I have been making a variation of this Chocolate Port Wine Cake for a zillion years that never fails to impress and can be made into cupcakes, in a bundt pan, or used as a layer cake with your favorite frosting/icing recipe. Swap the port wine with Kahlua liqueur for a delicious variation.
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Why You’ll Love this Recipe
I was craving chocolate cake but this time decided to add port wine instead of Kahlua and let me tell you…it’s a game changer. The port wine is not overpowering and adds a beautiful sophistication to an ordinary chocolate cake.
Love chocolate recipes? Try my Dark Chocolate Pear & Walnut Tart, my mother’s Chocolate Lovers Cheesecakes that I love serving for Valentine’s Day, or my favorite Double Chocolate Zucchini Bread that’s made with olive oil and is so delicious!
Ingredients You’ll Need
This recipe is super simple and requires only a few ingredients to make a truly delicious red wine chocolate cake.
- Devil’s Food Chocolate Cake Mix – any Devil’s food cake mix will work
- Sour Cream – lends added moisture and makes the cake tender
- Eggs – large eggs
- Vegetable Oil – helps keep the cake tender along with the sour cream
- Tawny Port Wine – is a red wine that is aged in wooden barrels exposing the wine to gradual oxidation and evaporation. This results in a mellow wine that is golden-brown in color with a slightly nutty flavor.
Frosting Ingredients
- Dark Chocolate – chips or chopped dark chocolate bar
- Butter – room temperature unsalted butter
- Powdered Sugar – often called confectioners sugar. Sift for best results and no lumps
- Cocoa Powder – Dutch process will have a milder taste, but natural cocoa powder will also work just fine.
- Heavy Cream – adds richness to the frosting
- Espresso – you can use instant espresso powder mixed with hot water or brew a shot. Espresso or coffee mixed with chocolate really brings the chocolate flavor to life.
- Maldon Salt – or other flaky sea salt that has some texture to it.
Find the printable recipe card with exact measurements and instructions below.
Substitutes & Variations
- Substitute Wine – experiment with different wine flavor profiles like: sherry wine, sweet marsala, or sweet red wine port.
- Add Chocolate Chips – stir in a cup of chocolate chips to the cake batter before pouring into the pan.
- Make a bundt – this recipe works incredibly well in a bundt pan and would be delicious with a melted chocolate drizzle.list items
Special Equipment Needed
- Stand mixer or hand mixer.
- 13″ x 9″ baking pan – I like the Fat Daddio’s brand but you can use a glass baking dish as well.
- Offset spatula
How to Make this Port Wine Chocolate Cake
This recipe makes a rich chocolatey cake that never fails to come out perfect and delicious. This is for a 13×9-inch size cake, but see variations above for other ways to use the batter for other cake dimensions. I hope you’ll love it as much as I do.
Step 1: Prepare the Pan & Preheat the Oven
Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Lightly spray a 13×9 cake pan with cooking spray and lay parchment paper so it hangs over the long edge of the pan by an inch or so. This will make removing the cake easier, but is not necessary.
Step 2: Mix the Dry Ingredients Together
In the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment or a large bowl, add the cake mix, sour cream, eggs, vegetable oil, and tawny port wine and mix on medium speed until the cake batter is well incorporated. Pour batter into prepared pan.
Step 3: Bake
Bake in preheated oven for 40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Step 4: Make the Chocolate Fudge Frosting
Melt the dark chocolate and set aside to cool.
Using a stand mixer with the whisk attachment, beat the room temperature butter, powdered sugar, and cocoa powder until creamy, about 2 minutes. Add the cooled chocolate and beat until smooth. Add the espresso and cream and continue to beat until creamy and smooth.
Step 5: Frost the Cake
Make sure the cake is cooled completely and dollop the frosting on top. Spread with an offset spatula and sprinkle with maldon salt (if using). Cut and serve immediately.
What to Serve with Chocolate Cake
- A scoop of vanilla ice cream
- Fresh raspberries, strawberries, or blackberries
Tips for Storing Leftovers
- For storing: store in an airtight container for up to 4 days in the refrigerator. Bring to room temperature before serving.
- How to freeze: wrap the unfrosted cake tightly in plastic wrap and freeze up to 3 months. Bring to room temperature before frosting and serving.
FAQs
Port (vinho do Porto) is a Portuguese wine made by adding a clear grape brandy to red wine during fermentation which stops the process and preserves the grapes’ sugars. Port is usually served as dessert wine but can be mixed into cocktails or used in sweet and savory cooking.
– Ruby Port is a deep red color that is fruity and ruby toned. The flavor is a rich red wine with hints of fresh fruit.
– Tawny Port is aged in oak barrels for a long time and is light brown in color. The flavor has notes of caramel, nuts, and dried fruit.
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Chocolate Port Wine Cake Recipe
Recommended Tools
Ingredients
- 1 box Devil's Food Cake Mix, such as Duncan Hines
- 1 cup sour cream
- 1 cup Tawny Port wine, or ruby port
- ¾ cup vegetable oil
- 4 large eggs
- cooking spray
Dark Chocolate Fudge Frosting
- 4 oz dark chocolate, chopped, or chips
- 12 tbsp unsalted butter, room temperature, 1 1/2 sticks
- ¾ cup powdered sugar, sifted
- 2 tbsp Dutch Process cocoa powder
- 1 tbsp heavy cream
- 1 tbsp strong coffee or espresso
- 1 tsp Maldon salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350ºF. Lightly spray a 13" x 9" baking dish with cooking spray. Line with a piece of parchment paper that hangs over the long sides of the pan. Set aside.
- In a stand mixer with the paddle attachment add the Devil's food cake mix, sour cream, port wine, vegetable oil, and eggs and beat well to combine.
- Pour the cake batter into the prepared pan and bake for 40 minutes, or until a cake tester or toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove and cool completely.
Dark Chocolate Fudge Frosting
- Melt the chocolate and allow to cool.
- Beat the room temperature butter, powdered sugar, and cocoa powder until creamy, about 2 minutes. Add the cooled chocolate, heavy cream, and espresso or strong coffee and beat until smooth.
Assemble the Cake
- Either remove the cake from the pan and place on a cake plate, or dollop fudge frosting directly on the cooled cake in the pan. Spread with an offset spatula or spoon. Sprinkle with Maldon or flaky salt, cut and serve immediately.
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Nutrition
*Nutritional information is not guaranteed to be accurate.
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Hi! I’m Heather
I’m Heather, a recipe developer and content creator based in Vancouver, Washington. I started Farmgirl Gourmet in 2006 because I believed weeknight dinners shouldn’t be boring and gourmet shouldn’t mean complicated. I’m also the co-founder of Spiceology, so safe to say I think about food for a living. Stick around for recipes that actually make it into your regular rotation.
Delicious! I will say some of the instructions here are unnecessary. I wish I had just used a hand mixer for everything instead of lugging out the stand mixer. Also, waiting for the cake to cool before adding the icing would prevent some melting but regardless the whole thing was great. not too sweet with the port wine really shinning.
I truly love this recipe and hope you will too!! <3