{Red Wine Chocolate Cake} – Tort cu vin rosu si ciocolata

Scroll down for English!

Vin rosu si ciocolata…nu-i asa ca suna irezistibil? Adaugati si o para fiarta in vin si un mot de frisca, acompaniate de un minunat sos de vin rosu si obtineti un desert absolut decadent… Mie una imi pare a fi si un desert tare festiv, numai bun pentru a incheia un meniu special. Are o usoara aroma de bomboane de ciocolata cu lichior, cu  un gust subtil de scortisoara… Nu va mai tin in suspans…Iata reteta:

Ingrediente:

• 85g unt
• 200g zahar
• 1 ou intreg + 1 galbenus
• 180ml vin rosu
• 140g faina
• 40g cacao
• 1/2 lingurita praf de copt
• 1/2 lingurita bicarbonat de sodiu
• 1/2 lingurita scortisoara
• 1 praf de sare
• 1/2 lingurita esenta de vanilie

Spumam untul cateva minute,  apoi adaugam zaharul si continuam sa mixam bine pana obtinem o crema (4-5min). Adaugati oul intreg si galbenusul si omogenizati. Urmeaza sa adaugati vinul si esenta de vanilie.

In acest moment, compozitia va arata ca si cand s-a taiat. Nu va faceti griji, asa trebuie sa arate. Cerneti faina, cacaoa, praful de copt, bicarbonatul si sare si adaugati peste compozitia de vin, cate o jumatate o data. La final, incorporati scortisoara. Aluatul final va fi cremos si tare aromat. Turnati in tava si dati la cuptor la 180gr C pana trece testul scobitorii.

Asa cum va spuneam si cum de altfel se si vede in fotografii, am servit tortul cu pere in vin rosu si un sos minunat din acelasi vin, desi ma gandeam ca tare bine s-ar potrivi si un sos de ciocolata.

Ingrediente pentru perele in vin rosu:

• 2 pere
• 500ml vin rosu
• 1 stea de anason
• 1/2 pastaie de vanilie
• 1baton de scortisoara
• 180g zahar (puneti zahar dupa gust…vinul meu a fost mai acrisor)

Puneti vinul la fiert impreuna cu anasonul, vanilia, batonul de scortisoara si zaharul.

Intre timp curatati perele de coaja si stropiti-le cu putina zeama de lamaie pentru a nu oxida. Cand vinul incepe sa fiarba, scufundati perele (eu le-am taiat in jumatate, iar motivul pentru care din 2 pere au rezultat 3 jumatati :))) este ca baietelul meu a “furat” o jumatate :D).

Fierbeti la foc potrivit pana cand varful unui cutit intra cu usurinta in pere. Aveti grija sa alegeti un soi de pere care isi pastreaza forma la fiert si nici sa nu fie excesiv de coapte, altfel riscati sa se “destrame” in timpul fiertului. Dupa vreo 15min perele mele erau suficient de fierte. In acest moment scoateti perele cu grija din vin si lasati lichidul sa fiarba pana scade cel putin la jumatate. Veti obtine un sos delicios pe care cu greu m-am abtinut sa nu-l savurez asa simplu 😀
De fapt, perele in vin rosu sunt un desert clasic care poate fi servit si ca atare cu un mot de frisca ori inghetata si cu sosul respectiv.

Serviti tortul cu frisca, o jumatate de para si sos de vin rosu. Un adevarat deliciu!!!

English!

Red Wine and Chocolate… sounds amazing, isn’t it? Add a red wine poached pear, a scoop of vaniila whipped cream and an amazing red wine sauce and you might think you’re in heaven :P. It’s the perfect dessert to finish a special dinner and considering that  it’s wine and chocolate we’re talking about might be perfect for a dinner for 2 😉

Ingredients for the cake:

• 85g unsalted butter
• 200g sugar
• 1 egg + 1 egg yolk
• 180ml red wine (which one you like…just consider that the wine has its sweetness so  you might have to adjust the sugar a bit)
• 140g flour
• 40g cocoa
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon bakind soda
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 pinch of salt

In a large bowl, cream the butter until smooth. Add the sugar and keep mixing until fluffy (3-5mins). Add the egg and yolk and mix well, then the wine and vanilla. Don’t worry if it’s looking a bit uneven. It’s gonna come together after you add the rest of the ingredients. Sift the flour with the cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon and add it to the batter, 1 half at a time. The batter will be smooth and shiny. Spread it in the prepared pan (line it with parchment paper to prevent the cake from sticking). Bake in the pre-heated oven at 180degree Celsius until it passes the toothpick test (insert a clean toothpick in the middle of the cake..if it comes out clean, it’s done…if the toothpick seems wet and has some batter on it, leave the cake to bake a bit more).

The cake itself it’s delicious the way it is…just finish it with some powdered sugar and it’s good for serving. But that wasn’t enough for me. Because I still had wine and some pears, it seemed a good idea to make red wine poached pears to serve with the cake. 

Ingredients for poached pears:

• 2 pears
• 500ml red wine
• 180g sugar
• 1 star anise
• 1/2 banilla bean
• 1 cinnamon stick

Put the wine, sugar, anise, cinnamon in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Meanwhile, carefully peel the pears (use a bit of lemon juice to stop the pears from browning). Cut the pears in half and soak them in the boiling wine. (In the pictures you will see just 3 pear halves and you’ll probably wonder how from 2 pears I ended up with 3 halves :)))..My son stole one half ;)). Boil at medium heat until the pears are soft. Remove the pears from the saucepan and keep boiling the wine until it’s reduced to half of the initial quantity. This is our delicious sauce! Actually, red wine poached pears is a classic dessert, easy to make, but very exquisite. You just can’t go wrong with it.

Serve the cake with half of pear, a scoop of vanilla whipped cream and plenty of sauce. Enjoy!!