Crazy Cooking Challenge #6
Chocolate Cake
I am so excited to be a part of February's cooking challenge. Chocolate Cake is a classic dessert for a month that's all about love, hearts, and kisses!
This is not your typical chocolate cake - this is a chocolate cake for adults. A Red Wine Chocolate Cake. That's right, you heard me correctly. This cake has red wine in it!!! But, I've got to tell you, this cake almost did not happen. Originally, I had a different cake recipe picked out, but the frosting for the cake turned out all wonky, so I never took pictures. Then I found this recipe stashed in my "Food Recipes to Print" folder in my email, and I knew this was the cake that I needed to make. I was planning to make it last week, but then I got some horrible news that my Great Grandma Ninny passed away and then a few days later I got really sick. I made peace with the decision in my mind that this dessert wasn't going to happen, which meant I would not be participating in this month's challenge - it made me so sad. But just a few days ago, I did a turn around and started to get better, and today, I'm about as good as new!
It would have been a crying shame if this cake hadn't happened. I'm the kind of girl who likes chocolate cake, but most chocolate cakes tend to be so rich that I can never finish a whole slice on my own. But this cake is pretty darn incredible. The cake has a strong chocolate flavor, and the red wine deepens the flavor into something exciting and exotic. And if adding the red wine to the cake isn't enough to blow your socks off, top your incredible slice of cake with a big dollop of Mascarpone Whipped Cream! I've got one word for this cake: It's Sexy!
Basically, you can have your cake and drink it too, LOL!
Red Wine Chocolate Cake
For the Cake:
6 Tablespoons, unsalted butter, at room temperature
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg and 1 egg yolk
3/4 cup red wine, any kind you like ( I used a Cabernet Sauvignon)
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup and 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1/2 cup Dutch cocoa powder
1/8 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
Whipped Topping:
1/2 cup mascarpone cheese
1/2 cup chilled heavy cream
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1/4 tsp vanilla extract
Pre-heat oven to 325 degrees. Line the bottom of a 9 inch cake pan with parchment paper and spray parchment paper and sides of the pan with nonstick cooking spray. In a large bowl, on a 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. Add in the red wine and vanilla. The batter is going to look uneven. Don't let that scare you. Sift the flour, baking soda, powder, cocoa, cinnamon, and salt over the wet ingredients. Mix until 3/4 of the way combined and then fold the rest together with a rubber spatula. Spread batter into pan and bake for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. The top of the cake will be shiny and smooth. Cool in pan for 10 minutes on a rack and then flip the cake out of the pan and allow it to cool completely.
For the topping, whip the mascarpone cheese, cream, sugar, and vanilla together until soft peaks form, being careful not to over whip. Dollop on each slice of cake. Cover and refrigerate topping for up to 4 hours in the fridge.
