Chocolate Vino Minicakes

Wow, I don't know what it was, but being away from baking for so long made me forget just how much I loved it. I already posted once this morning but as a second Labor Day treat, I decided to make some cupcakes!

Shane and I aren't really wine connoisseurs. We just bought a wine rack and do our best to fill it and try new things. Mostly we have found we like Moscato. (I know, I know, it's a sweet dessert wine and we should be shot for pretending we are wine-ys.)  In our defense, we have tried several types of different wines. Maybe be just aren't wine people?

Okay so seriously, you're thinking, "Where are you going with this? Give me cupcakes already!" The reason I am talking so much about wine is because this recipe uses a wine that we discovered at BevMo! called "ChocoVine". We tried it and Shane and I agreed. It tastes like chocolate milk. With an aftertaste of turpentine. Now, the husband is content to pour it down the drain but having been really poor in a past (or current, really)  life, it hurts me physically to watch such an atrocity. So I decided to use it in cupcake batter.

Cupcakes
Ingredients:
1 c. ChocoVine wine
1 c. oil
1/2 c. cocoa powder
2 c. all-purpose flour
2 c. granulated sugar
1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
2 eggs
2/3 c. sour cream





Combine the wine and oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add cocoa powder and whisk until smooth.








Remove from heat and allow to cool slightly.

In large mixing bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking soda and salt.

In separate bowl, beat together eggs and sour cream to blend.
Add egg mixture and stout mixture to dry mixture and mix on low speed just until incorporated. (You may need to take it off the stand and use a spoon to scrape the bottom to ensure all ingredients are properly mixed in.)




Line cupcake pan with cupcake liners and fill cups 3/4 of the way full. Bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes for minicakes (or 20 minutes for regular cupcakes) or until a toothpick inserted in comes out clean.





Whipped Cream Cheese Frosting
Ingredients:
2 c. heavy cream

1 c. sugar
1 tsp. vanilla

8 0z. cream cheese


Combine heavy cream, sugar and vanilla into large mixing bowl. Beat until stiff peaks are formed. In separate bowl, beat cream cheese until whipped thoroughly. Add in whipped cream and beat until completely combined and stiff peaks are formed.


After the second attempt, I was able to perfect the frosting. The photo shown here isn't the original frosting on the cupcakes, but everyone at work raved about these. Hope they turn out as well for you!