Mulled Wine Chocolate Cake With Orange Mascarpone Cream


Happy Six Year Blogiversary to Vegetarian & Cooking! This past year saw another move (I like to think that every time we move, I end up in a better kitchen); a new cat; Dave and I getting married; an international honeymoon; two new jobs; and me going back to school. When I first started the blog I was curious about how all of the big life changes would affect Vegetarian & Cooking and it was hard to conceptualize all of these big moves as a college senior. Even though it doesn't seem like some of those things would change my posting habits and recipes, each and every one helps mold and shape where Vegetarian & Cooking is and where it's going.

I am always pleasantly surprised to look back on the previous year to see how the blog has grown and changed. In addition to all of the big life changes, the blog went through a redesign this year and we've been making a conscious effort to cook more and to take better care of ourselves through food. Each week there is careful planning that goes into what we're making and we plan to join a CSA this year to incorporate even more local, fresh produce into the recipes we're making.

Thank you for coming back post after post and year after year, as always I strive for bigger and better things as I move into year seven. I am humbled by the amount of interaction my project receives and so happy to be able to combine all of the things that I love into one place.

Past Milestones:
Year One: S'mores Cake
Year Two: Whopper Cake
Year Three: Chocolate Turtle Cake
Year Four: Red Velvet Oreo Truffle Cake
Year Five: Almond Pear Cake

Recipe from Domestic Gothess.

Ingredients:
Mulled Wine Chocolate Cakes:
-1 stick softened unsalted butter
-1 packed cup + 3 tablespoons dark brown soft sugar
-1/3 cup + 1 tablespoons sugar
-2 large eggs
-1 teaspoon vanilla extract
-1 + 1/8 cup red wine
-1 + 2/3 cup all-purpose flour
-1/2 cup cocoa powder
-1/2 teaspoon baking powder
-1/4 teaspoon baking soda
-1/4 teaspoon salt
-1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
-1 teaspoon ground ginger
-1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
-1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
-1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
-1/4 teaspoon ground star anise

Orange Mascarpone Cream
-16 ounces full fat mascarpone
-2 cups powdered sugar, sifted
-finely grated zest of 2 oranges
-1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
-1 teaspoon vanilla
-1/2 + 1/3 cup heavy cream

Chocolate Drip
-2 ounces dark chocolate chopped
-2 tablespoons butter
-1 1/2 tablespoons mulled wine

Sugared Cranberries
-couple of handfuls of fresh cranberries
-1 egg white
-2 teaspoons granulated sugar
-granulated sugar for rolling

To make the cakes I used this Wilton brand 6 inch cake pan set which creates five layers. If you use the same pans as me, you will need to set the oven to 325 F, because the layers are pretty thin.

Mulled Wine Chocolate Cakes:
Preheat the oven to 325 F. Lightly grease the cake pans with butter.

In a the bowl of a stand mixer, cream together the butter, sugar, and brown sugar until pale and fluffy, beat in the eggs one at a time then add the vanilla extract.

In a large bowl, sift together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, salt and spices.

With the mixer on low, add 1/3 of the dry ingredients into the butter/sugar mixture and half of the red wine. Once combined add another 1/3 of the dry ingredients and more of the wine. Make sure to scrape down the sides of the bowl so that everything can be mixed. Add the remaining dry ingredients and wine, make sure the mixture is just combined, but not over mixed.

Divide the mixture between the five cake tins and bake for 18-21 minutes until set in the center. Let cool for 10 minutes and then carefully turn out the cakes onto a baking rack to cool completely.

Orange Mascarpone Cream
While the cakes cool, clean out the stand mixer bowl and add the mascarpone, powdered sugar, orange zest, cinnamon and vanilla. Beat until smooth.

Add the cream and whisk at a high speed until the the icing just becomes stiff. Cover and store in the fridge until needed.

Chocolate Ganache
Place the chopped chocolate and butter in a bowl over a pan of gently simmering water. Stir the chocolate until melted. Remove from the heat and stir in the red wine. Allow to cool before pouring over the cake, we put the mixture in the freezer for 6-7 minutes to allow it to cool down.

Sugared Cranberries
Place the egg white and 2 teaspoons of sugar in a large bowl and whisk with a fork until frothy.  Add in the cranberries and toss to coat. Remove from the bowl and place on a wire rack; set aside for about half an hour until they have dried slightly but are still tacky then roll in the extra sugar, place on a plate and set aside until dry.

To Assemble
Add a dollop of orange mascarpone cream to the serving stand and put one layer on top of the icing. This will help keep the cake base still while you are icing the entire cake. Top the cake layer with cream and then add another layer, repeat until you reach the top layer of cake (make sure to add the top layer upside down so that the cake is flat on top).

Start covering the cake with the orange mascarpone cream, use an off set spatula to create an even layer of frosting around the sides and top of the cake.

Use the back of a spoon or curved spatula to drip the chocolate ganache down the top and sides of the cake. Allow the chocolate ganache to set slightly and then top with the sugared cranberries. Keep the cake refrigerated until serving.






   

  
  
  


    

   



   

Almost every year I make a chocolate cake, so I was hesitant to make another. Surprisingly, all of the other flavors of the mulling spices come through before the chocolate. Dave thought it was good, but was also surprised about the flavors.  I loved the orange mascarpone cream on this cake, I could have eaten the entire bowl of frosting with a spoon. We served this at our annual Wine & Chocolate party and the combination of flavors was a hit and it was incredibly fitting for the theme of our party.

Thank you for celebrating another year with me, cheers to the year to come!

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