This wine cake recipe is a recreation of one of my mom’s signature bakes from my childhood! Made with port or sherry for just the tiniest hint of booze, this version nixes the boxed cake mix for a plush, homemade vanilla cake baked in a bundt pan.
Throughout my childhood, my mom had three main go-to baking recipes that I remember. This banana bread, the Neiman Marcus chocolate chip cookies and wine cake.
Wine cake was often made for bake sales, or occasionally for when people came over. After letting the steaming, craggy-bottomed cake cool in the pan, we would breathlessly unearth the whole cake by plopping it upside down on a plate and dust the top with a gentle cloud of powdered sugar.
The ridges of our bundt cake dictated the size of each slice (alternating thick and thin). The thick pieces were far superior not only for the obvious size difference, but also because of the greater surface area of browned, crisp-yet-tender crust that formed around the pale wine-scented interior. (The alcohol bakes out leaving behind the mildest of flavors, don’t worry!). I always ate the middle part in short geometric fork strokes, leaving the caramelized crusts for last.
In order to make a from-scratch version, I used this recipe as my inspiration to replicate a boxed mix cake from scratch. I also took inspiration from this DIY instant pudding mix and added a smidge more sugar and cornstarch to act as the pudding replacer.
In the end, the cake turned out so well! Maybe it was just my imagination, but I think the from-scratch version cake had a more natural, less synthetic-buttery taste to it. The crust was also crisper (major bonus!) and though I have to admit the crumb was slightly less fine, there’s still a really fresh and plush tenderness to it.
Why You’ll Love this Recipe
- From scratch ingredients: Our original family wine cake recipe uses yellow cake mix, vanilla pudding mix and Orville Redenbacher Butter Flavor Oil. While I love the nostalgic flavors, this homemade version uses standard pantry ingredients!
- Simple to make and decorate: Though I love a frosted cake, this cake is simple and perfect served with just a dusting of powdered sugar.
- Reverse creaming for a fine crumb: It’s difficult to perfectly replicate the velvety crumb of boxed cake mix, but the reverse creaming technique helps! Working the fat INTO the dry ingredients helps coat the flour in fat, limiting gluten development and resulting in a moist, tender cake.
How to make wine cake from scratch
Making this wine cake is almost as easy as making it from a box! It can be made in under 20 minutes using the following steps:
Step 1: Mix the dry ingredients and incorporate the butter. You can either do this in a stand mixer (my preference) or by hand. In a large bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer, whisk together the flour, sugar, cornstarch, baking powder, salt and nutmeg. Then you can use either a paddle attachment or your fingers to mix in the softened butter until the mixture resembles slightly damp sand. This is the reverse creaming step!
Step 2: Combine the wet and dry ingredients: In a smaller bowl, whisk together eggs, oil and wine. Gently stir wet mixture into dry ingredients until just combined with no floury streaks.
Step 3: Bake: Pour batter into a greased and floured bundt pan (a standard 10-12 cup capacity works well). Bake for 45-55 minutes at 350 degrees, or until inserted tester comes out clean.
Storage
This cake will keep, covered, at room temperature for up to 3 days or in the fridge for up to a week. It will also freeze relatively well for several weeks, wrapped well.
This cake makes for great holiday baking and gifting. Please make sure to leave a star rating if you tried this recipe–I’d love to hear your feedback. Enjoy!
Wine Cake From Scratch
Ingredients
- 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 ¾ cups sugar
- 3 tablespoons cornstarch
- 4 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter cut into chunks and softened to room temperature
- 4 eggs
- ¾ cup olive oil
- ¾ cup dessert wine port or sherry–we use port
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour a 10-12 cup bundt pan.
- In a large bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer, whisk together the flour, sugar, cornstarch, baking powder, salt and nutmeg. Using a paddle attachment (or your fingers), add the softened butter and mix until no large clumps remain and the mixture resembles slightly damp sand.
- In a smaller bowl, whisk together eggs, oil and wine. Gently stir wet mixture into dry ingredients until just combined with no floury streaks.
- Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake for 45-55 minutes at 350 degrees, or until inserted tester comes out clean.
Libby
OH MY WORD! I grew up with this cake! My mom made it at least once a month. She loved it so much that she would drive all the way to the city for the sherry when our stores didn’t carry it. I lost the recipe when my mother passed, and I am SO excited to try your scratch version!
erika
Aww I hope it lives up to your memory! I have to say, this does taste different from the box mix version my mom used to make (but would be happy to a copy of that box mix recipe your way if you need)!
Karen
My mom used to make the cake mix and vanilla pudding version for Christmas, but I try to avoid food additives. I was so happy to find this from scratch version and made it for a holiday potluck. Everyone loved it! I used sherry and increased the nutmeg to 1teaspoon, consistent with my mom’s recipe. Delicious.
erika
So happy to hear this–thanks Karen!
Dee
Thank you so much for this recipe! In my college days I used to bake a yellow wine cake using cake mix for my boyfriend. We loved it and I wanted to have wine cake again, but I left cake mixes behind many years ago. I looked and looked for a scratch recipe. Thanks again for this delicious cake!
erika
So glad you enjoyed it!!
Rena
My husband likes this than other cakes I made. Freezes great and very moist. I prefer a cake without frosting and this one is perfect.
Kimberlee Tanner
I lost my wine cake recipe that used a cake mix/pudding. I like the idea of making a wine cake from scratch, but I’m not seeing any pudding mix added to this recipe? Is it not necessary? Have you tried the scratch recipe with pudding mix too? Thank you for any response.
erika
Hi there–my family recipe used to use a pudding mix I believe! It’s not necessary (as in this recipe) but I’m sure adding pudding mix would probably make it tastier 🙂
Pnut
Try using cake flour instead of all-purpose. That will make the difference.
jan
Thank you! I just got the original recipe from my mom, but no way am I going to use a cake mix, plus _instant_ pudding. This looks so much better.
erika
Haha that sounds just like the recipe we use!!
Rachel
I made this for New Year’s Eve and it was a hit! Will definitely make this one again!
erika
Hi Charlene–so glad to hear it, hope it turns out similar to your old signature dessert!! I’ll have to check my bundt pan when I get home, but I think a 9″ should be okay. And yes, I would definitely still grease and flour the pan just in case!
Anne
Thank you! I’ve been wanting a from-scratch version of this for so long! One question before I try it: what kind of olive oil do you use, and if it’s extra-virgin (which I love for savory cooking), do you not find the taste a little strong?
erika
Ahh so glad you feel the same way! And great question–I generally use whatever extra-virgin olive oil I have on hand (often Costco brand, currently HEB brand). I use it in cakes, banana bread, etc and honestly, I’ve never found the taste to be too overwhelming (though I will say it’s possible my tastebuds have become desensitized to the flavor). You can always use canola or grapeseed or a more neutral oil if you wish! Please let me know how it turns out if you give this a try! 🙂
Koushik
Great recipe indeed.As olive oil is too costly in India,I tried it with saffola oil. The end product was too good. I also used white wine instead. Thanks for the great recipe.
erika
So glad to hear this, thanks for letting me know Koushik!
sonia
can i use a white wine instead?
erika
I’ve never tried, but that would be an interesting substitute. Unfortunately I can’t provide any guidance on whether it would work or not, but please report back if you try it!
Sarah Probst
You absolutely can. My mom always had Chablis in the fridge so it was her go to wine for her wine cake. My standard is Pinot Grigio or an unoaked chardonay and it is delicious. (I have been trying to figure out how to make this from scratch myself. Thank you.)
erika
Oh this is great to know since I actually have a huge half-opened bottle of Pinot Grigio sitting on my counter right now!! May give this a go for my Friendsgiving on Friday. Thanks Sarah!
Erin
‘m so glad you found me, ’cause I am so glad to have found you! Did not know wine cake was a thing, this looks gorg. Your pics are amaze! x
erika
Erin!!! That means so much coming from you, Miss Dessert Queen, because your photos/treats are GORGEOUS. Thanks so much for stopping by, I’m just thrilled!!
Julia
Ok. So my all time favorite family cake is called funeral cake, and it, too, calls for yellow cake mix and pudding!! What the heck is this weird tradition!? I’ve been making it for years the same way, but you have me all inspired to try making it from scratch! I also need to try this wine cake because I’m thinking I will love it.
erika
Ah yesss I remember reading that post on it long ago!! It sounds SO delish, probably needs zero from-scratch changes tbh. I need to try making it! And yes, these sound like sister cakes so I’m thinking/hoping you’ll love it too!!!
Katie
That’s hilarious. Yellow cake from a box is one of my favourite things, and try as I might, I have yet to replicate the delicious yellow taste in any from-scratch version. But I’m with you on the buttery flavoured oil being somewhat horrifying. I’ve never tried putting wine in cake before, so I’m keen to try this out. Also super curious to see where you’ll go with the blog in 2017!
erika
Ugh KATIE. It’s one of mine too!! Boxed yellow cake with that gross but delicious chocolate frosting from a can is like crack. Smitten Kitchen has a red wine chocolate cake that you should also put on your list if you’re venturing into wine cakes!!
And thanks so much, love you so much for still reading my blog after what feels like years and years!!! <333