This mulled red wine cake has all the spicy, cozy flavors of the classic holiday drink! It’s gluten/grain/dairy free and BOOZY! What more could you want?
I did a thing.
I made cake batter with wine. Then I baked it. THEN I SOAKED IT IN A RUM AND WINE GLAZE.
Because cookies are good, but BOOZY CAKE? It IS BETTER.
I also added spiced mulled wine flavors to make it ULTRA festive and totally appropriate for any holiday where they may be a lot of family-antics, and you might just need a little extra somethin’ somethin’ to make everyone calm down.
Don’t lie. You already know what relative you’re going to be serving an EXTRA big slice of this wine cake recipe to.
There are times in life that you just feel really awesome about who you are, what you’ve become as an adult and where this crazy thing called life is taking you. Making this rum-and-wine-soaked cake, in all its SPICED and zesty-orange-y glory, IS YOUR MOMENT.
It’s like you’re being a master-baker AND mixologist all at the same time which, I think we can all agree on, is just the epitome of winning at adulting.
What is mulled wine?
Mulled wine is typically red wine (but can be white) that is infused with yummy, fall spices like cinnamon, cloves and star anise (just like when making chicken zoodle soup, this is key) and served warm. Typically, oranges are also simmered into the wine, to give it some sweetness and sometimes a sweetener is added. Sometimes you add brandy too!
Of course, we did that. I only had your annoying aunt Margaret in mind and it totally was NOT because I just wanted an extra boozy cake, I pinky promise.
But, I might have my toes crossed so that promise doesn’t count.
Before I take all the credit for making you the MVP of the adult world, I have to ‘fess up and tell you that this mulled red wine cake was actually not my idea. It was Mr. FFF’s.
When he isn’t too busy giving me very boring ideas OR ideas that are ONLY Cajun (Cajun Instant PotChili I am looking at you) he sometimes has this moment of clarity where I realize that his taste buds, liiike, actually work and are not totally and asleep, or are hibernating for the winter or something like that.
Mulled wine is sort of a special dealio to us, because we first tried it in Leavenworth (GOOGLE IT! SO cute) which is a little German town in Washington that we used to go to every Christmas before we moved.
We drank it on a horse-drawn carriage ride through the snowy forest and it was kinda-totally-completely MAGICAL.
And now, we love it and will drink it as soon as the temps drop below 75.
When he gave me this mulled wine cake, I immediately was A. excited because cake with booze and cake with my favorite mulled wine? I AM SO IN. but B. did not think that it would actually work because it would just be too amazing to exist on this world, and I didn’t want to get my hopes up.
But, liiike, you’ve had rum cake right? (please say yes, or I am SAD 4 U) It’s kinda exactly like that. BUT WITH WINE.
And brandy. And zesty orange sweetness and spicy-cinnamon, cloves and Chinese 5 spice! <– Which I actually didn’t add because I like to be creative and make things like five spice eggless vegan zucchini bread or healthy gluten free sweet potato muffins. I added it because Star Anise is the KEY player of this spice blend AND the KEY player of mulled wine.
So, this time? It makes sense because have you ever tried to find pre-ground solo-Star Anise?
TOO HARD.
Other things that make sense: having a slice of cake WITH a glass of mulled wine. Extra slice for crazy Aunt Margaret.
We’re going to get through the holidays one boozy bite at a time.
Mulled Wine Cake Recipe
Ingredients
For the Cake:
- 1/2 cup Walnuts (50g)
- 1/4 cup Coconut Oil melted + additional for the pan
- 1/4 cup Coconut Sugar
- 1/2 cup Honey
- 6 Eggs separated (at room temperature)
- 2 1/2 teaspoons Orange Zest packed (about 1 large orange)
- 7 tablespoons Cabernet Sauvignon at room temperature
- 3/4 cup Tapioca Starch (90g)
- 3/4 cup Coconut Flour sifted (66g)
- 4 teaspoons Baking Soda
- 1 1/4 teaspoons Chinese Five Spice
- 1 teaspoon Cinnamon
- 3/4 teaspoon Salt
- 1/4 teaspoon Ground Cloves
- 1/3 cup Dried Cranberries diced (47g)
For the Glaze:
- 3/4 cup Coconut Sugar
- 6 tablespoons Cabernet Sauvignon
- 3 tablespoons Butter
- 2 Cinnamon Sticks
- 6 Whole Cloves
- 3 tablespoons Good Quality Rum
- 1/4 cup Fresh Orange Juice (about 1 large orange)
Instructions
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Preheat your oven to 350°F and place the walnuts on a small baking pan. Cook until golden brown and nutty smelling, about 10-12 minutes. Set aside.
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In a large bowl, using an electric hand mixer, beat together the coconut oil and coconut sugar until mixed. Add in the honey, egg yolks (placing the egg whites in a separate large bowl) orange zest and wine and beat until well combined.
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In a separate medium bowl, whisk together the tapioca starch, coconut flour, baking soda, five spice, cinnamon, salt and cloves. Once mixed, stir in the craisins.
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Add the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and beat with the mixer until well combined.
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Clean the beaters off VERY well and beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form, about 4 minutes. Fold them in a little at a time, VERY gently into the batter until no white streaks remain. You want to be nice and gentle, so you don’t deflate the egg whites.
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Generously grease a Bundt Pan and sprinkle the chopped walnuts evenly over the bottom. Gently spoon the cake batter over top, spreading it out smoothly and evenly.
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Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 34-35 minutes. Once removed from the oven, let it sit for 10 minutes before you begin glazing.
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Once the cake has 10 minutes left in the oven, it’s time to make the glaze! Combine the coconut sugar, wine, butter, cinnamon sticks and cloves in a medium saucepan over medium heat, whisking frequently. Once the mixture comes to a boil, cook, stirring CONSTANTLY, until it begins to thicken and coat the back of a spoon, about 6-7 minutes.
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Remove from heat and stir in the brandy and orange juice until combined. Let sit while the cake rests for 10 minutes out of the oven
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Pour the glaze into a measuring cup and remove the cloves and cinnamon sticks (you should have about 8.5oz of glaze.) Use a long wooden skewer to poke holes ALL OVER the cake – you want to poke a lot of them! Pour all but 3 oz of the glaze over top of the cake. If it pools anywhere, just poke some more holes in that spot! Let the cake stand for 10 minutes to absorb the glaze.
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After 10 minutes, gently flip the cake out of the pan. Use a toothpick to poke mole holes all over the top of the cake. Using a basing brush, brush the top of the cake with all the remaining glaze.
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Cover the cake and refrigerate for at least 6 hours, up to overnight, so all the glaze gets absorbed.
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When ready to serve, let the cake come to room temperature and then slice and DEVOUR!
Notes
Nutrition
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