Tuesday, February 19, 2013

Tuesdays with Dorie - Boca Negra


Today´s recipe for the Tuesdays with Dorie group is Boca Negra or “black mouth” – which is what you will certainly have after taking a taste of this decadent chocolate cake. The incredible recipe for this chocolate cake was contributed by Lora Brody, cookbook author and “chocolate maven”.




The recipe for the Boca Negra requires but a few ingredients, namely, white sugar, bourbon, unsalted good-quality butter, farm fresh eggs, a little bit of white flour and a good amount of chocolate, 12 ounces (or 340 grams) to be precise. Therefore, to create a truly amazing chocolate experience, you really want to use a good quality chocolate. A huge range of eating and cooking chocolate is available in supermarkets and specialist shops, including chocolate made from organically grown ingredients and coming from Fairtrade sources. Make sure to seek out quality chocolate and the results will shine through. High-quality chocolate will make a distinctive, crisp, snap when broken, shattering cleanly. It should also start to melt when you hold it in your hand for a few seconds - the quicker the better, as this indicates a high cocoa butter content. I chose a wonderful dark chocolate from a local chocolate manufacturer called Coppeneur. After much discussion with one of the clerks, I settled on "Cru de Cacao - Puristique" with  66 % cocoa solids. Perfect.




The Boca Negra gets baked in a water bath for a good thirty minutes – the middle of the cake will be slightly fudgy and molten – before carefully being turned out onto a cake platter.




The texture of this cake is perfect. I followed the recipe as it is in the book and I have to say that this recipe will definitely make many repeat performances at our house. The deep chocolate flavor is a taste treat and we loved the creamy texture.




I served the Boca Negra with some unsweetened crème fraîche. The tartness of this wonderful rich French cream was a wonderful contrast to the rich creaminess of the cake. And next time I serve it, I will not omit it, it all works so well together.




We tested the cake at varying intervals and liked it refrigerated best of all

To see the other Boco Negra´s as prepared by all the other enthusiastic members of the Tuesday with Dorie group, please do click here.

The recipe can be found at Cathy´s blog –A Frederick Food Garden - "Thank you for hosting today´s recipe, Cathy"!


Sources:



38 comments:

  1. Beautiful job. The cake looks delicious:). I wish I lived close by so I could have a bite.

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    1. Geraldine, thank you very much - this fudgy cake was truly amazing and I am glad that I made it. It will be a nice dessert for dinner guests and I cannot wait to bake it again.

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  2. It looks absolutely divine Andrea! The baking time didn´t work at all for me, but I will stick to the original recipe (the nemesis) and maybe add alcohol if I feel like it. It is such a wonderful cake! Have a great week my friend!

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    1. Paula, thank you very much - this cake just got devoured and I cannot wait to make it again soon.

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  3. Beautifully done. My sister liked it cold as well, where as I preferred it at room temperature. I bet the crème fraîche was a great accompaniment with this.

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    1. Cathleen, the crème fraîche was nice but next time I bake this cake, I might try the white chocolate cream.

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  4. Your boga negra is stunning, Andrea! You were able to get such perfect slices. This is definitely a keeper recipe and I will have to try it with the creme fraiche next time as I do enjoy the sweet/savory combination.

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    1. Elaine, thanks so much - I just did it this way because I thought the white chocolate cream would overpower the cake but according to a lot of reviews it did not, so I will prepare it next time I make this cake.

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  5. Andrea, a beautiful post, as always. What a delicious looking cake, especially love your pairing the cake with the creme fraiche. Unfortunately, we couldn't bake along this time, but you tempted us now to try this one in the future.

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    1. Inge and Gillian: thank so much for the lovely comment - looking forward to your delicious gf versions of the TwD recipes in March!

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  6. That is one beautiful cake! Looks absolutely delicious. I preferred it cold as well (partially because mine turned out pudding like out of the oven! :))

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    1. Thank you - cold Boca Negra is absolutely delicious - I really prefered it that way.

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  7. A very lovely cake - I think the creme fraiche really finishes it off nicely. It's not the type of dessert I like, but it certainly can be striking! Well done!

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    1. Sara, I know that this cake was not much to your liking but I am sure that there will be a lot of upcoming delicious TwD recipes for you to enjoy!

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  8. Excellently done Andrea!! We too liked it refrigerated!! I went with a strawberry coulis to cut through the rich cake!

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    1. Sarwani, one wonderful recipe and delicious cake - wasn´t this rich but quite delicious?!

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  9. Great photos! I thought the chocolate cream was a bit rich and a little too sweet, so will try creme fraiche next time.

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    1. Thanks for the comment - if you felt that the white chocolate cream was a bit too rich, you might want to try and serve this cake with some crème fraîche.

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  10. An absolutely gorgeous looking cake…simply perfect! Love your photos, Andrea! This cake was a huge hit in my house…a definite keeper!!

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    1. Thank you, Kathy, glad you and your family really enjoyed this decadent chocolate cake so much!

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  11. Fantastic pics!!! Makes me want to have another slice right now! Great job!!

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    1. Sandra, thank you very much - this recipe was wonderful and apart from the wonderful taste what I liked most about it was the fight at the dinner table over the last four slices!

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  12. Just PERFECT, Andrea! This is how I "wanted" mine to turn out! Yours is exquisite, my friend!!!!

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    1. Liz, thank you so much for the terrific compliment - that means quite a lot from such a perfect baker as yourself!

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  13. Your cake looks absolutely delicious with a yummy, creamy texture. Mine was a little drier because I had to bake it a longer... probably because I used the chocolate I had on hand which was not of the highest quality. Thank you for the link to the Coppeneur website. I will look forward to trying something from your local chocolate manufacturer!

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    1. Hopefully Coppeneur will ship overseas - they might - but Lindt also has a wonderful dark chocolate called "Excellence" (www.lindtexcellence.com, also an exquisite choice for baking a fudgy chocolate cake.

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  14. I love these, They really look much better from what I see in stores.

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    1. Thank you, these fudgy chocolate cakes are hard to beat, especially when homemade.

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  15. Your slice looks so creamy - I am sure it was just perfect. How fun that you were able to use local chocolate - I think that being able to use local ingredients makes almost anything taste better :-)

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    1. Cher, thanks - we loved the textute of this cake, a first for me or us and certainly worth repeating.

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  16. Oh this looks SO unbelievably delicious!!!
    Mary x

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  17. Your cake looks absolutely perfect. What a wonderful texture! And I love that you paired creme fraiche with it. Truly a winning combination.

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    1. Beth, thank you - this cake makes you forget all the good resolutions about not eating too much chocolate.

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  18. As usual you've done an amazing job. This cake looks wonderful. I don't often bake, but when I do, I agree with you that cheaper chocolate doesn't compare. It's worth spending more for a quality chocolate. So often the cheap versions taste more like wax than anything else. Have a wonderful weekend. :)

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    1. Kristin, thank you very much - I try to bake a bit less sweet things these days and are making an effort to concentarte a bit more on bread, pizza, focaccia, etc. but I will certainly bake this cake again, soon.

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  19. What a beautiful and decadent chocolate cake! I love the abundant amount of crème fraîche on top too!

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    1. Nami, this cake was such a surprise to me - the family really really loved this one and it is indeed decadent and chocolaty without being too sweet - just a truly wonderful recipe.

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