This is a sassy comfort food with a healthy dose of red wine in it, just to elevate that chocolate flavor.
By Amrita Rawat
I made this for Sauce a while back and it was devoured so quickly at a dinner party, especially with the compote I added to it (the first time was with some fresh cream, which was delicious too, but the compote added a touch of sweet floral notes).
Sometimes you just need something chocolaty, you know? On top of that, this has a healthy dose of red wine in it, just to elevate that chocolate flavor. It adds a sort of “je ne sais quoi” to it. This is the just the thing to whip up when you’re having a classy dinner party, a girl’s night in, or when you just want something romantic for you and your sexy better half. It’s a sassy comfort food, almost like a true red velvet cake.
This recipe is largely a classic chocolate cake except buttermilk is replaced with red wine, but the result doesn’t necessarily taste boozy. Instead, it’s a dense, moist, and richly flavorful.
Any red wine, regardless of price point or type, produces a unique flavor. I’ve used a Cabernet Sauvignon as well as a Malbec; even the Trader Joe’s “Two-buck Chuck” tasted great in this cake.
And the best part: You already have an open bottle of the perfect dessert wine pairing.
- 6 Tbsp. room temperature butter
- ¾ cup packed brown sugar
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 egg yolk
- ¾ cup red wine
- ¾ tsp. vanilla extract
- 1 cup plus 1 Tbsp. flour
- ½ cup high quality cocoa powder
- ⅛ tsp. baking soda
- ½ tsp. baking powder
- Pinch kosher salt
- ¼ cup powdered sugar, plus more for dusting
- 2 cups heavy cream
- Cherry-Lavender Compote (Recipe follows.)
- 1½ lbs. cherries, pitted
- 2 Tbsp. cornstarch
- Juice of one-quarter a lemon
- ½ tsp. lavender extract
- A pinch plus 1½ tsp. table salt, divided
- ⅓ cup granulated sugar
- Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Coat a 9-inch cake or pie pan with nonstick spray.
- In a large mixing bowl, use a hand mixer to beat the butter, brown sugar and granulated sugar 5 minutes, until combined.
- Add the egg, yolk, red wine and vanilla separately, beating well between each addition.
- Use a spatula to gently fold in the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder and salt until combined.
- Pour the batter into the cake pan and bake 25 to 30 minutes, until a cake tester or toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Let cool before turning it out of the pan and dust with powdered sugar.
- Meanwhile, in a small mixing bowl, beat the heavy cream and ¼ cup powdered sugar together with a hand mixer until stiff peaks form.
- Serve with the Red Wine Chocolate Cake, along with the Cherry-Lavender Compote.
- Coarsely chop the cherries and toss in a large bowl with the lavender extract, cornstarch, lemon juice, a pinch of salt and ⅓ cup granulated sugar.
- Adjust the sugar to taste.
