Rotweinkuchen is a German red wine cake that is infused with decadent chocolate and whispers of cinnamon. Serve it simply dusted with powdered sugar or finish it with a gorgeous pink-hued red wine glaze. It's perfect for teatime and holiday gatherings alike.
The name rotweinkuchen (pronounced rote-vine-kukh-en) literally translates to red wine (rotwein) cake (kuchen) from German to English. Rotweinkuchen is particularly popular in wine-producing regions of Germany such as Rhineland, Palatinate and South Tyrol.
This cake is considerably dense but extremely moist. It features a light cinnamon flavor which carries through the more dominant chocolate flavor. This red wine cake is especially perfect in the cooler fall and winter months because of its warm cinnamon component.
This is truly a delicious cake recipe that leans heavily on the addition of grated bittersweet chocolate, yet it's unlike any other chocolate cake I've ever tried. It's special enough to serve to company but irresistible enough to enjoy daily with your morning or afternoon tea or coffee.
Rotweinkuchen will obviously have a sweeter finish (and a bit more red wine flavor) if you opt to drizzle it with red wine glaze. Although you can add more red wine to the batter to yield a stronger wine flavor in the cake, personally I prefer the understated approach here. There's enough wine, in my opinion, between the cake and the glaze.
Ingredient notes
- Almond Meal: For this rotweinkuchen recipe you'll need almond meal or almond flour. You can easily grind your own almonds in a food processor or purchase almond meal at many grocery stores and online. I typically get my almond meal at Trader Joe’s or Aldi, although Whole Foods and Bob’s Red Mill brands also are great choices. Store leftover almond flour in a tightly sealed freezer bag in the freezer for longevity.
- Bittersweet Chocolate: I use chocolate with 70% cocoa, which isn't too sweet or too bitter. Use a good quality chocolate suitable for baking.
- Ground Cinnamon: The ground cinnamon in this red wine cake really helps it shine and adds a level of complexity to the overall flavor of the cake.
- Red Wine: Although this is called a red wine cake, the red wine flavor in the cake itself isn't very strong. Red wine acts as the liquid component in the cake batter (in place of something like milk for example). There's no need to splurge here, but use a red wine that's good enough to drink on its own. Bonus points if it's a German red wine!
How to make it
Brush the interior of a 9-inch bundt (such as the Bavaria bundt pan I used), tube or gugelhupf pan (with a 10 cup capacity) with soft butter and dust lightly with flour (knocking out the excess), or spray evenly with baking spray with flour (not cooking spray). Set aside.
Whisk together flour, grated chocolate, almond meal, cocoa powder, baking powder, ground cinnamon, and salt into a mixing bowl. Set aside.
In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes (PHOTO 1). Add the eggs and egg white, one at a time, and beat until smooth, scraping down the sides in between additions if needed (PHOTO 2).
Add half the flour mixture and mix on low speed until mostly combined. Then add the wine and vanilla, stir on low speed to mix, and finish with the remaining flour mixture, stirring just until smooth.
Transfer the batter to the prepared pan and smooth out the top.
Bake for about 50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
Remove from the oven, cool for about 15 minutes, then unmold the rotweinkuchen onto a wire rack to finish cooling.
Meanwhile, make the glaze (if using). Whisk together the confectioners’ sugar and red wine until smooth.
When the red wine cake is cool, pour the glaze over the top, or if not using glaze, dust the top with confectioners’ sugar. Serve.
Please scroll to the bottom of the post for the full recipe (in a printable recipe card) including ingredient amounts and detailed instructions.
Expert tips
Although you can simply finish rotweinkuchen with a dusting of confectioners' sugar, use a few tablespoons of red wine mixed with confectioners' sugar to make a posh pink glaze. Your cake will transform from rustic to refined in an instant.
If you choose to glaze it, I recommend setting the wire cooling rack over a plastic cafeteria tray or sheet pan to catch the glaze drippings. Then carefully transfer the glazed cake from the cooling rack to your serving dish using a large spatula.
This German red wine cake is fancy enough for guests and perfect for the winter holidays. It's also lovely alongside a cup of tea or coffee, and would also do nicely paired with a glass of red wine (of course!).
Grating the chocolate will be the most time consuming part of the cake preparation, but is well worth it for the results. I use a coarse Microplane grater to grate the chocolate. Keep in mind that larger pieces of chocolate are easier to grate.
If you plan to serve this cake to children, you can try swapping the red wine with non-alcoholic red wine just to be safe. You could also try using some grape juice mixed with lemon juice as another alcohol-free alternative. In that case, I'd entirely skip the glaze too.
Other recipes you may like
- Chocolate Cupcakes with Red Wine Buttercream Frosting
- Donauwelle Kuchen (Danube Wave Cake)
- Käsekuchen (German Cheesecake)
- Kirschenmichel (German Bread Pudding with Cherries)
- Wuzetka (W-Z Polish Chocolate Cream Cake)
- Zuger Kirschtorte (Swiss Cherry Torte from Zug)
- Pfeffernüsse (Iced German Spice Cookies)
- Basler Läckerli / Leckerli (Swiss Spiced Cookie Bars)
- Pain d'Épices (Bouchon Bakery French Gingerbread Loaf)
Tried this recipe? Please leave a star ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ rating in the recipe card below and/or a review in the comments section further down the page. You can also follow me on social media on Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest!
Rotweinkuchen (German Red Wine Cake)
Ingredients
Cake:
- 200 grams (1 ⅔ cups) all-purpose (plain) flour
- 140 grams (5 ounces) bittersweet chocolate coarsely grated
- 100 grams (1 cup plus 1 tablespoon) almond flour/almond meal
- 5 grams (1 tablespoon) unsweetened cocoa powder
- 7 grams (2 teaspoons) baking powder
- 4 grams (2 teaspoons) ground cinnamon
- Pinch kosher salt
- 240 grams (2 sticks plus 1 tablespoon) unsalted butter room temperature, plus more for pan
- 200 grams (1 cup) granulated sugar
- 3 large eggs
- 1 egg white
- ½ cup (125 ml) red wine
- ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Glaze (Optional):
- 200 grams (scant 2 cups) confectioners’ (powdered/icing) sugar
- 3 tablespoons red wine
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C) with the oven rack in the lower third of the oven. Brush the interior of a 9-inch bundt, tube or gugelhupf pan (10 cup capacity) with soft butter and dust lightly with flour (knocking out the excess), or spray evenly with baking spray with flour (not cooking spray). Set aside.
- Whisk together the flour, grated chocolate, almond meal, cocoa powder, baking powder, ground cinnamon, and salt into a mixing bowl. Set aside.
- In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Add the eggs and egg white, one at a time, and beat until smooth, scraping down the sides in between additions if needed.
- Add half the flour mixture and mix on low speed until mostly combined. Then add the wine and vanilla, stir on low speed to mix, and finish with the remaining flour mixture, stirring just until smooth.
- Transfer the batter to the prepared pan and smooth out the top. Bake for about 50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Remove from the oven, cool for about 15 minutes, then unmold it onto a wire rack to finish cooling.
- Meanwhile, make the glaze (if using). Whisk together the confectioners’ sugar and red wine until smooth.
- When the cake is cool, pour the glaze over the top, or if not using glaze, dust the top with confectioners’ sugar. Serve.
Notes
- This red wine cake is fancy enough for guests and perfect for the winter holidays. It's also lovely alongside a cup of tea or coffee, and would also do nicely paired with a glass of red wine (of course!).
- Grating the chocolate will be the most time consuming part of the cake preparation, but is well worth it for the results. I use a coarse Microplane grater to grate the chocolate. Keep in mind that larger pieces of chocolate are easier to grate.
- If you plan to serve this cake to children, you can try swapping the red wine with non-alcoholic red wine just to be safe. You could also try using some grape juice mixed with lemon juice as another alcohol-free alternative.
Nutrition
*All nutritional information is based on third-party calculations and should be considered estimates. Actual nutritional content will vary with brands used, measuring methods, portion sizes and more.*
renata
sehr lecker, danke, habe schon zweimal gemacht / very tasty, thanks, have already made twice