TWD: Boca Negra

Tuesdays with Dorie baking through Baking with Julia
by Dorie Greenspan
Contributing Baker: Lora Brody

Boca Negra - Spanish for black mouth.  This is what you will get after eating this - so the recipe states. I was imagining my teeth a freakish gray color, like after drinking red wine, and your mouth and teeth are tinted red. I can not say that I experienced this. Maybe it all washed away after downing two glasses of milk to help this delectably delicious cake go down.

Initially I was going to pass on making the white chocolate cream; but I wanted to use up the extra opened bars of chocolate I had laying around. I thought the cream would be too heavy of an accompaniment for an already rich cake. Boy was I wrong. The cream was delicious and the cognac (the recipe calls for bourbon) seemed to have given it a lightened texture - not heavy at all - a pillowy softness that melts in your mouth on contact. The recipe suggests that you make it a day ahead to give it time to chill and thicken. I made it the same day and placed it in the freezer for a short time to hasten the thickening of the cream.

The recipe gives you a choice of making this by hand or in the food processor. Both read to be quite easy to do. I always go with the hands on method and thought I would change things up a bit and use the processor. This cake could not be any simpler to make, and with such impressive results; an inexperienced baker could bowl over their family and friends with this one.

I served this with some rather tart raspberry purée, which was a nice contrast to the sweetness of the cake, and tasted really good mixed in with the cream. I'm thinking the cream in a somewhat liquid state would be great poured over fresh fruit, or served in a bowl alongside a fruit platter to be used as a dip.

I sent two slices home with my sister, and delivered a couple of slices to our daughter. It was a hit. Especially the cream!

Success meter (1-3): 3

I gathered all the white chocolate I had and came up one ounce short. Being short had no noticeable adverse effects.

The cream is made up of white chocolate, heavy whipping cream and in my case, cognac. Yum!
 

The cake itself is made with few ingredients: chocolate (lots), butter (lots), sugar (lots), eggs (lots), flour, and yes, more cognac.

I'm surprised there is not a warning in the book about cooking alcohol over an open flame. I'm fully aware that it can, and did ignite, still it caught me off guard (I was taking a picture at the time). The white spots are flames dancing on the surface of the sugar and cognac mixture.

You bake the cake in a water bath - also known as a bain-marie. The recipe says to bake for exactly thirty minutes. I had to bake mine for forty-five minutes before it achieved the thin dry crust on top.

Carefully remove the pan from the water bath and dry before unmolding.

The underside of the cake.

I came across the apron I made for our now grown daughter - look how tiny it is! (I thought I would keep the heart theme going here.) After inverting the cake to the platter it cracked... :(

Homemade stencil; oh the patience I once had.

I stenciled the cake while it was still warm. After a few hours all the hearts turned to a dark brown.
A slice of this cake will help mend any broken heart.

The recipe says to serve this slightly warm or at room temperature - it's great both ways. It has a soft, almost mousse like texture - some say it is similar to a pudding cake; when served cold from the refrigerator it is reminiscent of a chocolate truffle.

I hope everyone enjoyed their Valentine's day!

You can find this delectable recipe on Cathy's blog - A Frederick Food Garden, our host for the week.

Head over to the TWD website and look for the LYL: Boca Negra link to check out other variations of this recipe from the many talented bakers in the group.