Dark Chocolate Red Wine Cake

Last fall, I added this white wine cake and it was a huge hit, but today, we are making a dark chocolate cake with red wine and you are going to love this one too…

A great chocolate cake recipe usually ends with the addition of a liquid… usually hot water or freshly brewed coffee and I am all about this. It is a great way to create a moist chocolate cake, but swapping the water or coffee out for wine does something extra… deliciously extra.

This cake is so moist, so tender, so flavorful and while you don’t instantly recognize the red wine, you will instantly fall in love with this cake and I am quite confident in this.

Let’s get started…

Begin by whisking a cup of granulated sugar and 1/2 cup of brown sugar with 2 large eggs until completely combined.

Next, add 1/2 cup of olive oil, 2 teaspoons of pure vanilla extract and 1 cup of buttermilk and mix until fully incorporated.

If you don’t have buttermilk, not to worry! You can simply add a tablespoon of lemon juice or vinegar into a cup of whole milk, wait until it curdles a little bit and you have buttermilk!

Place a mesh sifter over your bowl (or you could whisk this in a separate bowl instead) and add 1 3/4 cups of all purpose flour, 3/4 cup of dark chocolate cocoa powder, 1 1/2 teaspoons of baking soda, 1 teaspoon of baking powder and 1/2 teaspoon of salt. I like to sift the dry ingredients to both combine everything and work out chunks that shouldn’t be in there.

Mix the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until everything is mostly combined.

Now we are finally at the “add the wine” stage. Whisk a cup of your favorite red wine into the batter. I recommend merlot, but a pinot noir, cabernet sauvignon or syrah will all work good too. Just make sure it is something you would like to drink and this cake will turn out fabulous.

Transfer the batter into a greased and parchment lined deep 9″ baking dish and bake the cake for about 30 minutes at 350 degrees.

Be careful to not overbake this cake. Sure, it will still taste great, but it will not be as moist and tender as it should be.

As soon as the center feels springy or lightly set, transfer the cake pan onto a cooling rack or cutting board to cool for 15 minutes. Once the cake is cool enough to touch, transfer it out onto the cooling rack to continue cooling.

You can definitely enjoy this one warm, but if you want to add frosting or whipped cream, let it cool off a bit…

Add a few big dollops of whipped cream and some crushed nuts (optional, but highly recommended!).

This cake is special. As soon as you transfer it out of the cake pan, you can feel how moist and airy it is going to be. The texture is fantastic and the red wine and dark chocolate cocoa powder pair so well together that you may never make chocolate cake the old fashion way ever again…

Dark Chocolate Red Wine Cake

A moist, rich chocolate cake made with red wine. Say no more.
Prep Time10 minutes
Cook Time30 minutes
Total Time40 minutes
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Servings: 8

Ingredients

  • 1 cup of granulated sugar
  • 1/2 cup of brown sugar
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1/2 cup of olive oil
  • 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract
  • 1 cup of buttermilk
  • 1 3/4 cups of all purpose flour
  • 3/4 cup of dark chocolate cocoa powder
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons of baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon of baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon of salt
  • 1 cup of your favorite red wine (I suggest a merlot)

Instructions

  • Preheat your oven to 350°
  • Grease and line a deep 9 inch cake pan with parchment paper and set aside for now 
  • In a large bowl, whisk 1 cup of granulated sugar and 1/2 cup of brown sugar with 2 large eggs until fully combined 
  • Add 1/2 cup of olive oil, 2 teaspoons of pure vanilla extract and 1 cup of buttermilk and mix until smooth and airy
  • Sift 1 3/4 cups of all purpose flour, 3/4 cup of dark chocolate cocoa powder, 1 1/2 teaspoons of baking soda, 1 teaspoon of baking powder and 1/2 teaspoon of salt into the bowl and mix until just combined 
  • Add a cup of red wine and mix until fully incorporated 
  • Transfer the batter into the prepared cake pan
  • Bake at 350° for 28-32 minutes or until a toothpick will come out of the center of the cake clean
  • Enjoy with whipped cream

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