White Wine Cake

White Wine Cake

"What's in a name? ...a rose by any other name will smell as sweet." Even Shakespeare thought about the importance of names. I am not a fan of "crack" recipes—crack pie, crack chicken, crack cookies, crack burritos, Christmas crack, etc. Really I'm not a fan of the recipe names. And, yes, I'm probably the only one with this hangup. Call me old fashioned. Yes. I am a bit of a prude. I'll even claim the stick-in-the-mud label. Using the "crack" label is supposed to mean the food is so good that it's addictive. But it bothers me when a recipe is named–even as a joke–after an illegal drug that has caused families much heartbreak. Thankfully, recipes can be easily renamed.

Having said that, and getting down off my soap box now, here is a recipe that I saw on Facebook a few weeks ago called "The Best Crack Cake." (That means there are other crack cakes out there?) I was intrigued with the recipe. I had all the ingredients on hand, so I baked the cake, thinking I'd call it something else. And then the very next day, totally by accident, I stumbled across a nearly identical recipe called White Wine Cake. It's a more accurate, for sure, so I'm going with that name.

I love homemade cake best, but there are days when a cake mix is in order. A day when I want quick and easy. This was one of those days. We were staying inside hiding from the storm that one of the hurricanes brought. And we needed a rainy afternoon treat. Daddy-O made the mid-afternoon coffee to go with a warm slice of cake, wonderfully moist and flavored with cinnamon and brown sugar. You can taste only the faintest hint of wine, but it makes for an incredibly moist cake.

Now, it's confession time. I really did read the recipe carefully. Really I did. And I knew the sauce poured over the top called for one cup of sugar. But by the time I got to that part of the process, I just grabbed the same little measuring cup I had used for the sugar added to the cake batter.

So my sauce was made with a teensy one-fourth cup of sugar. And it was perfectly yummy. I might use the full cup next time I make this (and I will make it again) but know that you can surely use less. Good to know if you find you are running out of sugar after the cake is in the oven. Or, maybe you can talk yourself into thinking it's a healthier cake if you cut back on the sugar. It is entirely possible that after I make it with more sugar, I'll decide I like it with much less. I've written this recipe with the lesser sugar amount. You can add more if you want it sweeter.

WHITE WINE CAKE

1 box yellow cake mix (I used Duncan Hines)
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup white sugar
1 small box instant vanilla pudding mix
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
4 eggs
3/4 cup water
3/4 cup oil
1/2 cup white wine (I used pinot grigio)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Mix all ingredients thoroughly. Pour into a well-greased Bundt pan. (I used a baking spray.)

Bake for 55-60 minutes, until golden brown and top springs back when lightly pressed. Take cake out of oven and immediately pour sauce over the hot cake. Let cool in pan until just warm. Turn out onto serving plate.

Butter Sauce for Cake
    1 stick butter
    1/4 cup sugar (or, up to 1 cup–to taste) 
    1/4 cup white wine

Melt butter and stir in sugar and wine. Stir until sugar is dissolved. Pour over hot cake. It will soak in as the cake cools.

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I used a little bottle of pinot grigio, the kind that come in a carton of four. These are good to have on hand for recipes. 

The cake is perfectly moist and delicious just as it is. If you want to dress it up for serving, a little powdered sugar sifted over the top would be all you need. 

I'm taking the rest of the week off to have a little beach time with the granddaughters while they are on fall break. I froze half of this white wine cake when I made it. Before I leave today, I'll set it out to thaw so that Daddy-O will have a treat while I'l away for a few days. See you back here soon.