Cherry-Chocolate Wine Spritzer Cake

Those of you who have had beer bread know just how delicious - and dead simple - it is. Possibly the most basic quickbread in existence, the original recipe is nothing more than self-rising flour, sugar, butter and beer. Thanks to the carbonation and "yeasty" flavours of the brew, the bread is lofty and similar in flavour to a yeasted dough, but it needs the hit of butter for moisture lest it turn to sawdust after cooling. As a result, the loaves don't store overly well, and are best (IMHO) dunked into soup or stew.

All of the recipes with the carbonated liquid / self rising flour combination I've found to date are on the savoury side - I've seen ones with herbs, garlic, cheese, chiles, olives... but never taking on dessert or the sweet side of quickbread. I suspect most of this has to do with the fact that the recipes are subject to drying out rapidly, making them less appealing as a stand-alone treat. That said, when I found myself with a few bottles of wine spritzer left over from a birthday party, a bottle of Cheribundi Tart Cherry Juice and a handful of dark chocolate chunks, I thought I'd try it out anyways. The combination was inspired by a recipe found on Nosh My Way, and by adding just a smidge of honey to the batter along with the basic ingredients I was rewarded with a sweet, tender loaf cake with just enough outer crust to slice cleanly. Inside, the melt-in-your-moth crumb held chunks of melting bittersweet chocolate and dried cherry "jewels" that held onto enough moisture that the loaf never dried out. The best part? This drop-dead simple, decadent and rich-tasting loaf cake only has 3 tbsp of butter and is laced with whole grains to boot!

Cherry-Chocolate Wine Spritzer Cake
Adapted from Nosh My Way
Serves 12
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 ¼ cups spelt flour
¼ cup sugar
1 tbsp baking powder
½ tsp sea salt
2 tbsp warm honey
3 tbsp butter, melted, divided
¼ cup Cheribundi tart cherry juice
12 oz. white wine spritzer (I used 2 bottles of Myx Fusions Moscato And Peach Wine Cooler)
1 ½ oz dark chocolate chunks
2 tbsp dried cherries

1. Heat the oven to 350 F and grease a 9×5" loaf pan.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flours, sugar, baking powder, and salt.
3. Stir in the honey, 2 tbsp of butter, cherry juice and wine spritzer. Do not overmix.
4. Fold in the chopped chocolate and cherries.
5. Spread batter in the prepared pan and pour the remaining butter overtop.
6. Bake for 1 hour, or until tests done.
7. Cool 15 minutes in the pan, then turn out onto a rack and allow to cool completely before slicing.

Amount Per Serving
Calories: 216.6
Total Fat: 5.0 g
Cholesterol: 7.8 mg
Sodium: 22.1 mg
Total Carbs: 37.9 g
Dietary Fiber: 2.4 g
Protein: 4.8 g