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
