Red Wine Cupcakes

I love wine.  I love chocolate.  I really like pairing red wine with chocolate.  Back in the fall, I decided it would be fun to make a red wine chocolate cupcake.  I know it sounds a little crazy, but if the flavors go together so well, why not try to turn them into a cupcake?  Since I don't really have a reason to bake very often (why make a whole batch of cupcakes just for myself?), I sorta forgot about this idea.  Until February, that is, when there was an episode of Cupcake Wars where they had to use wine in their cupcakes.  

So I did some research and saw that there are several red wine chocolate cupcakes floating around the internet.  For the most part they are all pretty similar, but not quite what I wanted.  I started combining the recipes and finally settled on a recipe that I really liked.  I also combined several frosting recipes to get the flavor I wanted.  I thought they tasted awesome.  You don't get a strong wine flavor (for those of you who don't like wine as much as me), but you get a light yet fudgy cupcake with an unusual zing.  And the mascarpone in the frosting really rounds out the flavor of the cupcake.  I recommend using a big, slightly spicy wine.  I have cinnamon in the frosting that compliments a spicy wine very nicely.  But it also works with a lighter red.  Just make sure to use something you like to drink, or ask the clerk at the wine store for something good and versatile in your price range.

The other reason I love this cupcake is that this is a very sophisticated flavor combination.  Everyone loves a good cupcake, but sometimes you need a more adult flavor than the standard chocolate cupcake you would find at a kids birthday party.

A couple of weekends ago, Mom and Krissy came up to celebrate both of their birthdays.  I thought it would be a perfect opportunity to make these cupcakes again.  And it was a perfect dessert to have after the kayak winery tour we did that Saturday.

Red Wine Cupcakes

1/2 c cocoa powder

5 oz chocolate chips

1/2 c boiling water

2 sticks butter

1 1/2 c sugar

4 eggs

1 1/4 c flour

1 1/2 t baking powder

1 t salt

3/4 c red wine

Mascarpone Frosting

2 T butter

pinch salt

4 oz mascarpone

4 oz cream cheese

2 c powdered sugar

1 t vanilla

1/4 t cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350 and line a cupcake tin with cupcake liners.

Stir together chocolate and cocoa powder in a medium heat-proof bowl.  Add boiling water and stir until chocolate is melted.  Set aside to cool slightly.  In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar.  Add eggs one at a time.  Add dry ingredients and mix just to combine.  Add 1/3 of the chocolate mixture and stir well.  Add half of the wine.  Continue adding chocolate and wine until all ingredients are just incorporated.  Bake in until all ingredients are mix chocolate and cocoa.  Spoon into prepared cupcake pan bake for 15-17 minutes.  Keep an eye on these!  All of the original recipes called for these to be baked 20 minutes but mine were overcooked at 18 minutes.

To make the frosting, cream together butter, cream cheese, and mascarpone.  Add cinnamon and vanilla. Add powdered sugar 1/3 c at a time, and beat after each addition.  Continue adding powdered sugar until you reach a soft buttercream consistency.  I like this frosting with a little less sugar than a standard buttercream, but you can add more if you like.