Red Wine Chocolate Cake

Serves 8

This recipe originally appeared on SmittenKitchen.com, Deb Perelman’s food blog. Perelman writes: “This, as far as I’m concerned, is the real red velvet cake — chocolate, naturally reddened and intensely flavored. The wine does not, I repeat, does not, fully bake out. It will taste like there’s wine in there though not in the way that it would leave you tipsy, nevertheless.”

Cake

6 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature

¾ cup firmly packed dark brown sugar

¼ cup white granulated sugar

1 large egg + 1 large egg yolk, at room temperature

¾ cup red wine, any kind you like

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup + 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour

½ cup Dutch cocoa powder

1⁄8 teaspoon baking soda

½ teaspoon baking powder

¼ teaspoon table salt

¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon (this is a great place for that fancy Vietnamese

stuff you stashed away)

Topping

½ cup mascarpone cheese

½ cup chilled heavy or whipping cream

2 tablespoons granulated sugar

¼ teaspoon vanilla extract

Make the cake: Preheat the oven to 325 degrees 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. Don’t worry if the batter looks a little uneven. Sift the flour, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder, salt and cinnamon together, right over your wet ingredients. Mix until ¾ 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 the pan and cool the rest of the way on a cooling rack. This cake keeps well at room temperature or in the fridge. It looks pretty dusted with powdered sugar.

Make the 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.