Torta Ubriaca

I love this cake for two reasons. First, it combines chocolate and red wine, two of my favorite ingredients. Second, the recipe was given to me by my friend Marta Carrozza.

Marta and her husband, Alessandro Maceroni, own Il Marchese del Grillo, a bed-and-breakfast in the heart of Sulmona, in Abruzzo. The small B & B has an open-air courtyard, four beautifully appointed rooms, and a terrace that boasts one of the best views of the city. The breakfast buffet, usually served out on the terrace, is always set with a selection of homemade cakes and pastries, plus fresh fruit, cheeses and salumi.

This cake comes from Marta’s mother-in-law who, together with Marta’s mother, bakes most of the breakfast pastries for the B&B. The secret to the cake’s tender crumb? Red wine. It's a wonderfully simple and clever recipe; it calls for melting together butter, sugar, chocolate and wine. Some of this chocolate sauce is mixed into the batter; the rest is poured over the cooled cake to glaze it.

I used Montepulciano d'Abruzzo, a dry red that nicely counter the sweetness of the cake and complements the bittersweet chocolate.

TORTA UBRIACA: CHOCOLATE AND RED WINE CAKE
Makes 12 or more servings

Ingredients
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons (300 g) unbleached all-purpose flour
1 packet lievito pane degli angeli or 2 teaspoons baking powder (see NOTES)
Pinch of fine salt
1 1/3 cups (300 g) sugar
1 cup (2 sticks/230 g) unsalted butter, cut into pieces
1/2 cup (100 g) dry red wine (I use Montepulciano d'Abruzzo)
3 ounces (80 g) bittersweet chocolate, chopped
1 packet powdered vanilla or 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract (see NOTES)
1/2 cup (100 g) sunflower or vegetable oil
4 large eggs

Instructions
1. Heat the oven to 325° F (160° C). Butter and lightly flour a 10-inch Bundt pan (see NOTES).

2. Whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt and set aside. Combine the sugar, butter, wine, chocolate and vanilla in the top of a double boiler or heavy-bottomed saucepan. Set over medium heat and cook, stirring often with a whisk until everything is melted together.

3. Set aside about 3/4 cup of the melted chocolate mixture and pour the rest into a large mixing bowl. Whisk in the oil and then the eggs, one at a time, until thoroughly combined. Pour in the flour mixture and whisk until well combined and no lumps remain.

4. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 40 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Set the cake, in the pan, on a rack to cool for 30 minutes. Loosen the cake from the pan and invert it onto a rack to cool completely.

5. Transfer the cooled cake to a platter and drizzle the reserved chocolate sauce on top. At this point the sauce should be somewhat thick but still pourable. If you would like a thicker glaze, put it in the fridge for a bit before pouring it over the cake.

NOTES
Lievito pane degli angeli is a vanilla-scented powdered leavening agent used in Italian baking. You may substitute 2 teaspoons baking powder.

Italian baking often calls for vanilla in powder form. It comes in small packets and can be found at many Italian groceries. You may substitute pure vanilla extract.

Although this recipe does not call for cocoa powder, you can use it to coat the inside of your Bundt pan in place of flour. This will prevent any light-colored streaks of flour on the surface of the baked cake once you take it out of the pan.