Kitchen Conundrum

  • Home
  • About
  • Eat
    • Appetizers
    • Bread
    • Breakfast & Brunch
    • Desserts
    • Fish
    • Meats
    • Pasta
    • Poultry
    • Side Dishes
    • Sauces, Dressings and Condiments
    • Soup and Stews
    • Vegetables
  • Drink
    • Beer
    • Cocktails
    • Wine
  • Recipe Index
  • Travel
    • NYC/Metro
    • Cambodia
    • England
    • France
    • Greece
    • Italy
    • Spain
    • Vietnam
  • Kitchen Sink
    • Classes
    • Contests
    • Cookbooks
    • Cook The Book Fridays- My Paris Kitchen
    • French Fridays with Dorie
    • Kitchen Gear & Gadgets

Boca Negra Cake- Tuesdays with Dorie

February 19, 2013 by Renee

Boca Negra-7988 FAfter the week I have had, and it’s only Tuesday mind you, I am thankful to have something so incredibly chocolatey and decadent to soothe my over-stressed mind and satiate my soul!  I couldn’t bring myself to make last Friday’s Coeur à la Crème from the French Fridays with Dorie group. The heart shape and the Valentine’s Day theme just struck a raw nerve with me and I ended up returning the mold I had purchased to make it. Needless to say, I am not a fan of the holiday.

I almost did not make this cake too, as it’s lusciousness and opulence seemed like something only lovers could share on the most special of occasions, an anniversary or birthday dinner, perhaps.  But I changed my mind and at the last minute went to find some good quality bittersweet chocolate.

Chocolate really does soothe the soul and this Boca Negra cake fits the bill perfectly!  It’s dense and rich and oh, so good! Just what the Doctor ordered and maybe it’s the sugar rush or the bourbon, but one bite is all it takes to put a smile on even the most cynical among us.


I did encounter a few snafus when making this. Firstly, the recipe states that one should boil a mixture of bourbon and sugar and once its boiling to pour it over bits of bittersweet chocolate that you have broken up into a bowl. This part worked fine and the chocolate melted alright, but the next step was to mix in and melt two sticks of butter into this chocolate mixture. This proved nearly impossible as the chocolate had cooled down significantly and the butter just refused to melt. The chocolate was a big glob in the bowl. I ended up putting it over a double boiler and remelting the chocolate just to allow the butter to melt properly. Even after a good whisking, it finally came together only once the eggs were incorporated.

It was a thing of beauty going into the oven, only to emerge 30 minutes later with a center the consistency of jello. While it looked beautiful, had I sliced it then, I felt it would just have fallen into a puddle of chocolate goo onto the plate. So, back into the oven it went for ten more minutes. The end result was a cracked top which had puffed up so high that it needed to settle before I could complete the inversion onto the plate!

Next, because the cake was still quite warm when I was serving it, the creme (a wonderful mixture of heavy cream, bourbon and white chocolate-which tastes just like eggnog!) melted all over the top when I made my pre-photo decorative swirls.

All of that aside, it’s a very fast and easy cake to create….and no matter what it looked like or how far off it veered from what it should be like, it was sinfully delicious!

Boca Negra-7997

As with the French Fridays with Dorie group, I can’t reprint the recipe. But you can purchase the book here.

 

Baking With Julia

bakingwithjulia

 

Share this:

  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window)
  • Click to email this to a friend (Opens in new window)

Related

Filed Under: Eat, Featured Posts, Cookbooks, Desserts, French Fridays with Dorie Tagged With: Cake, Cookbook, Dorie Greenspan, French Fridays with Dorie, chocolate

« Classic Snacks Made From Scratch by Casey Barber, Cookbook Review
Filet Mignon Diable – French Fridays with Dorie »

Comments

  1. Cher says

    February 21, 2013 at 5:49 am

    I wish there weren’t so much pressure around Valentine’s Day – it’s enough to make anyone grumpy…

    However, your cake came out absolutely beautifully. The melted sauce and the pop of the raspberries were a perfect contrast to the richness of the chocolate, I am sure.

  2. Cathleen says

    February 21, 2013 at 8:05 am

    Wow! Spectacular photos!! Your cake looks absolutely perfect. This is one not to be missed I think. Good that you went ahead and made it – it is soul soothing!

  3. SandraM says

    February 21, 2013 at 5:25 pm

    Your cake looks incredible!! So glad you decided to make it. Fantastic pics! It really was a good cake. I was so pleased that it turned out so well. I used a food processor for the recipe and glad I did, as the chocolate did cool fast and the food processor made it a breeze.

  4. Jean | Delightful Repast says

    February 23, 2013 at 7:52 am

    I’ll look at the recipe later – it’s the fork that jumped out at me from the picture. My grandparents-in-law had the silverplate pattern and passed it along to me years ago!

    • Renee says

      February 23, 2013 at 7:02 pm

      Ari’s grandmother willed us this set and I have been filling it in for a few years now. Ironically, we got this exact pattern for a dessert set for a wedding gift. I guess it’s pretty popular! Love it. The old sterling is heavy and large, the silver plate is nice too, but you can tell the difference.

  5. Beverly says

    February 25, 2013 at 8:31 am

    Your cake looks totally luscious; despite your small snafus!!

Categories

Archives

kitchconundrum

Mint chip ice cream with fresh mint from the garde Mint chip ice cream with fresh mint from the garden. Cool and refreshing. One of the best recipes from David Lebovitz’s A Perfect Scoop. #cookthebook #cookbook #icecream #homemadeicecream #gardening #herbgarden #mint #chocolatechip #davidlebovitz #recipe
First flowers of the season! And a few vegetables First flowers of the season! And a few vegetables are here too! I was going to prune the crazy overgrown rosebush on the arch but there are robins nesting in it so we’ve let it go wild. Will have to wait to cut it back until after the summer. We don’t mind and they have a safe spot to just be. Last year they built their nest in the grape vines. We feel honored to watch Mr & Mrs fly back and forth all day with food or twigs. They are very busy! #gardening #backyardgarden #growyourownfood #robin #nest #robinsnest
We finished working in the backyard today and cele We finished working in the backyard today and celebrated a power washed deck and cleaned out boxes primed for veggies and flowers with a bottle of rosé. It’s apéro season in the garden! #apero #wine #rosé  #gardening #garden #flowers #vegetablegarden #growyourownfood
A really nice Asian supermarket opened nearby so w A really nice Asian supermarket opened nearby so we restocked our pantry. We met a nice couple there who told us which brands they liked best- love their personal recommendations! Super nice of them! 

We also said goodbye to our old, burnt and wonky bamboo steamer. It served us well but it’s time for a new one. #ranch99 
#asiancooking #asiangrocery #grocery #groceryhaul
Lunch today was @ottolenghi ‘s Cauliflower Cake Lunch today was @ottolenghi ‘s Cauliflower Cake from #PlentyMore #Cookbook It was really quite good. Though we felt it needed a little something…more. It’s a versatile recipe so next time we will add garlic, cumin, or coriander and maybe switch up the cheeses and vegetables. I can see it with feta and spinach or asparagus even,  or even broccoli and a good cheddar. That is the magic of a good base recipe. You can make it however you want! Just have fun with it! #greatrecipes #cookthebooks #ottolenghi #cooking #lunch #eatyourveggies
A bit of spring popped out this week. Hopefully, w A bit of spring popped out this week. Hopefully, warm weather will come and stay. It’s been cold and raining so much (I guess that’s good and needed) so I’ve not been outside much. I need to rake the leaves! But it’s lovely to see some color come through! Soon the tulips will bloom and that also means its time to plant the vegetable garden. Summer really is on the way! #spring #flowers #flowergarden #vegetablegarden #gardening #gardeningcalendar
Taco Thursday’s is a thing right? Well, we can e Taco Thursday’s is a thing right? Well, we can eat tacos any time! Leftover grilled chicken put to good use. #tacothursday #tacotuesday #dinner #corntortillas #yum
Who wants some ooey gooey cheesy melty spinach art Who wants some ooey gooey cheesy melty spinach artichoke dip? It was really good and we have sooo much leftover! Going to be eating it with grilled chicken, pasta and bread for the next week or so. #toomuch #artichokes #spinach #cheese #dip #appetizers #artichokedip
Sunday afternoon snacks. Warm pretzels with cheese Sunday afternoon snacks. Warm pretzels with cheese sauce. #pretzels #snack #cheesesauce #gouda #cheddar #tvsnack #afternoonsnack
Bœuf Bourguignon for dinner today. With mashed po Bœuf Bourguignon for dinner today. With mashed potatoes of course! It’s s project but so worth it. #dinner #beef #boeufbourguignon #frenchcooking
Not much to look at but so tasty! I’ve been want Not much to look at but so tasty! I’ve been wanting to make choucroute garnie since returning from Strasbourg, where I had it a lot. Good sausages are hard to find but a slightly smoky kielbasa, thick cut bacon and uncured hotdogs did the trick. Also, the sauerkraut with apples and white wine had just enough sweet and tang. This is a really easy but absolutely delicious dish. #choucroute #choucroutegarnie #alsace #sauerkraut #strasbourg #dinner #onepotmeal
This is a seriously elevated cauliflower gratin. M This is a seriously elevated cauliflower gratin. Made with an olive oil béchamel, garlic and feta cheese. So delicious and comforting on this cold winter day. Recipe by @aglaiakremezi  #cauliflower #cauliflowergratin #vegetarian #dairy #sidedish #sogood
Some days you just need to make chocolate mousse a Some days you just need to make chocolate mousse and use so many bowls in the process. I think I’ll have two please. (They’re small!) #chocolate #chocolatemousse #mousse #dessert #madefromscratch #delish #chocoholic #darkchocolate
Mushroom Barley Soup and Netflix is perfect for st Mushroom Barley Soup and Netflix is perfect for staying cozy today while there’s a blizzard outside. Stay safe everyone! #lunch #soup #mushroombarleysoup #blizzard #stayinside #fozen
Before the big girl headed back to college this we Before the big girl headed back to college this weekend, we decided to honor her time in Strasbourg by making a tarte flambée. I had bought a wheel of Munster in Colmar and it travelled home with us. Unfortunately, it was a bit overripe when we opened it so we ended up using Comté instead. It was still very tasty. Just wish we had the same wood fired crust they have there. #tarteflambee #strasbourg #colmar #france #munster #cheese #comte
2021 is a wrap! We made it! What a blur this year 2021 is a wrap! We made it! What a blur this year was. But gardening, renovating, a couple of trips and a lot of cooking and eating good things helped get us through. Thanks to you too for being a part of this year! May we all be blessed with another year- healthy, happy and well fed!  #topnine #top9of2021 #diy #2021 #newyears #goodtidings #yearinreview2021 #yearinreview
One of the best meals we had on our recent trip to One of the best meals we had on our recent trip to Paris was at @laparaderestaurant. La Parade specializes in tapas/small plates with a Vietnamese influence. We went specifically to try as many of them as we could and we three girls succeeded in getting through eleven dishes! The standout favorites were the Pho with mushrooms, which had a lovely, delicately scented broth and the Chicken Wings Saïgon style with caramel nuoc mam and citron vert. The spring rolls and the rice paper crepes also rated highly amongst us. The menu changes often so you may just have to go and check it out for yourself! Highly recommend! As for the cocktails, they were very strong but delightful - we had the Little Billy and the Cotton Club. Next time, we will leave room for dessert!  #pariseats #paris #france #restaurant #eatparis #tapas #smallplates #dining #bar #vin #wine #parisfrance #cocktails #laparaderestaurant #restaurantparis #paris11 #tramtramskitchen #food #goodeats #lefooding
After a week in France and way too many suitcases, After a week in France and way too many suitcases, the girls and I are home, but with several Alsatian goodies we brought back. So we spent Christmas day as a family, added several new ornaments to the tree the boys put up and ate lots of cheese, wine, and sweet treats. It was a perfect day of lazy grazing and movies. Hope everyone had a delicious and relaxing Christmas. #christmas #family #cheese #wine #appetizers #hordoeuvres #cookies #paindepices #fortwengeralsace #fortwenger #mireilleoster #bleesz #pigsinablanket #fingerfood #alsace #alsacetourisme #cheeseboard #panettone #noel #madeinfrance #vinalsace #jetlag
Load More... Follow on Instagram

© Copyright 2017 Kitchen Conundrum · Privacy Policy & Disclosures · All Rights Reserved ·

loading Cancel
Post was not sent - check your email addresses!
Email check failed, please try again
Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email.