Red wine and chocolate are like a match made in heaven. This chocolate cake with a strawberry filling is just what you need to celebrate Spring!
This chocolate cake with strawberries and red wine is made for spring.
Strawberries and red wine really make this cake sing...not to mention me. J
ust keep in mind that by using fresh strawberries, this cake should be eaten within a few days or refrigerated. Of course, that shouldn't be a problem!
Red Wine gives this cake a more grown up dimension.
Though this cocoa cake still has plenty of chocolate it isn't quite as sweet as most.
However one bite through creamy chocolate frosting and into the strawberry center makes you wishing you had cut yourself a bigger slice.
If you don't want to make the cake with red wine, check out my absolutely fabulous, most favorite chocolate cake, that I've been making for 39 years.
Feel free to use the strawberry filling and if you don't want to use wine, just use water or pomegranate juice.
Written in 2016:
Oh no. Have you heard about the worldwide chocolate shortage?
It's true, and in case you haven't, you can read about it here.
This is bad news for chocolate bunny lovers and chocolate brownie lovers and chocolate chip cookie lovers and well...me.
I am a chocolate lover and there is almost nothing a handful of chocolate chips won't cure.
I am in deep do-do when the craving hits and often go through withdrawals.
Thank goodness even Weight Watchers now allows for chocolate.
For some folks, lemon might signal the sign of Spring and for others it is asparagus.
For some it might be peas or strawberries. For me it is seeing chocolate bunnies lining the grocery store shelves or those chocolate Cadbury eggs, that I have yet to have.
I also adore the chocolate malted milk eggs and those robin eggs in the bright turquoise color, that have the crackly shell and are filled with chocolate.
Yes, these to me, are the true signs of Spring.
As a a good Jewish girl, loving Easter candy is something my parents probably started.
You see as kids, there was always an in house Easter egg hunt- I guess so the neighbors wouldn't see- and there was always a chocolate bunny waiting for its head to be bitten off.
Yes, my folks came through on the chocolate.
For better, not worse, we did not continue the Easter egg hunt when our kids were young.
I can remember Alex Odie San China Boy wondering what a bunny had to do with Easter and what was with hunting for eggs when he thought it would be so much better to hunt for rabbits.
I'd always relate it back to hunting for matzoh, though there are good explanations for this.
Zoe would then chime in, "those bunnies are just so cute." until then one year I broke down and got them one, (on the day after Easter), and they were astounded that I did.
They then bit the head off and left the body to sit in their rooms for days on end, until I unceremoniously, threw them away.
That was the end of the Easter bunny in our house!
But back to chocolate as chocolate is always a good thing, is it not?
In my house, my favorite quote kind of goes like this... "In the beginning, the Lord created chocolate, and he saw that it was good. Then he separated the light from the dark, and it was better."
No, I did not write that-I took it from a chocolate site.
And I took this one too. "My therapist told me the way to achieve true inner peace is to finish what I start. So far today, I have finished 2 bags of M&M’s and a chocolate cake. I feel better already," said Dave Barry.
Now it is Easter and the stores are lined with Easter bunnies, which makes me think chocolate, and chocolate makes me think cake, and if I did want to lump chocolate in with a few other favorites, I might choose red wine-which goes perfectly with chocolate.
And then add in strawberries, because if all three are eaten together their health quotient increases considerably. Just sayin'.
This chocolate cake with strawberries is divine. Forget the chocolate Easter bunny.
Please Pin and Share:
I prefer a 9" cake pan with removable bottoms. Mine were my grandmother's and have lasted all these years. They are similar to these.
My favorite spatula is starting to show some wear. I like the middle one here and may give it a try.
Recipe
Chocolate Red Wine Cake with Strawberry Filling
- Prep Time: 60 Minutes
- Cook Time: 30 Minutes
- Total Time: 75 Minutes
- Yield: Serves 10 - 12 1x
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Bake
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
Chocolate Cake:
2 c sugar
1 c unsalted butter, softened
4 eggs
1 t vanilla
1 ½ c Pinot Noir
2 c all purpose flour
½ c self rising flour or (¾ t baking powder, a pinch of salt and ½ c flour)
1 ½ c cocoa
1 t baking soda
1 t salt
Strawberry Filling
16 oz fresh strawberries, diced into 1" pieces though I did leave some in slices
½ c Pinot Noir
½ c sugar
¼ t freshly ground black pepper (Optional)
Chocolate Frosting
½ c softened butter
2 c powdered sugar
½ c heavy whipping cream
½ c cocoa
A few fresh strawberries for decoration and also a few dried strawberries
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350. Grease two 9" cake pans and dust well with cocoa.
Using a stand mixer, cream sugar and butter together on medium speed. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing each before adding another. Reduce speed to low and add vanilla and Pinot Noir.
In a large bowl combine flours, cocoa, baking soda and salt. Mix well with a fork. Slowly add dry ingredients to wet ingredients and mix on medium speed until smooth, about two minutes. (I always cover my mixer with a dish towel so I don't have flour flying everywhere. Or mix it in and then turn the mixer on.)
Divide mixture between 2 cake pans and bake for about 25-30 minutes-inserting a toothpick to determine if the center comes out clean. Sides should also have shrunk slightly from the edges of the pan. Let cool on rack for about 20 minutes. Now start the filling.
Filling:
In a medium saucepan, heat strawberries, Pinot Noir and sugar over medium heat, stirring until sugar is dissolved. Once sugar is dissolved, bring heat up to high and bring mixture to a boil. Boil for 5 minutes, then reduce heat to low and simmer for 10 minutes, stirring every 2 minutes.
Strawberry Filling should be reduced by about ½ and slightly thickened. Remove from heat and let cool. Stir in pepper if using.
For the frosting:
In a stand mixer, beat softened butter on medium speed for 3 minutes. Slowly add half of the powdered sugar and beat on low for 1 minute. Add the whipping cream and beat on low for one minute. Slowly add the cocoa powder and the rest of the powdered sugar and gradually increase the speed to high. Beat for three minutes, until fluffy.
On a cake plate, place one layer of the cake with bottom side down. Frost with a thin layer of frosting. Now top with the filling, reserving a little bit for garnish. Now top with the other cake round, round side up. Ice with the rest of the frosting. I chose to use most of the frosting on the top of the cake, rather than icing the entire cake. That way you can see the pretty interior. I also used a few dried strawberries on top, because I like their color, next to a few fresh ones. I then drizzled with a little of the reserved filling. (This sure beats a chocolate rabbit!) Dust with cocoa if you want.
Notes
Adapted from The Nest
More Chocolate Desserts to Pin and Share:
Chocolate Fudge Layer Cake
Quick Chocolate Cake
Texas Chocolate Sheet Cake
Flourless, Gluten Free, Passover Fudge Cake
Black Bottom Chocolate Bundt Cake
Easy Raspberry Meringue Cake with Chocolate Ganache
The Ultimate Katherine Hepburn Brownie
Alton Brown's Chocolate Chip Cookies
ChgoJohn says
Gotta love Dave Barry and any quote attributed to him, Abbe. Your cake would grace any celebratory table, no matter the faith. How very ecumenical! One of the favorite summer treats for the adult Bartolini back in the day was strawberries soaked in red wine. They did come with a warning, however. We kids were threatened with severe punishment should we be caught rinsing off the wine so that we could enjoy some. 🙂
Abbe Odenwalder says
John that reminds me of a story my mother used to tell. Growing up her family used to let the kids drink the wine at the Passover meal so that they would be asleep under the table and the adults could party after the end of the Seder. Perhaps the adults were on to something!
Sharon D says
Wow...this cake is gorgeous! I'm dying for a piece. I know how it feels with chocolate - I can eat a whole bar by myself ..and it makes me feel so good inside.
Abbe Odenwalder says
If you were here Sharon, I would share! Then we would feel good, in and out!
Pam says
Ha! Great chocolate quotes, Abbe! And your cake looks delicious! I'm one of those lemon people, but everyone in my family is a chocoholic, and they would definitely be saddened by the shortage. Like the plate too! 🙂 Take care
Abbe Odenwalder says
Glad to see you back! Thanks for the compliment on the plate. I made it!And I am not a lemon person!But my mother loves it!
Balvinder Ubi says
Gorgeous cake, Abbe!The combination of the flavors are just perfect together for celebrating spring or any season!
Abbe Odenwalder says
I agree. The strawberry filling is so yummy!Thanks!
Priya Joshi says
This is truly amazing.. I am in love with texture of your cake.. I love thatnchcolate frosting as well
Abbe Odenwalder says
Thanks so much Priya!The frosting and filling are my favorite part!
Tricia Buice says
Glad you didn't miss out on the Easter candy! If you've been making this chocolate cake for that long - I need to give it a try! This is beautiful Abbe 🙂 Have a great week!
Abbe Odenwalder says
No this cake I just made Tricia. However the one in the links I've made for 30 years, and it is my true favorite. But this is pretty good! Love the filling!
SavoringTime in the Kitchen says
Those quotes are a hoot, Abbe! I did read about the chocolate shortage and looks like I'll just have to pay more because there will be no 'doing without' here! What a fabulous cake, rich with chocolate and lightened with the fresh berries. Wonderful!
Abbe Odenwalder says
We are in agreement, Susan!
Biz says
Ha, I love the story about the chocolate bunny with the head bitten off! And while I prefer salty to sweet, the exception is chocolate - and I do from time to time reach in the chocolate chip bag to get a few chips and let them melt on my tongue 😀 Your cake looks amazeballs!
Abbe Odenwalder says
In this case, one must grab a potato chip in one hand and a chocolate chip in the other. Damn I love eating them that way, too!
Angie Schneider says
This just reminds me that I haven't baked or had my favourite German red wine chocolate cake in ages! Yours looks splendid, Abbe, and perfect for the holidays!
Abbe Odenwalder says
No time like the present, Angie!
Kitchen Riffs says
Yup, definitely need to eat plenty of chocolate now to stock up! Think we can live on our stored chocolate supplies? Guess not -- too bad. Anyway, fun read, super cake. Thanks!
Abbe Odenwalder says
Thanks John!
La Table De Nana says
Looks Cho good 🙂
Abbe Odenwalder says
Happy faces all around!
Cheri Savory Spoon says
Hi Abbe, Chocolate shortage, that is horrible, better stock up now. I can see why this cake will make your heart sing, all my favorites in one tasty cake together.
Abbe Odenwalder says
Stock up! It's coming! Thanks Cheri!
Lea Ann (Cooking On The Ranch) says
well lookie at this beautiful cake! I agree with Holly. Celebration written all over it. I'm a big strawberry/chocolate fan.
Abbe Odenwalder says
Thanks Lea Ann! Chocolate dipped strawberries would have been perfect on top!
Holly @ abakershouse.com says
Oh la la! This cake has celebration written all over it! It is a beauty and is just right for celebrating springtime or any other time for that matter. Chocolate, wine and strawberries-- what a combination.
Abbe Odenwalder says
It is a great cake and a refreshing change from raspberries-which are also quite popular!