Chocolate Red Wine Cake
17:57Hello! Happy 2015 to you all. I hope you had a lovely break over Christmas and New Year- did you get time to do any baking over the festive period? I took a little holiday from my oven to spend some time with family and friends, and enjoy the beautiful snow we had here in the UK!
.jpeg)
Okay, so I know I'm way overdue for Christmas-themed posts but I really wanted to update you all on a fabulous dessert I came across in one of my favourite books, Indulge by Claire Clark.
I have tried many of her recipes before and each one never fails to please. However, there is one that I have been particularly curious about- the chocolate and red wine cake. As I happened to have half a bottle of red wine lying around, I thought it would be rude not to have a go at making this cake! I can't say I'm a fan of wine, but I am a chocoholic so I thought this dessert might just convert me...
Claire suggests baking this cake in a bundt tin, but since this is the one tin I don't actually own (rather surprisingly) I decided to use a dome shaped mould and disguise the cake as a Christmas pudding, although I don't think I deceived anyone!
The original recipe uses redcurrant jelly as a glaze and chocolate discs to finish the cake, but I opted for a shiny chocolate ganache and a few fondant decorations for a Christmas themed look.
We served the cake with homemade vanilla ice cream but it is deliciously moist to be eaten without any accompaniment.
So here it is, an impressive looking yet surprisingly simple dessert, perfect for using up that bottle of red wine (or just an excuse to open a new one!)
.jpeg)
Chocolate Red Wine Cake (adapted from Claire Clark- Indulge)
125g unsalted butter, slightly softened
125g caster sugar
2 medium eggs, beaten
150ml red wine, at room temperature
125g plain flour
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1 teaspoon cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking powder
65g dark chocolate, grated
For the syrup:
50ml water
30g caster sugar
125ml red wine
For the glaze and decoration:
225g dark chocolate (70% cocoa solids), grated
125ml double cream
Fondant icing, in red and green
Preheat oven to 170°C, Gas Mark 3. Grease and flour 25cm bundt tin, or an 20cm dome tin.
Cream the butter and sugar until pale and fluffy. Add the beaten eggs, one at a time, beating well between each addition. Stir in the 150ml of red wine and mix well (don't worry if the mixture looks slightly curdled at this point!)
Sift the flour, cinnamon, cloves, cocoa powder and baking powder together. Fold the dry ingredients a tablespoon at a time in to creamed mixture. Gently fold in the grated chocolate until you have a smooth mix.
Transfer the mixture to your chosen cake tin, lightly greased and dusted with flour, and level. Bake in the centre of your oven for 35 minutes until well risen. To check that the cake is cooked, insert a clean skewer or knife and see that it comes out clean. Once cooked, allow the cake to cool in the tin whilst you prepare the special red wine syrup!
To soak the cake, bring water and sugar to the boil in a small pan, then stir in the 125ml of red wine. Pour this syrup onto the cake whilst it is still in the tin and allow it to be absorbed. Allow the cake to completely cool before you gently remove it from the tin.
For the ganache, gently heat the cream in a saucepan, then pour this over the chocolate in a separate bowl and stir well until you have a smooth icing. Allow to cool slightly, until just spreadable, and use to completly coat the cake. Allow to set.
To garnish the cake, cut out holly leaves and make small berries from green and red fondant icing and place on top in a decorative fashion!
Now, slice and enjoy 😊
Oh....one more thing...here is a picture of the beautiful Christmas Tree we had- just because!
0 comments