Chocolate Chianti Cake

I hope everyone had a  wonderful Holiday season! My waistline and I both thoroughly enjoyed our time with family and friends, eating away the days with delicious treats.  Alas, we all have to return to the real world eventually.  As I try to get back into the swing of things, I find myself preparing for the year ahead.  This year, this involves getting ready for a beautiful wedding between two amazing people who I went to high school with.  Unfortunately, their taste buds haven't had the pleasure of tasting any of my confections yet so I'm holding a little cake tasting for them.  This is fun, not only for them, but also for me because I get to make a couple different kinds of cake and frostings and fillings!  I hope they can find a combination that they love!

One of the combinations I made for them is this Chocolate Chianti Cake.  Have you ever had chianti?  It's a red wine, that has fruity notes to it and pairs really well with chocolate.  I first made this cake when I created a wedding cake for two back in high school.  This recipe is adapted from the wonderful Sprinkle Bakes blog which I love and read regularly.  She made cupcakes but it works just as well in a cake form.  And what can be more romantic at a wedding than a fruity chocolate wine cake?  I hope they like it! Apparently my family also enjoyed eating the extras.