Holiday food should be something special, don’t you think? When I think about food this time of year, I think about decadence and ingredients that are just a little extra special. But, let’s be honest, I don’t have boundless time or energy (especially around the holidays!). So I need something amazing, delicious, and easy. No problem, right?

Actually, this recipe meets all of that criteria! Easy to make, using simple ingredients, it brings all the wow without the work. Read on for my gluten free red wine cake.

Recipe

Makes one 8×8″ cake

Cake:

1/2 cup butter

1 cup brown sugar

2 large eggs

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 cup red wine

1 cup gf flour

1/4 cup cocoa powder, heaped

1/2 tsp baking soda

Frosting:

1/2 cup butter

3 cups confectioner’s sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

For cake:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and grease 8×8″ pan.

Whisk together dry cake ingredients.

In a separate bowl, whisk together wet ingredients. Gradually mix into dry ingredients.

Pour mixture into prepared pan and bake 30-35 minutes, until cooked through. Allow to cool.

For frosting:

Place butter in a mixing bowl and beat until smooth and creamy. Slowly add icing sugar until well-combined. Add vanilla. Chill before frosting.

Once cooled, frost top of cake with frosting (if desired, cut cake in half horizontally. Frost bottom layer, then top with second layer; then frost top of cake). Top with sprinkles if desired. Keeps well in the fridge for 2-3 days. Freezes for 3 months.

Notes

This recipe works well with dairy-free butter substitutes, such as margarine or lactose-free butter.

Brown sugar can be substituted for cane sugar or another sweetener of your choice. Granulated sugar of some kind (as opposed to honey, applesauce, or another liquid sweetener) adds a crispiness and rise to the cake that’s hard to get otherwise.

In place of the two eggs, you could substitute 1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce, and 1 Tbsp white vinegar + 1 tsp baking soda.

This recipe is written to include red wine, for its richness of flavor. If you do not drink alcohol, you could experiment with baking liquors, chocolate sauces, etc. If you prefer not to have any of these, simply substitute with an equal amount of liquid, such as milk.

1:1 gluten free flour works great for this recipe, or feel free to use your flour blend of choice.

Enjoy!