When I needed a birthday cake for a local Californian winemaker, I immediately thought of this recipe. I met Eric Sterling at his winery, Everett Ridge, near Healdsburg and discovered that he doubles up as a local ER doctor, making wine in his spare time. After enjoying a glass or two of his award-winning Pinot Noir, which came from his family-run winery Esterlina, over in Philo, I modified this recipe so it would soak up large quantities of red wine, making it a rather alcoholic but very yummy cake. I suggest you use a good, inexpensive Cabernet Sauvignon or Merlot. Despite the amount of wine in this cake, it cuts really well and is suitable for serving as a dessert. Try making individual ones to serve with raspberry sorbet and hot Chocolate Sauce (see pages 148-149). I have used a bundt tin here but a plain round or square tin will work just as well.

125g/41/2oz softened unsalted butter
125g/41/2oz caster sugar
2 medium eggs, lightly beaten
150ml/5fl oz red wine, at room temperature
125g/41/2oz plain flour
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1 teaspoon cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking powder
65g/21/4oz dark chocolate (55-70 per cent cocoa solids), grated

For soaking
50ml/2fl oz water
30g/1oz caster sugar
125ml/4fl oz red wine

For finishing
1 jar of redcurrant jelly
about 300g/101/2oz tempered dark chocolate (see pages 212-213)

Preheat the oven to 170°C/325°F/Gas Mark 3. Grease and flour a 25cm/10 inch bundt tin.

Cream together the butter and sugar until pale and fluffy, then add the beaten eggs a little at a time, beating well between each addition. Add the wine and mix well.

Sift the flour, cinnamon, cloves, cocoa powder and baking powder together. Sift again to make sure the ingredients are well mixed. Fold the dry ingredients a tablespoon at a time into the creamed cake mixture. Lastly fold in the grated chocolate. Transfer the mixture to the prepared tin and level the top. Bake in the centre of the oven for 35 minutes, until the cake is well risen and a skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean. Let the cake cool in the tin for 20 minutes and then place a thin cake card over the top and invert the tin. Lift off the tin so the cake sits on the card. It will still be warm, so do not try to move it at this stage. Cool the cake completely.

To soak the cake, bring the water and sugar to the boil in a small pan and stir in the red wine. Fill the cleaned bundt tin with the red wine syrup and place the cooled cake back in the tin. It will quickly absorb the hot liquid. Once the liquid has been absorbed, reverse the cake on to the cake card as before. Remove the tin, being careful not to damage the cake.

Leave the cake to cool before glazing. Bring the redcurrant jelly to a rolling boil in a small pan, then remove from the heat and, with a small, flat brush, quickly brush the hot jelly over the cake using large strokes. Let the jelly set, then repeat the process for a beautiful glossy finish.

To finish the cake, you need to make little discs of tempered chocolate. Spoon 1015 small blobs of the chocolate, about 1cm/1/2 inch wide, on to a sheet of acetate, spacing them 5cm/2 inches apart. Place a second sheet of acetate on top of the chocolate and press down to flatten each blob to a smooth circle. They do not have to be completely round that is half the fun. Place the chocolate discs, still sandwiched in the acetate, on a baking sheet, put another baking sheet on top of it and leave in the fridge for 1015 minutes to set. Remove the top sheet of acetate and peel away the chocolate circles. Using a hot knife, cut the base off each circle so they sit flat at the bottom of the cake. Push them one at a time on to the sides of the cake round the base; they will stick to the jelly.

Claire's Notes
• Make the chocolate decorations the day before you make the cake, to take the hassle out of finishing it. If you do not feel up to tempering chocolate, look in your local supermarket for chocolate decorations—they can be fun.
• The cake will keep for a week in a sealed container in the fridge.
• Sheets of acetate can be bought in boxes from most stationery stores.

Copyright © 2008 by Claire Clark. All rights reserved.