I’m in love with this cake.

Perhaps that’s because it combines two of my favorite things: red wine and chocolate.

The recipe was published in "The Smitten Kitchen Cookbook" by Deb Perelman in 2012. In 2013, it appeared in the Spokesman-Review Food section in a story about red velvet cakes by my predecessor, Lorie Hutson. Last year, a friend make it for my birthday. This year, I finally made it myself.

It’s glorious – moist and dense with a hint of red wine and cinnamon. And it’s even more heavenly with whipped mascarpone, gently flavored with vanilla or cocoa and cinnamon – or both. Why not top it with two kinds, or offer a choice? You know, the more the merrier.

I doubled the amount of cinnamon in the cake batter, sprinkled powdered sugar on the finished product and enjoyed a slice with a glass of red wine.

It would be perfect for Valentine’s Day. That’s why I’m posting it here, for all of you lovebirds – or lovers of red wine and chocolate, a perfect pairing.

Red Wine Velvet Cake with Whipped Mascarpone

From "The Smitten Kitchen Cookbook," by Deb Perelman (Knopf, 2012)

Perelman has written that this is favorite birthday cake for grown-ups because the wine does not fully bake out.

For the cake:
16 tablespoons (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature, plus more for the pans
2 ¾ cups all-purpose flour, plus more for the pans
2 cups firmly packed dark brown sugar
2/3 cup granulated sugar
4 large eggs, at room temperature
2 cups red wine, any kind you like
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 ½ cups Dutch cocoa powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
¾ teaspoon ground cinnamon
3/4 teaspoon table salt
For the filling:
16 ounces mascarpone cheese
2 1/3 cups confectioners' sugar
Pinch of salt
¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
To make the cake: Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Line the bottom of three 9-inch round cake pans with parchment and either butter and lightly flour the parchment and exposed sides of the pans, or spray the interior with a nonstick spray. In a large bowl, at the medium speed of an electric mixer, cream the butter until smooth. Add the sugars and beat until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the eggs and beat well, then add the red wine and vanilla. Don't worry if the batter looks a little uneven. Sift the flour, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon and salt together, right over your wet ingredients. Mix until three-quarters combined, then fold the rest together with a rubber spatula. Divide batter between prepared pans (about 21/2 cups batter per pan). Bake for 25 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted into the center of each layer comes out clean. The top of each cake should be shiny and smooth, like a puddle of chocolate. Cool in pan on a rack for about 10 minutes, then flip out of pan and cool the rest of the way on a cooling rack.
If your cakes have domed a bit and you want nice even layers in your stack, you can trim the tops. Use a long serrated knife, held horizontally, and use gentle back-and-forth motions with your hand on the top of the cake to even it out. Share the cake scraps with whoever is around; no one will mind helping you remove "debris."
To make the filling: In a medium bowl, beat the mascarpone with the confectioners' sugar, pinch of salt and vanilla extract at medium speed until the mixture is light and fluffy, about 1 to 2 minutes.
To assemble the cake: Place the first cake layer on a cake stand or plate, and spread with one-third of the filling. Repeat with remaining two layers. Chill with cake in the fridge until you're ready to serve it.
Cooking note: This recipe makes a three-layer cake with three layers of filling.
You won't have enough to coat the sides - I liked the look of the cake stacked and open. You can double the frosting recipe to cover it, but I want to warn you that there is a bit of translucence to the whipped mascarpone and the cake is likely to peep through anyway.
Yield: 1 towering 3-layer 9-inch cake, serving 16 to 20.

Cinnamon-Chocolate Whipped Mascarpone

From Adriana Janovich

½ cup mascarpone cheese

½ cup heavy cream

2 tablespoons superfine baker’s sugar or powdered sugar

¼ teaspoon vanilla extract

¼ teaspoon cinnamon

In a stand mixer, whip all ingredients on medium speed until gently peaks form, about 2 minutes.

Yield: about 1 cup