| Level: | Easy |
| Total: | 1 hr 45 min |
| Active: | 30 min |
| Yield: | 10 servings |
Ingredients
- 2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter, softened, plus more for the pan
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon fine salt
- 2 cups light brown sugar
- 3 large eggs
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 1/4 cups dry red wine
- 2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter, softened
- 3 1/4 cups confectioners’ sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- About 2 tablespoons half-and-half or heavy cream
Instructions
- For the cake: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter a 9-by-13-inch cake pan.
- Whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt in a medium bowl and set aside.
- Combine the butter and brown sugar together in a large bowl and beat with an electric mixer at medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the eggs 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in the vanilla. With the mixer on low, add the flour mixture in 3 batches, alternating with the red wine, beginning and ending with the flour, mixing until just incorporated.
- Spoon the batter into the prepared baking pan and smooth the top with an offset spatula. Bake until a wooden skewer inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean, about 35 minutes. Cool completely on a rack.
- For the buttercream: Place the butter in a large bowl and beat with a mixer on medium-high speed until smooth. Add the confectioners’ sugar in 3 batches, beating until each batch is incorporated. After adding the last batch, continue to beat until very smooth and lightened, about 3 minutes. Add the vanilla and 1 tablespoon of the half-and-half and beat until incorporated. Add more half-and-half as needed to make the icing a smooth, spreadable consistency. Keep at room temperature until ready to use.
- Spoon the buttercream onto the cake and smooth with an offset spatula. Cut the cake into squares and serve.
Nutrition Facts
| Serving Size | 1 of 10 servings |
| Calories | 745 |
| Total Fat | 40 g |
| Saturated Fat | 25 g |
| Carbohydrates | 91 g |
| Dietary Fiber | 3 g |
| Sugar | 67 g |
| Protein | 6 g |
| Cholesterol | 155 mg |
| Sodium | 282 mg |
Reviews
Good moist cake only hint of redwine, really just a good chocolate cake. Made into cupcakes out of preference. Even my spouse who doesn’t like chocolate cake liked these.
Good chocolate cake but the wine doesn’t come through as much as I would have liked.
Super moist and very tasty! Used my favorite pinot noir and not sure I tasted the red wine much but a great dessert pairing with steak for Father’s Day dinner! Used vegan butter and worked great for cake and buttercream.
Has become a favorite for an easy cake that is a crowd pleaser. Very moist and rich chocolate cake, plus the wine gives it a special character. I think the vanilla icing is a good balance to the rich chocolate!
I made this cake and it is wonderful. Love the flavor and texture of the cake. My guests asked for a second piece. Yes, it’s that good! This is now one of my favorite desserts to make for company. I followed the recipe exactly and it came out great.
The red wine gave the cake a bit of a strange flavor. My kids noticed it immediately. It was fun to make, but I would try another recipe if you are looking for a rich chocolate cake flavor.
Made this for my best friend’s birthday and it came out AMAZING! Hands down, the best cake I’ve made. I chose not skimp on the cocoa powder brand or the quality of the wine. Now I need an excuse to make it again…or do I?! The rich yet still fluffy texture of the cake was my fave! Will absolutely make this again.
I never baked a cake before that had wine in it. It was different. The flavor was good. Instead of using regular vanilla extract for the icing, I used vanilla bean paste instead to give it a richer flavor.
I made this the other day. My cake came out sort of dense, it didn’t rise the way it looks in the pic. I followed the recipe exact except for one thing-I swapped a little of the brown sugar for some Splenda. I wouldn’t think that would have made a difference but I can’t think of anything else. Anyone have any ideas why this happened? (I’m not mad though, it tastes delish.)
I really enjoyed it, the wine taste is very strong