Happy Valentine’s Day! When I realized I’d be publishing a new recipe on Valentine’s Day, I knew instantly it had to be perfect, easy red velvet cupcakes. Is there anything better? For me, a classic red velvet cupcake has to be moist (I know, sorry) and buttery, with a perfect balance of cocoa and vanilla flavors.
Naturally, it must also be topped with cream cheese frosting. Is it even red velvet without cream cheese frosting? If that sounds perfect to you too, then let’s get baking!
Valentine’s Day is just around the corner, and to me Valentine’s Day goes hand-in-hand with chocolate! My husband is not a huge sweets fan (I know, just his luck to end up married to a dessert obsessed food blogger). But I do know he loves bourbon! So these homemade bourbon chocolate truffles are for him. Just a hint of sweet in the dark chocolate paired with delicious bourbon flavor. Perfect!
Easy, delicious and fudgy red wine brownies. The perfect Valentine’s Day dessert idea, girl’s night treat, or mid-week pick me up! You are going to love how seriously quick and simple this recipe is. Serve with ice cream and my red wine chocolate sauce for the ultimate wine-lovers dessert!
Whenever I do a poll on Instagram asking what recipes you’d like to see, recipes with red wine always make the list! And especially red wine and chocolate. So here we are! Deep, rich, delicious chocolate? Check! Full, deep and fruity wine flavor? Check!
I definitely wanted this red wine brownie recipe to have a noticeable red wine flavor. I mean otherwise, what’s the point? So I have two great options for you:
1) Use port! Port is a naturally sweet, red fortified wine. If you love red wine, I’m going to guess that you’ll also love port. Because it has a stronger flavor, more of that deliciousness comes through in the brownies. You can find port at your local grocery store in the wine section, and it is usually not expensive. I used this port from Maryhill Winery, since it’s my current favorite!
2) Make a red wine reduction! If you’d rather use your favorite red wine, you can easily reduce it on the stove. This will help concentrate the flavors so that you really taste them in your brownies. It’s super simple to do, and you can read about how I reduced red wine in this recipe for Merlot Chocolate Truffles. I’d recommend using any wine that usually pairs well with dark chocolate, such as Merlot, Syrah or Cabernet Sauvignon.
Brownie Ingredients:
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup granulated sugar
2/3 cups cocoa powder
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup butter, melted
1/2 cup port (or red wine reduction – see note above)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 eggs
1/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
Brownie Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease an 8×8 baking dish, and line with parchment paper. I like to create an overhang of parchment paper for super easy removal.
In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients, flour through salt. Set aside. In a large mixing bowl, combine the butter, port, vanilla and eggs. Add the dry ingredients in two batches, stirring with a spatula until just combined. Stir in chocolate chips.
Spoon the mixture into the prepared baking dish, and bake 22-25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out with moist crumbs.
Serve with ice cream and chocolate wine sauce!
Chocolate Wine Sauce Ingredients:
2 Tablespoons heavy cream
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/4 cup port (or red wine reduction)
Chocolate Wine Sauce Directions:
Combine the heavy cream and chocolate chips in a microwave safe dish, and microwave for 30 seconds. Stir until melted and smooth. Stir in port, and serve immediately.
We’ve made it to Friday! Another week behind us, and the weekend ahead! I hope you all enjoyed a wonderful Valentine’s Day yesterday. With the holiday on a Thursday this year, I feel like that lends itself to being celebrated all weekend, don’t you? And this easy strawberry bellini is a perfect weekend brunch cocktail!
