Doris’s Favourite No-Egg Chocolate Cake with Gaspereau Red Wine Chocolate Glaze

This no-egg chocolate cake is easy to make, with a rich but not overly sweet flavour. Finished off with a red wine chocolate glaze using Gaspereau Vineyards Small Lot Red, it’s Doris’s favourite for a reason!
Serves 12-16
Ingredients
(To be made in two 8-inch round pans, or one 9×13 slab pan.)
| 3 cups | All-purpose flour |
| 2 cups | Granulated sugar |
| 1/2 cup | Unsweetened cocoa powder |
| 2 tsp | Baking soda |
| 1 tsp | Nova Scotia sea salt |
| 2 cups | Cold water |
| 2/3 cup | Neutral oil |
| 2 tbsp | White vinegar, or apple cider vinegar |
| 1/2 tsp | Vanilla extract |
Ingredients – Red Wine Chocolate Glaze
| 1 cup | Gaspereau Small Lot Red Wine |
| 4 tbsp | Sugar |
| 1 cup | Dark chocolate, finely chopped |
| 4 tbsp | Unsalted butter |
Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease and line your pan.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together dry ingredients: flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt.
3. In a small bowl, add liquid ingredients: oil, vinegar, cold water and vanilla.
4. Add the liquid ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix until incorporated.
5. Pour batter into prepared pans and bake for 35-40 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean.
Directions – Red Wine Chocolate Glaze
1. In a small saucepan, simmer wine and sugar over medium heat until reduced by about half.
2. Remove from heat. Add chocolate and butter.
3. Let sit for 1 minute, then stir gently until smooth and glossy.
4. Allow the glaze to cool slightly. This can take up to 20 minutes. The glaze should be thick but pourable.
5. Place the cooled cake on a rack or serving plate.
6. Pour glaze over the top, letting it drip naturally.
7. Let the cake set for 20 minutes before slicing.
Wine Pairing
Gaspereau Small Lot Red is an ideal food wine, pairing well with slow roasted meats, tomato-based pasta dishes, BBQ dishes and dark chocolate. This easy-to-bake cake, with deep cocoa flavour, was a favourite of Doris Mullane (nee Hanrahan), a Halifax Explosion survivor, lawn bowling enthusiast, mother of seven and champion of the more-the-merrier mindset. Not too sweet, the cake’s moist texture works in harmony with the wine’s notes of clove and cinnamon-infused dark berry fruit while balancing the soft undertones of toasted oak and vanilla on the palate.
Local Source Guide
Baking Ingredients: Local Source Market, Masstown Market, Noggins Corner Farm Market, Uprooted Market & Cafe
Salt: South Shore Sea Salt
Credits
Recipe provided by Gaspereau Vineyards.
Photography provided by Michelle Doucette.