Red Wine Sauce

A few months ago I made this Red Wine Chocolate Truffle Cake, which was fantastically delicious, moist and fudgy with just a hint of booze. I swore I'd make it again, and this weekend I did for a friend's birthday. The original recipe came from Angry Cherry, who paired it with a red wine sauce, but when I first made it I chose a cream cheese whipped vanilla topping. It was nice, but I just remember thinking that the cake didn't need it. This time, because I was taking it to a birthday party rather than to work, I tried the Red Wine Sauce. And WOW I am glad I did!

I used the same type of wine as I used in the cake, a Jacob's Creek Shiraz Cabernet, but I think it would work with almost any red wine. It just might come out slightly differently every time!

I altered Angry Cherry's recipe a bit, so here's what I did:

Red Wine Sauce

2 cups red wine

1 cinnamon stick

1 star anise, whole

4 whole cloves

1/2 tsp orange extract (the recipe actually calls for 2 x 1 inch slices of orange peel, which I would've preferred to use, but didn't have)

1/2 cup white sugar

Boil the red wine with the cinnamon stick, star anise, cloves, and orange until it's reduced by about half. Strain, stir in the sugar, and reduce by roughly another half (until it coats a spoon). Cool and drizzle over the Red Wine Chocolate Cake.

I thought the Red Wine Chocolate Truffle Cake was good before, but with this it was absolutely exceptional! I can't believe I didn't take Angry Cherry's advice and make it before. Just smelling the sauce was a treat. Slightly boozy with scents of cherries and spice...I'm going to dream about it and crave it constantly now!

Surprisingly, there was a bit of sauce left after the birthday party, so I took it back home with me and poured it over some vanilla ice cream for dessert the next day. This was also ridiculously delicious.

This sauce is so good, I'm sure it would go wonderfully on many, many other things. If you're having doubts, don't. Just do it. Make this. Now. I promise you won't regret it.