Around the holidays our thoughts turn to cooking and baking, not that we don’t think about that the whole year around. This time of the year we do put a little more effort into making something special to share with family and friends. Our thoughts were on sublime wine and food pairings when we received an email asking us if we would review a red wine called “Fergalicious.” Our first thought was “what on earth is Fergalicious wine?” We thought we knew most of the wineries in Santa Ynez, but have never heard about a Fergalicious red blend from Ferguson Crest in Solvang.
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After a few days we checked it out online and to our surprise found out that the wine is made by rock singer Fergie Duhamel (you may know her as the lead singer of the Black Eyed Peas or from her solo career as Fergie) and her dad Pat Ferguson. At first we were a little skeptical about another celebrity wine, but we were familiar with the winemaker Joey Tensley and liked Fergie’s music so we thought why not give it a try. After responding to the email, we were now eagerly awaiting the arrival of the bottle because the blend of Syrah, Merlot, Grenache, and Cabernet Sauvignon sounded so intriguing and all those varietals thrive really well in the Santa Ynez Valley of Santa Barbara County.
As soon as the bottle arrived we just had to try it. The initial sip was a little hot on alcohol, but after letting it breath for a few minutes oh boy we were pleasantly surprised! In minutes the bouquet evolved into rich dark wild berry and jammy notes laced with fragrant violets and a touch of earth, like a melodic Black Eyed Peas jam session middle of a wild berry patch in the woods.
We are always thinking about chocolate and this wine seriously called for something decadent so we created a Fergalicious Chocolate Cake with Blackberry Coulis. Originally we planned to make a roast with this wine, but this playful nectar kept making us thick of desserts, more precisely chocolate desserts.
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The wine is produced under the label Ferguson Crest and Pat Ferguson, who is a framer at heart, called it Fergalicious, after his daughters vibrant fun personality. On the nose it was aromas of blackberry, blueberry, and spicy peppers laced with rose petals. On the palate Ferguson Crest Fergalicious has flavors of wild berries and licorice followed by sweet cherry, blueberries, and a berry jam.
Also hints of violet, leather, dark cocoa, red currant, spice and pepper. This complex, multilayered smooth sexy wine had a long finish with great balance and structure with flavors of blueberry, raspberry and smoke. Sophisticated but playful and entertaining your palate from the first to the last sip. The complexity get stronger as it rest in the glass just like a good relation ship.
We got really fancy with this darling little cake and used a generous amount (for the petite size) of rich, dark chocolate and topped it with fresh blackberries from the Santa Barbara Farmer’s Market. After looking closer at our creation we decided it was not “Glamorous” or “Fergalicious” enough and with the Holidays only a few days away we thought the cake and us are in the need of a glamorous touch.
While we were sipping a little of Fergie’s wine (to learn more about the lovely flavors and aromas of course) we had an ‘ah ha’ moment that the Holidays need more sparkles….and so we came up with the idea of gold flakes, which made us giddy with excitement. So off we sent Paul our food forager to find the perfect gold flakes that we had in mind, but he could not find them anywhere in town. Why should anybody find edible gold flakes in spur of the moment, right? Lucky for us he did find gold dust at Sur La Table and Corina gently sprinkled the cake (and herself) with those fairy dust sparkles.
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Because this dreamy cake is created from only a few ingredients and has no refined sugar or flour it is a perfect treat for a low-carb and gluten free diet. Manny people think that chocolate is bad for you but in truth it is the added refined sugar that makes chocolate unhealthy. So lets rejoice because chocolate has a lot of health benefits! As committed chocoholics we are so happy to know that cocoa boosts endorphins (which is antidepressant and lifts your mood) and has lots of antioxidants. The higher the cocoa content, the less carbohydrates it has. See all these are such superb reasons to eat more chocolate!
You can prepare the Fergalicious Chocolate Cake with Chocolate Ganache a day or two ahead and serve it at room temperature with a little warm Blackberry Coulis on the plate. It’s the ideal dessert for any special date night or holiday get-together. Sorry, we don’t have Fergie popping out of our cake like in the music video, but as she sings in her song it’s “so delicious.”
Fergalicious Chocolate Cake with Blackberry Coulis
Ingredients
Chocolate Cake
- 7 oz 200g Dark Chocolate 85% - we used Lindt
- 1/2 cup 110g Unsalted Butter
- 1/2 cup Coconut Sugar
- Pinch of Sea Salt
- 2 Tbsp Red Wine Reduction or you can use Berry Juice
- 3 Organic Eggs - room temperature
- 1/4 cup Organic Unsweetened Cocoa Powder
Chocolate Ganache
- 3.5 oz 100g Dark Chocolate 85% - we used Lindt
- 3 Tbsp Unsalted Butter
- 2 Tbsp Red Wine Reduction or you can use Berry Juice
- 8 oz Fresh Blackberries for decoration
Blackberry Coulis
- 8 oz Blackberries fresh or frozen
- 1/2 cup Red Wine - we used Fergalicious red blend
- 3 Tbsp Coconut Sugar or Organic Raw Honey
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- Butter a 6-inch round baking pan with removable bottom. Fit a piece of round parchment paper on bottom of the pan and grease the paper too.
- Heat up a double boiler or a saucepan filled with a little water. Set a glass bowl over the saucepan and melt chocolate with butter, stirring until silky. Carefully remove top of double boiler or glass bowl from heat and let it cool for 10 to 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Combine eggs, sugar and sea salt in a large mixing bowl and beat for 5 to 7 minutes, until batter becomes thick and foamy.
- With a spatula or wooden spoon fold the chocolate mixture into the egg and sugar batter.
- Slowly sift cocoa powder over the chocolate batter and gently stir until well combined.
- Pour batter into the prepared pan and bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until top has formed a thin crust and the the cake is firm looking. It will become more dense after cooling.
- Let the cake cool in pan at least 20 minutes and invert onto a parchment paper prepared serving plate.
- For the Chocolate Ganache glaze, melt chocolate with butter in your double boiler or glass bowl on top of a saucepan with simmering water. Stir until very smooth then add the wine sauce. Remove from heat and let it cool while gently stirring.
- Pour the Chocolate Ganache over cake and let it cool for at least 30 minutes before decorating with edible gold dust and berries.
- Serve it with 2 to 3 tablespoon of Blackberry Coulis.
For the Blackberry Coulis
- Pour the wine into a blender and add the blackberries and coconut sugar. Pulse a few times until pureed. In a medium sauce pan bring the berry puree to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes while stirring occasionally. The mixture will become thicker.
- Place a sieve over a glass bowl and strain in the berry coulis. Whisk in more coconut sugar if you like it sweeter. Let it cool and keep refrigerated until ready to serve, or for up to a week.
Notes
Diet: Low-carb, Diabetic Friendly, Gluten-Free
Wine: Ferguson Crest Fergalicious 2012
Region: Solvang, Santa Ynez Valley, Santa Barbara County, California
Winery: Ferguson Crest
Varietal: Red Blend 56% Syrah, 25% Merlot, 13% Grenache, 6% Cabernet Sauvignon
Color: Dark red with purple hues
Body: Medium
Nose: Blackberry, blueberry, peppers
Taste: Licorice, wild berries, violet, leather, sweet cherry, berry jam, dark cocoa, red currant, spice, pepper. Complex, multilayered smooth & sexy nectar. Long finish, great balance and structure, blueberry, raspberry and smoke. Sophisticated but playful, entertaining your palette from first to the last sip.
Where to buy: Fergusoncrest.com use the code FERGIEBLOG2014 to get 10% off.
Price: $40
Glamorous Pairings: Fergalicious Chocolate Cake with Blackberry Coulis
Lamb Roast, Bacon Burger
Slow Cooked Beef
We think this decadent Fergalicous Chocolate cake with Blackberry Coulis is a perfect little dessert to share with friends while you sip a glass of smooth Fergalicious red blend. Since it is Corina’s Birthday today she will be having two pieces of this decadent dessert!
It’s look amazing wanna eat this……………. thanks for a wonderful and delicious recipe.
Such a lovely cake. I made it this evening and this satisfied my need for something low carb and yum. I substituted wine with oil as I didn’t have wine or berry juice replaced coconut sugar with xylitol and my icing was very rich 90% chocolate from Lindt with some cream so it sets it quicker. And replaced 85% with 90%. So versatile and amazing. Thank you this is going to be my go to cake. Rich ingredients with even richer and fulfilling taste. Thank you 😍
Your chocolate cake is definitely decadently divine and delicious! I would love a piece of that Fergalicious cake drizzles with berry coulis.
Super job on that cake…so rich and dark. Your photos are enticing. (Nice to know where to find gold dust too.)
Love the idea of this wine….will look for it in my area. Clever to make the wine reduction and those dark berries are the perfect finishing touch.
Elegant and beautiful, both the cake and the photography and I am intrigued about this red wine!
looks amazing and what a fab blog you have
Such a decadent and deliciously gorgeous cake, it is Fergalicious for sure and were glamorous. I really want a glamorous bite of it! 🙂
That is a great description Margarette! Wishing you a Happy Holiday!
A super moist flourless cake that is to die for, garnished with a coulis made from a wine with aromas of blackberry, blueberry, and spicy peppers laced with rose petals. Wow! This is THE CAKE!
I hope you both had a very Merry Xmas… May 2015 be even more fantastic than 2014.
We are glad you enjoyed the wine and chocolate cake Denise. The blackberry coulis harmonizes the chocolate flavors and gives recipe a little healthy fruit. We had a lovely Christmas with family and friends and wish you a wonderful New Year as well!
Oh my GOD this is one incredible chocolate cake! Love that you used blackberries too – they just happen to be one my favourite fruits. Definitely craving this dessert right now!
We are glad you enjoyed the cake photos Thalia. The blackberry coulis is also nice to drizzle over ice cream and many other desserts.
Wow, this cake looks so rich! beautiful pictures as well! Thanks for sharing!
Thank you, and Happy Holidays!
Decadent—just flat out decadent. Which is a major compliment. Dark chocolate and wine—what a finish to a dinner. Photos were great. I loved the recipe and the post.
Merry Xmas/Happy Holidays!!!!!
Why wait for dinner, it is good for breakfast too! Thank you Carol, we are so glad you enjoyed the photos and wish you a wonderful holiday season!
Mmm, I love how dense and rich this cake looks –and please, cover me in the fairy dust–I’ll take a bit of ganache, too!
The fairy dust makes everything better! Happy Holidays!
Love the last pic at the fireplace! I want to be there too right now and have Fergie’s wine and a piece of Fergalucious Chocolate Cake.
Glad you enjoyed! We will save a pice for you Marcus. 🙂
Awesome cake and review! What’s better than chocolate with red wine? Fergalicious chocolate cake with Fergie’s wine in it and next to it! Happy Holidays!
Haha you are right Steve, that is a Fergalicious pairing! Have a great holiday!
Your Fergalicious Chocolate Cake looks simply divine and the wine flavors sound so wonderful! I have a couple Black Eyed Peas songs in my iPod so know of Fergie, but this California wine is new to me.
We were surprised by the complexity of the flavors and really enjoyed the balanced structure of the Ferglaicious wine. It would also pair nicely with lamb or slow cooked beef.
So moist, rich and luscious..the cake is a stunner! And I love those pretty photos..
Have a happy and fun holiday season!
Angie
We are glad you enjoyed the chocolate cake photos! Happy Holidays!
that cake looks amazing! So decadent and perfect for this time of the year. Not knowing the price of wine where you are, $40 sounds expensive to me 🙂
Several of the wineries in the area have red blends from about $20 to $60 and more, depending on the vintage. Wishing you a Happy Holiday Tandy!
Love this, for so many reasons. The wine, a must try from the description of the flavor notes, and the dessert, that sounds beyond fabulous! Thank you for yet another inspiring dessert and wine combination, ladies. Happy Holidays Judit and Corina.
We are glad you enjoyed the recipe and wine review Liddy! We also wish you a wonderful holiday and fabulous New Year!
I reckon your cake is one of the most beautiful cakes I have seen this festive season! Love the moist chocolatey goodness 😀
And Fergie would definitely appreciate this fab recipe 😀
Happy Holidays!
Choc Chip Uru
Thank you Choc Chip Uru for the kind compliment! We first thought to make a main, but that would not have been as ‘Fergalicious’ as chocolate cake. We wish you a wonderful holiday and New Year!