Chocolate Cake with Red Wine Glaze
July 29, 2014 
Do I need another bundt cake pan? No. But I couldn't resist this swirl cake pan from Nordic Ware. I was picturing all kinds of cakes in it. Lemon pound cake, Coffee Cake, and of course, chocolate cake. For this recipe, I'm using my favorite chocolate cake recipe and combining it with a rich red wine chocolate glaze that I spied in Bon Appetit. Chocolate and red wine are such a great combination, why not combine them in a cake?
Swirl Pan from Nordic Ware
I like this cake because there is no butter or chocolate to melt. You just use cocoa powder and vegetable oil. You can whip up the batter in just a couple of minutes. The red wine glaze is super easy to make and gets thicker as you let it cool.
Chocolate Cake with Red Wine Glaze
Ingredients:
for a printable recipe, click here
for the cake:
- 2 tablespoons butter, melted
- 2 cups plus 2 tablespoons flour, divided
- 2 cups sugar
- ¾ cup plus 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder, sifted
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1½ teaspoons baking soda
- 1 teaspoons salt
- 1 cup milk
- ½ cup vegetable oil
- 2 eggs
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 cup boiling water
for the red wine glaze:
- 8 ounces good bittersweet chocolate, chopped
- ½ stick (¼ cup) butter, cut into pieces
- ½ cup powdered (confectioner's) sugar
- ½ cup red wine
Instructions:
Make the cake:
Preheat oven to 350º F. Prepare the bundt can pan by brushing the melted butter all over the surface of the inside of the pan and sprinkling with the 2 tablespoons flour and the 2 tablespoons of cocoa powder and shaking it all over to coat the inside. Tap excess out (use more if needed). Alternatively, you can spray with cooking spray but the cake may not release quite as well.
Add 2 cups flour, sugar, ¾ cup cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, and salt to a large bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer. Whisk thoroughly to combine or, using your paddle attachment, stir through flour mixture until combined well.
Add milk, vegetable oil, eggs, and vanilla to flour mixture and mix together on medium speed until well combined. Reduce speed and carefully add boiling water to the cake batter. Beat on high speed for about 1 minute to add air to the batter.
Pour cake batter into prepared cake pan. Bake for about 45 minutes, until a toothpick or cake tester inserted in the center comes out fairly clean. Remove from the oven and allow to cool for about 10 minutes, remove from the pan and cool completely.
there's almost always lumps in cocoa powder - after
measuring, be sure to sift it before adding it to batter
Make glaze:
Heat chocolate and butter in a heatproof bowl set over a saucepan of simmering water (bowl should not touch water), stirring, until chocolate and butter are melted, about 5 minutes. Whisk in powdered sugar.
Meanwhile, bring wine just to a boil in a small saucepan. Remove chocolate mixture from heat and whisk in wine; let cool until slightly thickened and a rubber spatula leaves a trail in mixture when stirring, 8–10 minutes.
Set cake on a wire rack set over a rimmed baking sheet. Pour glaze over cake and spread it across the top and over the edges with an offset spatula. Let cake stand at room temperature until glaze is set, 2–3 hours.
red wine glaze adapted slightly from Bon Appetit
chocolate cake from Add a Pinch
Reader Comments (14)
This is a beautiful cake - can't wait to make it !
This is my fave bundt pan, as well! Only drawback is it's a 10 cup. But I'm not letting that stop me! It's the perfect alternative for brunch cinnamon rolls, too. Just tuck your rolled dough into it for baking. Then glaze that marvelous swirl and take it to the buffet. Wowzers.
From The Italian Dish:
Gobaby: Now that's a terrific idea! Thanks for sharing - I'm totally doing that one.
This looks just like the kind of chocolate cake I like and a nice fudgey frosting. Can the frosting be made (and turn out just as good) without the wine? Do I need to substitute some other liquid to replace the wine?
I would think you could substitute milk for the wine. I use milk in my homemade buttercream frosting-vanilla or chocolate frosting-thats the liquid. I usually use 1% as that is what we keep in the fridge for drinking and on cereal.
Looks super delish! Where did you get the pan? I would like to buy one.
From The Italian DIsh:
Deb: There's links within the post to where you can buy the pan. Just click on the photo of the pan.
Seems like a perfect recipe for a dinner date; Oh I so love chocolate as a flavor :) What a visual treat it is! I like the fact that you preferred vegetable oil over excessive use of butter. This is a healthy approach and I appreciate that. Thanks for sharing a wonderful recipe. Glad reading!
I don't know if any of you have tried this product, but I have had good luck with the Wilton Cake Release. I had one particular recipe that was giving me trouble, and I happened to see this in the craft store, so I picked it up on the outside chance that it worked. It did the trick, and I didn't end up with the white on the cake that you get from flour. You just brush it in with a pastry brush.
I am going to have to wait to get this pan until my husband is away ... I love it, but he HATES when I buy more of these things!!!
Looking forward to trying this cake as well ... it sounds wonderful. Funny thing is, I had "Cupcake Wars" on tv this morning in the kitchen while I was cleaning, and there were a couple of entrants who were trying to work red wine into their cupcakes, with less than stellar outcomes. I was thinking that I want to experiment with this ... and now, no experimentation needed! Thanks for this recipe!!!
Sounds awesome. I bet you could substitute wine for water in the cake.
I love it, rich in flavor, and nicely shaped.
Ok, so I am going to get a bundt pan and try this recipe. Before I begin, I would like to ask what the storage requirements are for the cake once it is completed. I am more of a main and side dish type of home cook. Pizzelle's are about as far as I go in making desserts.
Once the cake is prepared and frosted, how long can it sit out on the counter without refrigeration?
Wow this sound delectable. Thanks for this wonderful post.
I have made this cake three times now, I don't have the correct tin to bake it in so I made two smaller cakes in 8" tins. I also used a different glaze as my husband cannot have any alcohol because of the medication he is taking .
The cake is delicious and every one who has tried it loves it, so moist, not too sweet and very chocolatey, I would thoroughly recommend this recipe you really must try it.
The best chocolate cake ever !