A Delicious Chardonnay Cake Recipe

I was first introduced to Chardonnay Cake during a visit to Millstone Creek Orchards in Ramseur, North Carolina.  The orchard, cider mill, cannery and bakery is not only a beautiful place to visit or pick your own fruit, but it is also a wonderful place to try fresh apple cider, apple cider slushies and sample various baked goods.  One bakery item that visitors must sample is the Chardonnay Cake.  The bakery item has notes of cinnamon, butter and other wonderful flavors that I cannot quite decipher.  The bundt cake has wine in both the batter and the glaze, however, the alcohol evaporates during the baking process.

This delicious cake created a lot of buzz among the group I traveled with while visiting Millstone Creek Orchards.  Everyone was in awe of this cake.  I credit Lulane from the Heart of North Carolina tourism team who shared that the wine cake was likely a recipe that could be found online under the name “crack cake”.  After this helpful tip, I had to bake one of these recipes and taste if the flavors were reminiscent of Millstone Creek Orchards Chardonnay Cake.

When I googled “crack cake”, I found a lot of the recipes varied slightly.  One commonality among all the online recipes is that they listed “any white wine” as an ingredient.  To stay true to the name of the recipe, I used a Chardonnay wine.

My guess is the creator of Millstone Creek Orchards Chardonnay Cake, knew that the buttery qualities of a Chardonnay wine would be the perfect ingredient to elevate the flavors of the cake.  I have little expertise in white wine.  As a result, I was quite overwhelmed choosing a Chardonnay.  After perusing the wine section at Earth Fare Supermarket, Vigilance Chardonnay caught my eye because it was sustainably farmed.  It also had a reasonable price point of ten dollars per bottle.  The full-bodied Chardonnay has notes of butter, baking spices, pear, apple and butterscotch.  All of these tasting notes made this wine a perfect choice for my cake.  If you live in North Carolina, Vigilance Chardonnay can also be purchased at Food Lion and Harris Teeter.

I baked a total of six cakes during this experimental process.  After so much baking, I found that each 750 ml bottle yields three bundt cakes.  Although I am not of fan of drinking day old wine, I did find that day old wine did not compromise the flavor of the Chardonnay Cake.

The first cake I baked, did not hit the mark with me.  Although it was yummy, I did not like the texture of the glaze and the cake itself was still missing a component that I could not pinpoint.  The glaze took quite a bit of experimenting to achieve the texture that I desired.  In addition to the glaze, I experimented with varying amounts of nutmeg.  I found the spice to be a welcome complement to the cinnamon, which is the only spice used in the “crack cake” recipe.  After baking cake number six, I finally arrived to a recipe that completely satisfied my taste buds.

Prior to baking this cake, I highly recommend preparing the dessert one day in advance of your party or event.  Allowing the cake to rest for 24 hours with the delicious glaze is an important step in the recipe.  Since the cake will rest in the bundt pan, it is especially important to properly grease the pan.  Millstone Creek Orchards Chardonnay Cake has nuts.  I omit the nuts in this recipe, since I often prepare this cake for parties and I want to be cautious of any allergies.  If your home is nut friendly, adding pecans or walnuts to this recipe provides a lovely texture to the cake.

Although the Christmas holidays have come and gone, Chardonnay Cake is a great dessert to surprise your honey on Valentine’s Day or celebrate with family on Easter Sunday.  On a side note, this cake converted a couple of good friends that are non-cake lovers into big Chardonnay Cake fans.  If this does not attest to how fantastic this cake is, then I don’t know what else to say!  Following is the final recipe for the Chardonnay Cake.

Chardonnay Cake Recipe

Dry Ingredients

1 box Duncan Hines yellow cake mix

¼ cup of brown sugar

¼ cup of white sugar

1 box vanilla pudding instant mix

2 teaspoons cinnamon

¼ – ½ teaspoon of nutmeg

½ cup of chopped walnuts or pecans – optional

Wet Ingredients

4 eggs

¾ cups of water

¾ cups of oil

½ cup of Vigilance Chardonnay

Baker’s Joy

Chardonnay Cake Glaze Recipe

Dry Ingredients

1 cup of sugar

Wet Ingredients

1 stick of melted butter

¾ cup of Vigilance Chardonnay

Tools Required

Measuring cups

Measuring spoons

2 mixing bowls

1 toothpick or fork

1 silicone spatula

1 bundt pan

Whisk, Kitchen Aid or hand mixer

Chardonnay Cake Recipe Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Grease bundt pan VERY well.  I like to use Baker’s Joy.  It’s fool-proof and I have yet to have any cake stick to my bundt pan.
3.  If you are adding walnuts or pecans to your Chardonnay, distribute them evenly around your bundt pan.   Once the cake batter is prepared, pour on top of the chopped nuts.
4. Add dry ingredients into a mixing bowl.  Whisk dry ingredients to remove any lumps and ensure all the spices are distributed evenly.  I like the extra flavor of nutmeg in this cake, which is why I add ½ of a teaspoon of this wonderful spice.  If you are uncertain about how you feel about nutmeg, add ¼ of a teaspoon of the spice or completely omit it.   My version will always have nutmeg!
5. Add wet ingredients to dry mixture.  Combine the ingredients until batter is smooth, but do not over-mix.
6. Pour the cake batter into the bundt pan and bake for 1 hour, or until a toothpick comes out clean.  In my experience, the Chardonnay Cake is always done exactly within the one hour mark.
7. Prepare the cake glaze ten minutes before the cake is done.
8. Melt 1 stick of butter on medium to high heat.  Add 1 cup of sugar into the melted butter and stir.  Heat mixture for a couple of seconds, but do not let the sugar bubble or burn.  Add ¾ cup of Vigilance Chardonnay into the mixture.  Once it is fully combined, remove from heat.  Do not boil the mixture.  Adding alcohol to the sugar and butter glaze will release steam, so be cautious not to burn yourself.
9. Once the cake is fully baked, remove from the oven and immediately poke holes all over the bottom of the cake using a toothpick.  A fork can also be used in lieu of a toothpick.  Be gentle when poking the cake to ensure it is not torn.
10. Pour hot glaze slowly and evenly over hot cake.
11. Cool the cake in the bundt pan.  Once the cake is completely cool, leave the cake in the bundt pan and cover the top with Saran wrap.  Allow the cake to rest overnight for maximum results.  My best results are achieved when this cake rests for 24 hours.
12. Once you are ready to plate, loosen the sides of the cake from the bundt pan using a silicone spatula or similar tool.  Be careful not to tear the cake.  Once the cake sides have been loosened, flip the cake out of the pan into a serving plate.  Tap the bottom of the pan gently to ensure the cake has been fully removed.
13. Serve, savor and enjoy each bite.  Repeat.

Although I do not have Millstone Creek Orchards Chardonnay Cake recipe, this alternative recipe is perfect and satiates my wine cake craving.  Ice cream, whipped cream and any other toppings are completely unnecessary for this cake.  Perhaps all you need is a piping hot cup of coffee or a chilled glass of Chardonnay to pair with a slice of cake.

Chardonnay Cake is a show stopper and a crowd pleaser.  Even though I baked this dessert six times, there were no leftovers after sharing this cake with friends and family.  I only hope you enjoy this cake as much as I do.  To learn more about Millstone Creek Orchards, the place that is home to the cake that inspired this blog post, read about my 36 Hours in Randolph County.