Chocolate Red Wine Cake

Ingredients :
4 ½ oz softened unsalted butter
4 ½ oz caster sugar
2 medium eggs, lightly beaten
5 fl oz red wine, at room temperature
4 ½ oz plain flour
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground cloves
1 teaspoon cocoa powder
1 easpoon baking powder
2 ¼ oz dark chocolate (55-70 per cent cocoa solids), grated

For soaking:

2 fl oz water
1 oz caster sugar
4 fl oz red wine (an inexpensive Cabernet Sauvignon or Merlot works well)

For finishing:

1 jar of redcurrant jelly
About 10 ½ oz tempered dark chocolate

Method :
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit. Grease and flour a 10 inch bundt tin.

Cream together the butter and sugar until pale and fluffy, then add the beaten eggs a little at a time, beating well between each addition. Add the wine and mix well.

Sift the flour, cinnamon, cloves, cocoa powder and baking powder together. Sift again to make sure the ingredients are well mixed. Fold the dry ingredients a tablespoon at a time into the creamed cake mixture.

Lastly, fold in the grated chocolate. Transfer the mixture to the prepared bundt pan and level the top. Bake in the center of the oven for 35 minutes, until the cake is well risen and a skewer inserted in the center comes out clean.

Let the cake cool in the pan for 20 minutes and then place a thin cake card over the top and invert the pan. Lift off the pan so the cake sits on the card. It will still be warm, so do not try to move it at this stage. Cool the cake completely.

To soak the cake, bring the water and sugar to a boil in a small pan and stir in the red wine. Fill the cleaned bundt pan with the red wine syrup and place the cooled cake back in the pan. It will quickly absorb the hot liquid. Once the liquid has been absorbed, reverse the cake on to the cake card as before. Remove the pan, being careful not to damage the cake.

Leave the cake to cool before glazing. Bring the redcurrant jelly to a rolling boil in a small pan, then remove from the heat and, with a small, flat brush, quickly brush the hot jelly over the cake using large strokes. Let the jelly set, then repeat the process for a beautiful glossy finish.

To finish the cake, you need to make little discs of tempered chocolate. Spoon 10-15 blobs of the chocolate, about ½ inch wide, on a sheet of acetate, spacing them 2 inches apart. Place a second sheet of acetate on top of the chocolate and press down to flatten each blob to a smooth circle. They do not have to be completely round—that is half the fun. Place the chocolate discs, still sandwiched in acetate, on a baking sheet, put another baking sheet on top of it and leave in the fridge for 10-15 minutes to set.

Remove the top sheet of acetate and peel away the chocolate circles. Using a hot knife, cut the base off each circle so they sit flat at the bottom of the cake. Push them one at a time on to the sides of the cake round the base; they will stick to the jelly.

Claire’s notes:

Make the chocolate decorations the day before you make the cake, to take the hassle out of finishing it. If you do not feel up to tempering chocolate, look in your local supermarket for chocolate decorations.
The cake will keep for a week in a sealed container in the fridge.
Sheets of acetate can be bought in boxes from most stationery stores.