Apothic Red is one of my preferred wines to pair with chocolate and when I saw a recipe for an Apothic Red Velvet Cake from Ross Sveback, I knew I had to bake it. A favorite restaurant customer of mine shares my love of Apothic Red and I wanted him to by my tasting guinea pig. While this cake is easy to make, it is time consuming and I did not allow myself enough time to bake it. It came out great but it was not as “pretty” as I would have liked it to be. For example, since I was pressed for time, I did not let the three cake layers cool enough and as you can tell by my photo, you can’t see the frosting between the layers. I had to get to work so I frosted a warm cake and tried to make the chocolate ganache 30 minutes prior to serving. Aside from all of this, the cake was moist, delicious and scrumptious. The next time I make it, I will give myself an extra two hours and “bake it pretty.”
- 3 c. sugar
- 2 c. Apothic Red wine
- 1 c. olive oil
- 1 c. buttermilk
- 4 eggs
- 1.5 c. cocoa powder
- 1 tsp. salt
- 1 tbsp. vanilla extract
- 2 tsp. baking powder
- 1 tbsp. baking soda
- 3 c. AP flour
- 2 c. (4 sticks) unsalted butter – room temperature
- 2 c. powdered sugar
- 1/2 c. heavy cream
- 1 tbsp. vanilla bean paste
- 1/2 c. bittersweet chips
- 1/4 c. + 2 tbsp heavy cream
- 1 tbsp. canola oil
- Prep three 8″ cake pans with Bak-klene and line with parchment. Combine the sugar, Apothic wine, olive oil, buttermilk and eggs in a bowl and stir with a whisk to combine. Add salt, vanilla, baking powder, baking soda and cocoa powder – stirring again with a whisk to combine. Lastly, add the flour and stir to combine. Let batter sit for five minutes. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Divide batter between the three pans and bake for 35-40 minutes – rotating pans halfway through if necessary, testing with a toothpick in the center to make sure cake is done. Remove from oven and allow to fully cool in pan, then invert out and wrap in plastic wrap and place in freezer while you prepare the frosting.
- Place the butter in the mixer and slowly add the powdered sugar in batches. Scraping the bowl if necessary to ensure all of the butter is getting incorporated. Add whipping cream and vanilla bean paste, then beat on high for ten minutes using the flat beater until mixture is light and fully. Frost cake – this recipe is the perfect amount to cover the entire cake, so do not be nervous you do not have enough. Place cake in refrigerator and chill for at least two hours before you put ganache on.
- Place bittersweet chips and 1/4 c. cream in a microwave-safe container and heat for one minute on high. Remove from microwave and mix using a fork until the hot cream has melted all of the chocolate – then add oil and remaining 2 tbsp. cream – mix well to combine. Slowly pour over top middle of cake so the ganache has time to cool as it pours out and does not melt the buttercream. Using a spatula, gently spread the ganache toward the edge, allowing some of the chocolate to drip over the edge. Sprinkle with gold flecks. Place cake back in the refrigerator for at least one hour for ganache to set.
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