(Serves 10)

RED WINE CHOCOLATE CAKE

240 g    cake flour
80 g    cacao powder
5 ml    bicarbonate of soda
5 ml    baking powder
2,5 ml    salt
200 g    castor sugar
3    eggs
200 ml    buttermilk
300 ml    sunflower oil 
125 ml    Leopard’s Leap Cabernet Merlot 
5 ml    vanilla extract

POACHED PEARS
8    just-ripe firm pears, peeled
500 ml    Leopard’s Leap Cabernet Merlot
250 g    castor sugar
3    cinnamon sticks
6    whole star anise
20 ml    orange zest

METHOD:
•    Preheat oven to 180C. Grease a Bundt cake tin very well and dust it with cacao powder.

•    Sieve the flour, cocoa powder, bicarbonate of soda, baking powder, castor sugar and salt in a bowl and mix well to combine.

•    In another bowl mix the eggs, buttermilk, wine, oil and vanilla.

•    Add the liquid ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix until the batter is smooth. 

•    Pour the batter into the prepared Bundt cake tin. Bake for ±35 minutes or until a skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean. Remove from oven and cool for 10 minutes before turning the cake out onto a wire rack to cool completely.  

•    TO MAKE POACHED PEARS: Combine the wine, sugar, star anise, cinnamon and orange zest in a medium saucepan over medium heat. 

•    Cook, stirring for 2 minutes or until sugar dissolves. Add the pears and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat to low and simmer the pears,  turning them occasionally until the pears are tender. 

•    Cool the pears in the cooking liquid and drain once cold.  Keep the pears aside and boil the syrup on medium heat until reduced.

•    TO SERVE:  Drizzle some of the reduced syrup over the cake and serve the cake with the poached pears and more red wine syrup.