Cooking with Cabernet Flour: Blackmarket Bakery

(Last Updated On: January 30, 2015)

This past week I was treated to a Top Chef-like experience when I joined my foodie friend Marla from Family Fresh Cooking for a private cooking class at Blackmarket Bakery in Irvine California. Our class gave us the chance to experiment with Cabernet Flour, making both sweet and savory dishes.

Blackmarket is an award winning bakery in my area that has distinguished itself for it’s fabulous cakes and pastries and their brittle…. well it is just melt in your mouth magical. If you are every anywhere near the bakery (situated next to John Wayne airport) I suggest you stop by and buy some.

One of the unusual ingredients that Blackmarket’s chef Rachel Marie uses in their pastries and pastas that are made and sold on site, is Cabernet Flour. I had no idea what that was before I went to the class! It’s a secret ingredient that is slowly gaining in popularity and I can see why.

Cabernet Flour is made from the skins of grapes used in the wine making process. The skins are dried and ground into a powder that looks like cocoa and smells rich and earthy. It is gluten free and full of antioxidants, iron and fiber.

You don’t simply substitute Cabernet flour for regular flour when baking/cooking with it. You only replace some of the flour in your recipe – up to 15%. The possibilities are endless! Imagine a high fiber, high iron content brownie. It could potentially be the cure for PMS! When added to pasta, cabernet flour creates a beautiful black linguini that stays wonderfully dark and al dente and lends itself to lots of interesting flavor pairings. At the tasting my classmates prepared pumpkin filled ravioli and pasta with salmon jerky. Some of the other dishes pictured included cabernet flour swirled focacia with figs, gorgonzola & rosemary, cabernet flour dipped chili relleno and this Hazelnut Cabernet Torte that I helped Marla make. I’m a great nut chopper and batter folder….

If you’d like to try your own recipes & experiments with this magical ingredient you can purchase cabernet flour online. Here’s the recipe (courtesy of Blackmarket Bakery) for the torte I helped make. I was assured that it tasted spectacular.

Chocolate Hazelnut Cabernet Torte (Recipe Courtesy of Blackmarket Bakery)

Yield: 1 9″ Round

Ingredients:

• Unsalted Butter, Soft 6 oz (12 tbsp)
• Granulated Sugar 2 1/4 C
• Eggs, Large 6
• Olive Oil 2 tbsp
• Buttermilk 2 C
• All Purpose Flour 2 1/2 C
• Cabernet Wine Flour 1/2 C
• Baking Powder 1/2 tsp
• Salt 1/2 tsp
• Dark Chocolate, chopped fine 1/2 C
• Hazelnuts, toasted and chopped fine 2 C

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350. Butter a 9 inch round cake pan and line with parchment.

Combine buttermilk and olive oil and set aside. In a bowl,  sift together the flour, wine flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Set this aside as well. Crack the eggs into a measuring cup and let them sit out at room temp till tepid.

Toast the buts until they are golden brown, let cool and chop until fine. Chop the chocolate. Once nuts are cool, combine chocolate and nuts in a separate bowl. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle, beat the unsalted butter for 1 minute on medium low speed. Add the sugar gradually and beat the butter and sugar for at least 3 minutes, or until the mixture is pale and fluffy.

While the mixer is still going, pour in the eggs one by one. Wait until each egg is incorporated into the batter before adding the next. Before adding in the last egg, stop the mixer and scrape down the bowl and paddle to get all the sugar and butter incorporated. Add the last egg and mix until homogenous.

Stop the mixer. From here on out use only the lowest speed setting. Pour in half the dry ingredients and mix on low until barely combined. Stop the mixer and pour in half the wet ingredients (buttermilk and olive oil). Again, mix on low until barely combined. Stop the mixer and pour in 1/2 of the remaining dry ingredients. Alternate the last fraction of the dry and wet ingredients, alternating and mixing only til barely combined.

Stop the mixer and remove the bowl the bowl from the machine. Pour in the hazelnuts and chocolate. Using a rubber spatula, fold the chocolate and nuts into the batter, making sure to incorporate everything everything gently.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 20-30 minutes, until the top is golden brown and springs back. You can also use a toothpick to test the cake and ensure that the middle is baked through and not liquid. To increase the wine flavor you can also make simple syrup with 1/2 C water and 3/4 C sugar. To this add 1/4 C red wind and use this to glaze the cake while it is still warm. Remove the cake from the oven and let cool in the pan for 30 minutes. Invert the cake onto a serving plate once it is room temperature.

You may also choose to make a ganache glaze for the top of the cake. To do this, let the cake cool completely. Make ganache by boiling 1 C heavy cream in  a medium saucepan. Pour the boiled cream over 8oz dark chocolate. Whish to combine. Now, place the cake on a rack over a parchment lined baking sheet. Pour the glaze over the cake. The extra glaze can be left to cool and then used to pipe designs on the cake with a piping bag and decorative tip.