Drunk chocolate cake
Torta ubriaca
Ubriaco means drunk in Italian, and it is an appropriate name for a cake that uses a decent amount of red wine for the batter and coating. Torta ubriaca has an intense, deep flavour so it is the perfect chocolate cake for grown-ups. The alcohol evaporates entirely while baking but the cake is left with a complex fragrance that, thanks to the warming spices, is very reminiscent of mulled wine. For extra heat, add a pinch of hot chilli powder, but go carefully, based on the strength of your chillies.
SERVES 12 | PREP 20 MINS COOK 1 HR 15 MINS | EASY
SPONGE
vegetable spread, for the tin
200g eggs (about 4 eggs), room temperature
230g caster sugar
200g vegetable oil (preferably corn or sunflower)
180g dry red wine
200g soft wheat 00 flour or plain flour, plus extra for dusting
50g cornflour
50g unsweetened cocoa powder
3 tsp baking powder
100g dairy-free dark chocolate chips (50-55% cocoa solids)
PISTO SPICE MIXTURE
2 tsp ground cinnamon
½ tsp ground cloves
¼ tsp ground black pepper
¼ tsp ground nutmeg
¼ tsp hot chilli powder (optional)
GLAZE
120g icing sugar
3 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
2 tbsp red wine
1 tbsp runny honey
1 Set the shelf in the lower half of the oven and heat it to 160C/140C fan/gas 3. Grease a 24cm bundt tin or 23cm springform cake tin with vegetable spread and dust it with flour, tapping off the excess.
Put the eggs, sugar and 1/8 tsp of salt into a bowl large enough to accommodate all the ingredients, and whisk at high speed with a handheld electric whisk (or use a stand mixer) for 3-4 mins or until the sugar has completely dissolved and the mixture is pale and fluffy. With the whisk still going, trickle the oil into the
