Tag Archives: rich cake with wine

Chocolate Cake & Red Wine Frosting

Posted in Cake, Dessert by

I’m practically drooling on my keyboard while posting this.

I mean, chocolate and red wine are my favorite things in the world. Probably even ahead of my other obsessions, like booties and babies and anything gold. So together, in a cake? Absolute perfection. It might be torture recalling how amazing this cake was, but I’ll do it for the sake of baking.

I was deciding between several chocolate cake recipes – like this one or this one – for Ryan’s parents 28th anniversary, but decided to try Jenna’s because of the frosting (and the interesting amount of buttermilk). It was definitely worth it! The cake was moist and the frosting to-die-for. Even someone who claims he doesn’t-really-like-frosting-that-much was begging to lick the bowl! The original recipe specified the Barefoot Wine brand, but I used a different Pinot Noir and it turned out just as well.

I can’t wait for another occasion worthy of this rich cake (But who am I kidding? Sometimes surviving Monday is reason enough).

PS – don’t forget that it’s required to drink a glass of the wine you are cooking with ; )

choc cake

Chocolate Cake with Pinot Noir Frosting

Via EatLiveRun, Yields one 2-layer cake

Cake:

  • 2 cups all purpose flour
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 1 ½ tsp baking soda
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 2/3 cup cocoa powder
  • 1 ½ cups sugar
  • 2/3 cup vegetable oil
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 tbsp vanilla extract
  • 2 cups buttermilk

Frosting:

  • 1 stick unsalted butter, room temperature
  • 5 cups powdered sugar
  • 1/3 cup cocoa powder
  • 2 tbsp vanilla extract
  • ¼ cup + 2 tbsp Pinot Noir wine
  • ¼ tsp salt

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Butter and flour two 9” cake pans. Set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Sift in the cocoa powder and stir to combine well.

In another bowl, blend together the oil, sugar, eggs and vanilla. Add the buttermilk and mix well.

Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix until just combined. Batter will be slightly lumpy but be sure not to over-mix.

Divide batter between your two prepared cake pans. Bake for 40 minutes, until the edges of the cakes have separated from the pan and the cakes are light and springy. Remove from oven and let cool for 10 minutes in the pan before turning out onto parchment paper to cool. Let cakes cool for at least one hour before frosting.

To make the frosting, beat the butter until soft. Mix in the powdered sugar slowly, followed by the cocoa powder, vanilla, salt and Pinot Noir. Spread a layer of frosting between cake layers, then frost all over the top of the cake and the sides. I think it’s easier to frost the cake if you spread a THIN layer on first, then stick the cake in the freezer for maybe thirty minutes. Spread your final layer of frosting on top for a smooth look! I used cookie cutters to get the sprinkled numbers on top.