Baking with Dorie: A Seriously Chocolaty Cake
Here's an intensely chocolaty cake from Lora Brody, who made this when she came to Cambridge to tape an episode of Baking with Julia. The official name of the cake is Boca Negra, or black mouth, and the name aptly describes what your mouth will look like after one bite. I can't think of another cake that's this chocolaty (okay, maybe the Grandmother's Cake from La Maison du Chocolate) or this easy to make. And I love the boozy white-chocolate cream that Lora makes to go on top of it. (Attention: You should make the cream a day ahead.)
Lora suggested that the cake be served warm or at room temperature, when it's moist and dense, but if you like fudge, then you'll want to pop the cake into the fridge and have it cold. Either way, I know you'll be happy.
A word about whipping up the cake: You can make this cake by hand—a cinch—or in a food processor—even cinchier. It's easy no matter which method you use; actually, it's so easy that if you've never baked before, you can start here and be a star.
Photograph by Gentl & Hyers
About the author: Dorie Greenspan is the author of several books on dessert, most recently Baking: From My Home to Yours. Dorie can also be found at DorieGreenspan.com and on the Bon Appétit website, where she is a special correspondent.
Boca Negra
A recipe from Lora Brody, adapted from Baking with Julia
Ingredients
The White Chocolate Cream
12 ounces white chocolate, finely chopped
1 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup bourbon (or more to taste)
The Cake
12 ounces bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
1 1/3 cups sugar
1/2 cup bourbon
2 sticks (8 ounces) unsalted butter, cut into 10 pieces, at room temperature
5 large eggs, at room temperature
1 1/2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
Procedure
1. Prepare the cream at least one day in advance. Put the white chocolate in the work bowl of a food processor or in a blender container. Heat the heavy cream until small bubbles form around the edge of the pan. Pour the cream over the chocolate and process until completely smooth. Add the bourbon, taste and add up to a tablespoon more if you want. Turn into a container with a tight-fitting lid and chill overnight. (The cream can be kept in the refrigerator for a week or frozen for up to a month; thaw overnight in the refrigerator.)
2. Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly butter a 9-inch round cake pan and line the bottom with parchment or wax paper; butter the paper. Put the cake pan in a shallow roasting pan and set aside until needed.
3. To make by hand: Put the chopped chocolate in a medium bowl and keep close at hand. In a 2-quart saucepan, mix 1 cup of the sugar and the bourbon and cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the sugar dissolves and the mixture comes to a full boil. Immediately pour the syrup over the chocolate and stir with a rubber spatula until the chocolate is completely melted and the mixture is smooth. Piece by piece, stir the butter into the chocolate mixture. Make certain that each piece of butter is melted before you add another.
4. Put the eggs and the remaining 1/3 cup sugar in a medium bowl and whisk until the eggs thicken slightly. Beating with the whisk, add the eggs to the chocolate mixture and whisk until well blended. Gently whisk in the flour.
5. To make in a food processor: Put the chocolate in the work bowl. Bring all of the sugar and bourbon to a full boil and pour the syrup into the work bowl; process until the mixture is completely blended, about 12 seconds. With the machine running, add the butter in pieces, followed by the eggs, one at a time, and then the flour. Process an additional 15 seconds before turning the batter into the prepared pan.
6. Baking the cake: Pour and scrape the batter into the prepared pan, running your spatula over the top to smooth it. Pour enough hot water into the roasting pan to come about 1 inch up the sides of the cake pan. Bake the cake for exactly 30 minutes, at which point the top will have a thin, dry crust. Remove the cake pan from its water bath, wipe the pan dry and cover the top of the cake with a sheet of plastic wrap. Invert the cake onto a flat plate, peel off the parchment and quickly but gently invert again onto a serving platter; remove the plastic.
7. Serve the cake warm or at room temperature with the chilled white chocolate cream.
Storing: Once cooled, the cake can be covered and kept at room temperature for 1 day or refrigerated for up to 3 days. Wrapped airtight, the cake can be frozen for up to 2 months. Thaw, still wrapped, overnight in the refrigerator.
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27 Comments:
This is my go to Q&E dinner party cake. So easy and so delicious. Warning, cut very small pieces, it is so rich.
NO_Pam at 12:13PM on 01/24/08
This sounds absolutely amazing. I'm throwing a potluck soup party next week and clearly I've just found what I'm making for dessert.
Michelle Jones at 12:33PM on 01/24/08
No_Pam, you're right -- it's sooooooooooo rich.
I see that I left out the number of servings. The recipe says 12, but you might even get 14 slices out of it, if you're a good divider.
Michele, this will be perfect for a potluck - it's a good traveler. Let us know how it goes.
Dorie Greenspan at 1:09PM on 01/24/08
MMmmm...this recipe would satisfy my chocolate craving any day! Question: to make without booze, is there any substitution that would work for replacing the bourbon?
JEP at 2:02PM on 01/24/08
JEP, how about coffee?
Cathy at 2:19PM on 01/24/08
Cathy---hey, that just may be a great sub & I do love coffee---thanks!
JEP at 2:31PM on 01/24/08
Awesome, I was also wondering about a sub for the bourbon. Thanks!
mrsbao at 3:22PM on 01/24/08
Ooh, that cake looks amazing and decadent.
About the sub - I've used coffee or better yet, espresso, as a sub for both bourbon and rum in similar dishes, so I think that would work well. Besides, coffee goes wonderfully with rich chocolate.
jazspin at 11:12PM on 01/24/08
Just want to chime in with a "yes" for coffee as a sub for the bourbon.
Dorie Greenspan at 8:34AM on 01/25/08
Talk about a fast recipe turn-around! I just made this with espresso substituted for the bourbon and Valrhona Le Noir Gastronomie using the food processor method. Such a quick and impressive dessert, thanks Dorie!
kitchbitch at 3:56PM on 01/25/08
Dorie -- have you tried Lora Brody's recipe for Le Trianon, the dense chocolate cake that was the specialty at the long-lamented NYC bakery Colette? It's in Growing Up on the Chocolate Diet, and includes a very amusing story about how LB finally got the very secret, highly guarded recipe that supposedly went with Colette (the aponymous owner of the bakery) to her grave. It's very similar to this, although it's lighter, higher, a bit more cake-like and less dense and fudgy, with a higher proportion of flour.
Julie at 9:37AM on 01/27/08
Talk about a fast turn-around, is right -- wow, you're quick, kitchbitch
Julie, I remember the Colette bakery -- I'll have to go back and look at Lora's book. Thanks for the tip.
Dorie Greenspan at 9:27PM on 01/27/08
Made this today for brunch dessert for my family. Lets just say clean up was very easy since there was nothing left on anyone's plate. I substituted coffee for bourbon and it was very good.
nyalys at 10:46PM on 01/27/08
When you say white cocolate and bittersweet chocolate, are these the ones that are labeled "baking chocolate", e.g. the common "Baker's" brand found in most supermarkets? If not, what chocolates that are found in most supermarkets could I use? My local supermarkets have Cadbury brand chocolates and some sort of high end Hershey's and Nestle's chocolates (even though the ingredients for these are pretty much the same as regular Hershey's bars).
Also, won't covering the top with plastic wrap right after taking it out of the oven burn the plastic wrap? What's a good way to remove from the water bath?
bmorecupcake at 1:38AM on 01/28/08
nyalys, I'm so happy that you and yours liked the cake soooooooo much! Don't you just love it when clean-up is that easy?
bmorecupcake - if you can swing it, I'd suggest that you use one of the high-end Hershey's or Nestle's chocolates for this cake. While the ingredients in all chocolates are pretty much the same -- cocoa solids, cocoa butter, sugar, vanilla and lecithin or other emulsifiers -- the quality of chocolate, like coffee, depends on the quality of the beans, the way in which they're dried and roasted and then made into bars. It's too complicated to describe in much detail here, but if you ever get the chance to do a comparative tasting of chocolates, you'll know the difference immediately. And, don't worry about covering the cake iwth plastic wrap -- it won't melt or burn. As for getting the pan out of the water bath -- use mitts or a couple of dish towels. Since you only fill the roasting pan with enough water to come 1 inch up the side of the cake pan, you'll have enough room to safely grip the cake pan.
Dorie Greenspan at 9:22AM on 01/28/08
I made this cake for a dinner party, and it was a huge hit. However, I baked it a full hour because at 30 minutes it was still molten. I used a 9 inch pan, but it is barely 1 1/2 inches deep. If I had used a deeper cake pan, would the cake have risen higher and therefore baked more quickly? We skipped the white chocolate cream by the way, and no one missed it.
vickyb at 6:08PM on 01/28/08
So, just to be sure, don't use the "baking" chocolates, but just the regular chocolates? Hershey's and Nestle also have baking chocolates which is why I'm asking.
If using coffee, is it ok to put cofee in the white chocolate cream, too?
bmorecupcake at 7:58PM on 01/28/08
another wonderful recipe from Dorie Greenspan - yay!
gorzd at 8:41PM on 01/28/08
Vicky, I don't have a clue why your cake was still molten after 30 minutes. the fact that it was molten and that you were still able to unmold it is a miracle. I'd say that your oven temperature was off, but my bet is that you've checked that and have a thermometer, right? (It would have been too simple.) I can't come up with the answer, but I am surprised, since this is a recipe that's been around for over 10 years and has been made by sooooooooooo many people. Is it possible that you might have mismeasured an ingredient? I'm reaching here because I'm puzzled. Sorry.
bmorecupcake, you can use the "baking" chocolates, but you won't get a fabulous cake because the chocolates themselves aren't fabulous. It's true that Hershey's and Nestles have baking chocolates, but they have also come out with better quality chocolates and you might want to try them -- they'd be the ones that list the cacao/cocoa percentages on the packages (look for a bar that's over 50% cacao). You might also look for Lindt chocolate (it's often in supermarkets). When you're ready to break open the piggy bank, go for Valrhona, ScharffenBerger or Guittard. And, yes, of course you can use coffee in the cream (the color will be dark, but you know that).
Gorzd -- many thanks! I'm so glad you're enjoying the recipes.
Dorie Greenspan at 8:51AM on 02/01/08
Dorie, thanks so much for your response. I will try this again soon, as it is so divine, and see if I have the same problem. I may try using a deeper baking dish next time so it has more room to rise.
vickyb at 7:11PM on 02/01/08
vickyb, i also made the cake in a 9-inch pan that's less than 1.5 inches deep. i don't think the cake is really supposed to rise, maybe just a little bit.
30 minutes was exactly enough for me. I baked 32 mins exactly and felt like i may have overbaked it slightly. I was even using a foil roasting pan for the water bath that was barely 1.5 inches itself and it was still fine. I would recommend not skipping the white chocolate cream, it adds a very nice contrast to the cake. I hope you figure out what the reason was for your longer baking time and post back here.
Also, I had a very hard time transfering to my serving platter. The weight of the platter (before I could flip it) distorted one small edge of the cake. Next time I think I will use a lighter platter. However, is there any trick to flipping it onto the platter?
bmorecupcake at 8:54AM on 02/02/08
Oh yeah, and it was heavenly, I got a very nice crust on top of mine, loved it.
bmorecupcake at 11:26AM on 02/02/08
this did not work for me at all. i took the cake out after 30 minutes exactly and it was still shiny in the middle. in my gut, i thought that it wasn't done, but i second guessed that feeling and took it out. it seemed mushy and was falling apart. it wasn't done. i didn't know what to do, so i crammed it back in the pan and put it back in the oven for a bit. needless to say, it wasn't pretty, and i won't be serving it for my dinner party tomorrow, which is disappointing because i had already made the white chocolate sauce. i really don't know what i did wrong...well, except for the fact that i didn't have a round pan, so i used a square 9 inch pan. my oven temperature is pretty right on--although it is an old oven. any thoughts. i'm so disappointed.
anyway, your chocolate pot de creme has worked for me. so i made that (it was just sort of exhausting making two desserts after working on my main course for all day.) also, any ideas on what to do with the white chocolate cream?
AmyEliza at 9:12PM on 02/02/08
A 9-inch square pan has a lot more surface area than a round 9-inch pan. If the water bath was still one-inch high, my gut instinct is that you won't get the crust on top. Someone please correct me if I'm wrong. You can make brownies and use the white chocolate cream on those.
bmorecupcake at 9:50AM on 02/03/08
I made this cake over the weekend for a family party and it came out perfect! My husband loved it!
mstina at 10:20PM on 02/05/08
I made this for a family function and it was superb. So good with strawberries on top.
arianell at 4:52AM on 05/14/08
Just wanted to second some of the folks who had problems. I'm an experienced baker. I've made a fallen chocolate souffle cake for years, but thought I'd try something new as my party pleaser.
Had the same problem as most. Baked for 30 minutes, and the middle was 'molten'. Poured back into the pan with relatively little damage, baked for at least another 30 minutes then unmolded. It's sitting in a fudgy puddle on my counter. It certainly tastes fabulous, but I can't serve it to the judging masses.
What went wrong?!
Possibilities:
1) Mistakenly boiled the whole 1 1/3 c sugar with the bourbon to start. So I only added a few tbsp of sugar to the eggs.
2) I noticed that the chocolate had nearly completely cooled half way through the first stick of butter. It took at least 10 minutes to incorporate all of the butter.
Could these be the culprit(s)?
Thanks all!
Miss K at 10:24PM on 03/05/09