Rich Dark Chocolate Cake With Red Wine Chocolate Frosting - cooking recipe

Ingredients

For the cake
240 g flour
300 g sugar
85 g unsweetened cocoa powder
2 teaspoons bicarbonate of soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons instant coffee granules
2 eggs
240 ml cold water
240 ml milk
120 ml sunflower oil
For the frosting
150 g unsalted butter, softened
100 g icing sugar
35 g unsweetened cocoa powder
200 g cream cheese
5 tablespoons red wine

Preparation

Pre-heat the oven to 180\u00b0C Line two cake tins with parchment paper and grease.
In a large bowl, mix together the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, bicarbonate of soda, baking powder, salt and coffee granules (ie all the dry ingredients).
Make a well in the middle and add all the liquid ingredients.
Use a whisk to mix together until completely blended. Don't be alarmed at how runny it is - it's much thinner than a normal cake mix!
Pour into the two prepared tins and place in the oven for 30-40 minutes, until cooked through - the longer you leave them, the drier they will be. I found 30 minutes to be fine for a light, moist cake, but it will depend on your oven. Use a skewer inserted into the middle to make sure the cake is cooked through. If it comes out clean, you should be fine.
Turn the cooked cakes out onto a cooling rack and place to one side.
While they cool, make the frosting: Put the butter, icing sugar and cocoa powder in a bowl and cream together until light and fluffy. Add the cream cheese and mix well. Then, add the red wine a little at a time until it gets a little runnier. Give it a taste; you want to just be able to taste the wine without it being overpowering. Place in the fridge for a few minutes to let it stiffen up slightly.
When the cake has cooled, spread the frosting on the top of one layer and place the other on top.