Rich, moist, and flavorful, this red wine chocolate cake carries a unique taste and an irresistible smell! If there’s one thing better than wine, it must be wine cake. Last week, I had a dinner party with a few friends, which naturally meant lots of food and wine (and desserts :)). One thing led to another and, as I’m sure you can already guess, the leftover wine found its way into chocolate cake batter – the combination of which turned out to be divine. It truly is the perfect cake, but you obviously need to enjoy the occasional drink in order to appreciate it. The wine makes the chocolate very fudge-like, giving it an intense, rich flavor that you’ll definitely notice. The alcohol doesn’t bake out fully, though, so this is the kind of dessert you only want to make for adults 😉 Plus, with its fancy name and even fancier flavor, this dessert would make a splash at any wine tasting. For this recipe, I use dark brown sugar to deepen the flavor and moisten the cake. P

lenty of cocoa helps to keep it super fudgy and chocolaty while balancing out the alcohol. Ground cinnamon also works to enhance the flavor, although you can’t taste it in the final product. I experimented with several different wines such as cabernet sauvignon, merlot, and shiraz, and all of them turned out amazing. This is a simple recipe, I promise. After adding the flour to the batter, avoid overmixing so that the cake will be as light as possible. You can dust it with powdered sugar or serve it with whipped cream, but I simply love this dessert plain because the flavors are so good! So the next time you open a bottle of wine for your guests, make sure you sneak into your kitchen and save some of it for later! 3 Print 1½ cups (210 g/7.4 oz) all-purpose flour ¾ cup (75 g/2.7 oz) unsweetened cocoa powder 1 teaspoon baking soda ½ teaspoon salt ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon 1 cup (2 sticks/227 g) butter, softened 1¼ cups (250 g/8.8 oz) granulated sugar ½ cup (100 g/3.5 oz) brown sugar (preferably dark) 2 large eggs 2 teaspoons vanilla extract 1¼ cups (300 ml) dry red wine Preheat oven to 350F/180C degrees. G

rease a 12-cup bundt pan and set aside. In a medium bowl sift flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon. Sn a mixer bowl fitted with the paddle attachment, beat together butter and sugar on medium-high speed for 3-4 minutes until light and fluffy. Bpictures of wine for birthdayeat in the eggs one at a time until combined. Sbest wine 2006crape down the sides and bottom of the bowl as necessary. Bpictures of wine for birthdayeat in vanilla extract. Obest cheese for wine nightn low speed, beat in (or fold by hand) the flour mixture in 3 additions, alternating it with the wine in 2 additions (starting and ending with the flour). Dbest wine country vineyards

o not overmix. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top. Bake for 45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Allow the cake to cool in the pan for 10 minutes on a wire rack, then turn it out and let it cool completely. Dbest wine to go with seafoodust the cake with powdered sugar. Sbest wine to gift in indiatore cake at room temperature in airtight container for up to 3 days. Cbest wine for wedding cheapake can be frozen for up to 2 months.food and wine best bars 2014So you find yourself with a tempting brick of dark chocolate in one hand, the other aimlessly gliding across a full wine rack, unsure of which bottle to pull.

What wine goes best with chocolate? As one of only a few Carmel Valley wineries who hosts visiting wine lovers from all over the country, we have learned that pairing wine with chocolate can be a tricky endeavor, even the devoted wine enthusiast. Due to its sweetness, as well as the various types available, the wrong combination can produce an unpleasant and often bitter tasting experience. That’s why we’ve created an in-depth guide to help you select the ideal glass of wine for whatever type of chocolate treat you find yourself enjoying and bring out the delicious and complex flavors of both items. In order to begin pairing, there are a few helpful rules that can make selecting an appropriate wine much easier. Balancing these flavors with similar or oppositional tasting foods creates a more complex experience.  Mixing and matching these flavors together also opens up many different pairing possibilities that you can experiment with.  For example, if you’re trying to pair a sweet white chocolate, go for an equally sweet Ice Wine.

Because of the number of different chocolate flavors, it is important to look at chocolate and wine pairings in categories. While a rich Cabernet may go wonderfully with extra dark chocolate, it would be far too bitter for a white chocolate. Because of this diversity in flavor, our guide is organized by chocolate category to bring you unique and well-balanced pairings. Ranked by the percentage of cocoa in the chocolate from the highest (dark chocolate) to the lowest (milk or white chocolate), we start with the classics. Dark Chocolate: Generally chocolate is defined as ‘dark’ if it contains more than about 40% cocoa, but there are is a considerable range of products available from 35% to 99%. Milk Chocolate typically contains less than 35% cocoa and is a creamier, sweeter variety, making it a better match for slightly sweeter reds, such as: White Chocolate exchanges cocoa butter for cocoa powder, giving it a unique taste compared to other traditional chocolates.

This sugary delight is complimented best by sweeter wines and may bring out the more subtle fruity or nutty notes in them. Wine not only tastes spectacular with solid chocolate, it can also enhance flavored chocolates. The key with flavored chocolates is finding wines that pair well with the flavor within the chocolate first, then looking at the type of chocolate itself. Classic Caramel & Dark Chocolate is a perfect match for our late-harvest Pinot Noir, like our warm and robust Big Daddy with prominent dark chocolate notes, has a subtle sweetness to it that strikes a pleasant balance between the more sugary caramel and the slightly bitter dark chocolate. Nut-Infused Chocolate or Chocolate Covered Nuts do best with a wine that will emphasize the already present nutty flavors. Mint & Dark Chocolate is one of the more sophisticated types of chocolates to pair with. Try with Cabernet Sauvignon or Zinfandel. Fudge is typically much richer and sweeter than traditional chocolate.

A Michigan fudge maker recommends Tawny Port for milk chocolate fudge and Beaujolais, Cabernet Sauvigon, Bordeaux, Merlot, and Zinfandel for darker chocolate fudges. Peanut Butter & Milk Chocolate pair best with wines that will bring out the natural nuttiness. Some have found that Peanut Butter Cups pair especially well with wines such as Riesling (10) Salted Carmel & Milk Chocolate plays on the ever popular pairing of sweet and salty.  For an excellent wine pairing, the wine should be congruent with the chocolate and balance out the salt.   Pairing with both fruit and chocolate simultaneously could leave any casual wine drinker guessing. These tips will help you find the right fit. Chocolate Covered Strawberries, is there anyone who doesn’t adore them? This fruit fusion pairs well with wines that bring out the strawberry flavor, such as: Orange-Infused Dark Chocolate is complimented best by white wines with citrus notes, according to She Knows. Chocolate blueberries pair wonderfully with Merlot, which can help to bring out the sweetness of the blueberry flavor.

Raspberry & Dark Chocolate or Raspberry Truffles are incredibly rich and sweet. Because of this, they can pair well with lighter, sweet whites or full-bodied reds with fruit flavors, such as: Cordial Cherries produce triple the sweetness with milk chocolate, syrup center and sweet cherries. Pairs with red varietals that can bring out the unique cherry flavor.   Chocolate Covered Bacon has grown in popularity in recent years. With the flavors of salty & sweet playing off each other, possible pairings include: Dark Chocolate Covered Coffee Beans work well with Shiraz due its natural mocha flavors. While they are certainly some helpful guidelines for discovering what wine goes with chocolate, you may find that the answer depends heavily on your own personal preferences, not to mention the unique type of chocolate you’re enjoying. Don’t be afraid to step out of your comfort zone and experiment with combinations you suspect will have a nice finish. When you uncover your winning wine and chocolate pairing, tells us about it in the comments below or share on Instagram with hashtag #HolmanRanchWine.