Blackberry Red Wine Chocolate Cake with Mascarpone Frosting
This amazing blackberry red wine chocolate cake is the perfect super easy (yet seems fancy) dessert option for any occasion. The flavor is unbelievable, and the fluffy mascarpone frosting lets the flavors really shine through. It's basically an accidental twist on a black forest cake, with dark chocolate, blackberry preserves, the subtle notes of wine, and cream. It's also a perfect make-ahead dessert, since it benefits from setting up in the fridge for a bit (to be less messy when cutting it).
Servings: 1 9-inch double layer cake
Ingredients
- Note I'm a huge advocate for measuring by weight
- CAKE
- 218 g 1 3/4 cup of all-purpose flour
- 375 g of granulated sugar a scant 2 cups
- 70 g 3/4 cup of dutch-processed cocoa powder (or other dark)
- 2 teaspoons of baking soda
- 1 teaspoon of baking powder
- 1 teaspoon of fine sea salt
- A sprinkle of cinnamon
- 2 large eggs at room temperature
- 240 g 1 cup of buttermilk
- 240 g 1 cup of good red wine (seen notes on the type)
- 112 g 1/2 cup of olive or avocado oil
- 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract
- FILLINGS
- 1/3 cup of blackberry preserves + some extra
- 8 ounces of mascarpone cheese room temperature
- A few drops of almond extract
- 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla extract
- Sprinkle of cinnamon
- Pinch of salt
- 2/3 cup of powdered sugar
- 1 cup of heavy whipping cream
Instructions
- To make the cake: Preheat your oven to 350ºF. Grease and line two 9-inch round baking pans with parchment paper. Make sure you get in the edges/corners of the pan so it doesn't stick!
- In your stand mixer, combine the flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon. Whisk briefly to combine.
- Add the eggs, buttermilk, wine, oil, and vanilla and beat on medium speed until all dry ingredients are JUST incorporated, maybe 10-15 seconds. Divide evenly among the prepared pans.
- Bake for 28 to 32 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove from oven and place on a wire rack until cool enough to handle.
- Run a small knife around the edges of each pan, then gently invert onto wire racks. Cakes should come out cleanly. Allow to cool completely.
- At this point, the cakes can be frozen until ready to use (up to 1 month). Just wrap each layer individually in a double layer of plastic wrap and then store inside a large ziploc bag.
- To prepare the mascarpone frosting: In your stand mixer (or a hand electric mixer with large bowl) add the mascarpone cheese and whipping cream. Whip until fluffy with stiff peaks, adding in the almond extract, vanilla extract, cinnamon, and salt as it mixes.
- To assemble the cake: Place one layer on a cake stand or serving platter. Spread the blackberry jam in a thin layer, then carefully spread half of the mascarpone frosting on the cake, going close to the edges.
- Conversely, you can spread the frosting first, then spread the jam on the BOTTOM of the second layer, then flip it over to sandwich.
- Place the second layer on top and then spread the remaining frosting on the top of the cake.
- I'd chill the cake at this point, to get everything to set nicely (plus you should refrigerate mascarpone frosting). Before serving, to make the pretty jam swirls, take a spoon and gently make divots and swirls in the top of the frosting...no real pattern, just random swirls. Then add some dollops of extra blackberry jam and gently use the back of a clean spoon to swirl them along the same lines.
Notes
- For the wine, you want a nice fruity red, ideally with notes of dark fruits, red fruits, blackberries and cherries, etc. Don't go for anything too light or dry. The wine does add a really nice subtle flavor to the cake.