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Before I fell asleep last night, I made a mental list of things to do today:

  1. Clean up the closet
  2. Bake (anything)
  3. Go for a slow run

It’s 8:23PM, and I spent most of my morning and afternoon cleaning out and arranging my clothes, hung around for a bit, and decided to bake a red wine chocolate cake for my cousin who was turning 30 today!

From Smitten Kitchen: Red Wine Chocolate Cake

Red Wine Chocolate Cake
Makes 1 9-inch cake

Cake Ingredients:
6 tablespoons (85 grams) unsalted butter, at room temperature
3/4 cup (179 grams) firmly packed dark brown sugar
1/4 cup (50 grams) white granulated sugar
1 large egg + 1 large egg yolk, at room temperature
3/4 cup (177 ml) red wine
1 teaspoon (5 ml) vanilla extract
1 cup + 1 tablespoon (133 grams) all-purpose flour
1/2 cup (41 grams) Dutch cocoa powder
1/8 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon table salt
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Topping Ingredients:
1/2 cup mascarpone cheese
1/2 cup (118 grams) chilled heavy or whipping cream
2 tablespoons (25 grams) granulated sugar
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 325°F.
Line the bottom of a 9-inch round cake pan with parchment, and either butter and lightly flour the parchment and exposed sides of the pan, or spray the interior with a nonstick spray.
In a large bowl, on the 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, then the red wine and vanilla.
Sift the flour, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon and salt together, right over your wet ingredients.
Mix until 3/4 combined, then fold the rest together with a rubber spatula. Spread batter in prepared pan.
Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean.
The top of the cake should be shiny and smooth, like a puddle of chocolate.
Cool in pan on a rack for about 10 minutes, then flip out of pan and cool the rest of the way on a cooling rack.

Topping:
Whip mascarpone, cream, sugar and vanilla together until soft peaks form — don’t overwhip.
Dollop generously on each slice of cake. It can also be covered and refrigerated for up to 4 hours.

This has been my favorite go-to cake since I stumbled across the recipe last year, and it has never failed me – even when my oven was wonky! The hint of red wine goes so well with the cocoa, and with powdered sugar sprinkled on top, it’s pretty and simple at the same time. I’ve never tried making with the topping ’cause I’m lazy and don’t really like cream, but go ahead and try it if you like those!

Now, time to cross out the last thing on my list!