Let's face it..there are many flavor matches that include chocolate. I think it is because chocolate is pretty much a universal favorite. Adding chocolate to any baked good rarely gets objected to, so when I came across a recipe that included chocolate wine, I was not really surprised.
Chocolate wine...I found a number of brands of wine with this flavor. Some of the wines looked like coffee while others kept their deep red color. After reading a few labels of different brands, I chose a red wine with natural chocolate flavor-Trentadue Chocolate Amore. The original recipe used a dark red wine called Chocolate Rouge that I was unable to find. Since I did not use it,I cannot comment on the flavor that this particular brand imparts on the cake.
The two things that intrigued me the most about this recipe when I read it was the amount of dutch cocoa and the amount of chocolate wine. For one loaf, it calls for 3/4 cup of wine. This amount does insure that the flavor will remain after baking. The 1/2 cup of cocoa also had me thinking of how rich and dark the chocolate flavor would be.
I was not disappointed. With a moist brownie-like texture and a heavenly flavor of sweet merlot enveloped by rich chocolate flavor, one slice was purely addictive.
This recipe makes 1 chocolate loaf. I used a 9X5 inch pan. The loaf was not that tall, so if I was to make it again, I would opt for something smaller.
Chocolate Wine Loaf Cake
adapted from Heather's French Press
Ingredients
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla extract
3/4 cup chocolate wine
1/4 cup white sugar
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup or 1 stick of butter
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp baking powder
1-1 1/4 cup flour
1/2 cup dark/Dutch cocoa powder
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Butter the sides and interior of a loaf pan. Line the bottom and long sides of the loaf pan with parchment paper and butter the surface.
In a small bowl, sift together cocoa powder, cinnamon, baking powder and only 1 cup of the flour. Set aside.
Fill the bowl of the stand mixer with butter and both sugars. Cream together on medium high speed until light and fluffy. Add one egg and beat, stopping at one interval to scrape down the sides of the bowl. Repeat the process with the other egg.
While the mixer is still running, add the vanilla extract and then slowly stream in the wine. Once all is mixed in, turn mixer off and remove bowl. Using a wooden spoon, fold in the dry ingredients. If the batter still seems a little thin, stir in some of the extra flour to thicken.
Spoon into the loaf pan and smooth the top. Bake for 45-60 minutes or until tester comes out clean. Remove from oven and rest pan on rack for 15 minutes, then transfer to rack and remove parchment paper. Once completely cool, it is ready to slice and serve.
Tips and notes:
1. After you add the wine, the batter will look real soupy, but the dry ingredients will remedy that.
2. The recipe states bake for 1 hour, but mine only took 45 minutes which could be attributed to the size of the pan. The recipe did not specify pan size.
3. It is normal for the surface of the loaf to crack some while baking.
4. This has a deep dark chocolate flavor, so some whipped cream would tone it down a bit.
**LAST YEAR:Cannoli Cake Roll**