Red Wine Chocolate Cake

sofie-a-toast's Note:

from smittenkitchen.com. she says: "This, as far as I’m concerned, is the real red velvet cake — chocolate, naturally reddened and intensely flavored. We are completely obsessed with it already. Now, the essentials: The wine does not, I repeat, does not, fully bake out. It will taste like there’s wine in there though not in the way that it would leave you tipsy, nevertheless, I will not be using this cake for, say, my toddler’s birthday party, if you get my drift... the final cake is only 3/4- to 1-inch tall, and bakes quickly.... Oh, and it’s still a one-bowl cake."

• Total Time: 35 mins
• Prep Time: 10 mins
• Cook Time: 25 mins

Ingredients:

Yield: 1 cake

Cake

• 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 3/4 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1 large egg yolk, at room temperature
• 3/4 cup red wine, any kind you like
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup Dutch-processed cocoa powder
• 1/8 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon table salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Topping

• 1/2 cup mascarpone cheese
• 1/2 cup chilled heavy cream or 1/2 cup whipping cream
• 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:

1. Make the cake: Preheat the oven to 325°F Line the bottom of a 9-inch round cake pan with parchment, and either butter and lightly flour the parchment and exposed sides of the pan, or spray the interior with a nonstick spray.
2. In a large bowl, on the medium speed of an electric mixer, cream the butter until smooth. Add the sugars and beat until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the egg and yolk and beat well, then the red wine and vanilla. Don’t worry if the batter looks a little uneven.
3. Sift the flour, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon and salt together, right over your wet ingredients. Mix until 3/4 combined, then fold the rest together with a rubber spatula. Spread batter in prepared pan. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean. The top of the cake should be shiny and smooth, like a puddle of chocolate. Cool in pan on a rack for about 10 minutes, then flip out of pan and cool the rest of the way on a cooling rack. This cake keeps well at room temperature or in the fridge. It looks pretty dusted with powdered sugar.
4. Make the topping: Whip mascarpone, cream, sugar and vanilla together until soft peaks form — don’t overwhip. Dollop generously on each slice of cake. It can also be covered and refrigerated for up to 4 hours.

Reviews

[stormylee]

OK: I only made the cake part and I baked it into cupcakes, but I can still confidently say that this stuff is absolutely delicious! Note: I do not like red wine. At all. But I do like intense chocolate, and the red wine adds to it in this recipe, in a lovely fruity & spicy way. I'm sure the frosting would complement the flavour of the cake beautifully and will definitely give it a try the next time! This made 15 cupcakes; baked for about 17 minutes. Thank you for a lovely recipe!