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Mulled wine cake with brown butter frosting - Shemesh Kitchen
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Mulled Wine Cake

Fluffy and moist (sorry) mulled wine cake with a super delicious brown butter frosting and orange slices. Perfect for fall and winter.
Course dessert
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 45 minutes
Resting time: 1 hour
Total Time 2 hours 5 minutes
Servings 6

Ingredients

Frosting:

  • 120 g salted Butter
  • 80 g powdered sugar
  • 1-2 tbsp milk
  • 1 orange fileted (for garnish, optional)

Cake:

  • 250 g flour
  • 50 g almond flour
  • ½ tsp baking powder
  • ¼ tsp baking soda
  • ½ tsp ground cinnamon or cinnamon stick
  • 150 g red wine
  • 1 tsp black peppercorns
  • 2 star anise
  • 5 cardamom pods cracked
  • 5 cloves
  • 3 eggs
  • 100 g white sugar
  • 100 g brown sugar
  • ½ tsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp vanilla paste
  • 75 neutral oil
  • 1 orange zest and juice (ca. 100 g)
  • 1 apple peeled and grated

Instructions

Start by preparing the frosting:

  • Melt the butter in a small saucepan and cook until bubbles form. Continue these activities until the butter turns golden and turn off the heat. The butter will continue browning in the hot pot due to residual heat, so don't wait too long to turn off the heat. Not saying we did. We didn't. Not at all. Really. Transfer the butter to a bowl and let it chill in the fridge for about 1-2 hours.

To make the cake:

  • Preheat the oven to 165℃.
  • Mix the flour, almond meal, baking powder, baking soda, and ground cinnamon in a big bowl. Set aside.
  • In a small saucepan, add the wine, peppercorns, star anise, cardamom, and cloves (and, if using a cinnamon stick, add it here) and simmer for 8-10 minutes on medium-low heat. The wine should boil or reduce and get really aromatic from the spices.
  • Whisk together the eggs, white and brown sugar, and salt in a large bowl. Once the gunk is very light and fluffy, start streaming in the oil while constantly whisking. Add the orange zest, followed by the juice, and the grated apple. Strain the wine and whisk it into the egg mix. Add in the flour and whisk until just combined and smooth – overmixed batter makes for dense cakes.
  • Transfer into a cake mold, and bake for 45-50 minutes, until a toothpick comes out dry.
  • Allow the cake to cool completely.

Finish the frosting:

  • In the meantime, finish the frosting by whisking the brown butter with powdered sugar and a splash of milk until fluffy. Artfully spread the frosting over the cake, and decorate it with orange segments. Eat it. It's moist.