Posts Tagged ‘Chocolate cake’

Chocolate and Red Wine Cake aka Comfort Cake

So on this slightly cold Tuesday I have been moping at home sick (but mostly just exhausted) and not able to drag myself into work. I hope that the massive sleep in this morning helps and keeps me going for the rest of the week! Yesterday also started my gluten free trial period (of two weeks approx) to see how my body feels and if changing up my diet helps things like my skin or overall well being. After this first week I shall bring you an update on how all that is going as well as a  gluten free recipe that makes this whole exercise worth it.

Today I bring you a recipe that is not gluten free but is one that I made a couple of weeks ago for my Dad’s birthday. The recipe comes from a favourite blog of mine, hungry and frozen, and I won’t bother rewriting it here as Laura does it best her self! Instead I will just give you a little food porn and explain how much I enjoyed making this. And here is the reliable yet delicious recipe!

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Let me begin by explaining a small fear (okay more like a slight phobia) I have of making cakes. I love cupcakes and make them all the time but cakes baffle me and usually just go terribly wrong. I think this might be the third ever cake I have made. Why do they frighten me in a slightly irrational way I hear you asking? Well mainly just because I can’t taste test the cake to make sure it tastes good and is cooked right.  With cupcakes I would always eat one (or two) before sharing to make sure I am not making a huge mistake and with a cake this is a bit harder. Undercooked, overcooked, too much baking soda, who knows until the big moment where everyone gets a slice. So yeah, making a cake is a big deal for me.

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I went to Laura’s book launch up here in Auckland (which was too much lovely to even begin to describe) and bought her cookbook and then spent the night reading each and every recipe before I could go to bed. The cookbook is great and full of a variety of unique and creative recipes (there is a whole section on toasted sandwiches..this is when I knew I had made the right choice). My first chance to use it was for my Dad’s birthday dinner when I was trying to find a desert for someone who doesn’t have much of a sweet tooth. I ended up going with this because he likes wine and I like chocolate. It just made sense.

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The recipe was simple and easy to follow, the ingredients all pretty standard and nothing to crazy. The addition of cinnamon and red wine to this slightly dense but not overly rich chocolate cake brought a warmth and complexity which was very enjoyable and makes it even more comforting than a standard chocolate cake would be. I think my oven was running a little too hot, as you can see from the photos the cake got  a little carried away in the cracking department, and next time I would take it out a smidgen earlier to maintain optimum moistness (ugh). I served this up with oranges and lots of whipped cream and was really rather spectacular.  I am now thinking about which cake recipe I can try next…. Definitely give this cake a go if you like chocolate and red wine, it was pretty fool proof (if I can make it anyone can) and with a large smothering of chocolate ganache it ends up looking pretty impressive too.

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Ready for a little bit of a photo overload?

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Chocolate ganache. So easy to make and equally easy to just eat straight out of the bowl. Try save some for the cake

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Sorry for all the photos! I couldn’t resist putting heaps of them in (and this is a rather small selection, trust me!). Also thanks to Edd for being my photographer :) He does such an awesome job!

Have a great week!

Lizzy xx