Red Wine Chocolate Cake

I've never been a fan of frosting. Especially the overly sweet processed stuff that comes out of a can. I much prefer a cake that stands on it's own.

What I am a fan of is red wine and dark chocolate.

So when I realized I could combine red wine and chocolate and into a rich, moist cake that needs nothing more than a dusting of powdered sugar for effect, I was so in. With ingredients like this, and a recipe this simple, what's not to love? And why don't I make this more often?

Red Wine Chocolate Cake

Ingredients

6 tablespoons butter, sliced and room temperature

1/4 cup sugar

3/4 brown sugar

2 eggs

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

3/4 cup red wine

1 cup flour

3/4 cup cocoa powder

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground cinnamon

1/8 teaspoon salt

Preheat your oven to 325 degrees and grease and flour a 9 inch cake pan.

Cream the butter and sugars in an electric mixer, adding eggs one at a time. Add the wine and vanilla. In another bowl, mix your dry ingredients with a whisk and then add slowly to the wet mixture on low speed until just combined. Pour the batter into the pan. It will be a little dense, so spread the batter to the edges of the pan. Bake for approximately 25-30 minutes, until the center is done. Cool and dust with powdered sugar. Serve with strawberries and you've got yourself a Valentine's day dessert!