatest flavor, but regardless this is definitely a moist, fluffy, crumbly chocolate cake with a refined twist.
I’ll have to say that the true test of a baker is being able to bake in a metric country, using only a scale and measuring cup that’s missing those smaller sizes we typically use. Trying to measure 8.5 grams was not an easy fare, when the smallest unit was 20 grams. This was one of those times my baking education paid off.

Hand held mixer, mix matched bowls, a tri-lingual measuring cup, and homegrown eggs…yes a baking experience all on its own.
In our kitchen there is no reason for cooking spray, you do it the old-fashioned way. It felt like I was lathering butter on a fair-skinned baby, then covering every spot with sprinkled flour to protect it from the  oven’s burning rays. Butter does no good for your hands and skin, for your sake it’s probably easier to stick  to your revolutionary ways of cooking spray.

Nothing beats a sliver of this cake with a hot tea, near the wood burning stove right before we head off to bed.

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Chocolate Wine Cake

Ingredients {Makes 1 Bundt Pan cake}

4 ounces – Bittersweet Chocolate {chips or chunks}

1 cup – Red Wine

1/3 cup – Milk

1 3/4 cups – Granulated Sugar

2/3 cup – Unsalted Butter, room temperature

3 Large – Eggs

2 1/4 cups – All Purpose Flour

.3 ounces – Raspberry Gelatin Powder

1/4 cup – Unsweetened Cocoa Powder

2 teaspoons – Baking Powder

1/2 teaspoon – Baking Soda

1/2 teaspoon – Salt

Recipe {Adapted from Martha Stewart}

Pre-heat your oven to 350*F and spray a 10 cup bundt pan with non-stick cooking spray. Melt chocolate in a heat proof bowl over simmering water, and cool for about 5 minutes {Don’t let the bowl touch the water – Or you can do what I did and melt it in the microwave, removing the bowl every 20 seconds and stirring until it is completely melted} In a bowl, combine the wine, milk and cooled chocolate.

In a bowl of an electric mixer with a paddle attachment beat the butter and sugar on medium speed, until light and fluffy {about 3 to 4 minutes} Add the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition, scraping the sides of the bowl as needed.

In a medium bowl, sift the flour, gelatin, cocoa powder, salt, baking powder and soda, stir to combine. Alternating, add the wine and flour mixtures into the mixer, beat on low-speed for a minute, then beat on medium-high until just combined {about 2 minutes – finish mixing with a spatula if you’d like}

Pour the batter into the pan and bake for 40 to 45 minutes, rotating halfway, until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool for 15 minutes, then run a pairing knife around the edges to release the cake, invert and cool completely on a cooling rack. {The original recipe calls for a wine glaze, I didn’t make it and the cake was still very delicious on its own}