I slightly adapted this recipe from the cookbook Baking with Julia - Savor the Joys of Baking with America's Best Bakers, written by Dorie Greenspan. This recipe from Baking With Julia is by Lora Brody.

"A boca negra, or black mouth, is what you'll have after one bite of this intensely chocolaty cake - you'll also have a smile on your face. A chocolate craver's ideal, this cake calls for 12 ounces of bittersweet chocolate, and you'll taste every ounce, so choose chocolate you love."

"The cake is meant to be served warm or at room temperature, when it is as moist, dense and dark as the chocolate you use to make it. Chilled, it has all the appeal of fudge. The white chocolate cream, which is made a day ahead, is one you can use with other desserts, and neither the cake nor the cream is a challenge for beginner bakers. In fact, if you make it in the food processor; it takes only 5 minutes."

Check out more of Linda's favorite Chocolate Recipes and more great Cake Recipes.

Don't forget to check out my Poached Chicken Breasts with Blackberry Cabernet Sauce dinner menu which includes this fabulous Boca Negra Cake.

Boca Negra Cake - Chocolate Cake

White Chocolate Cream:
12 ounces white chocolate, finely chopped
1 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup bourbon (or more to taste)

Prepare the white chocolate cream at least 1 day in advance.

Put the white chocolate into the work bowl of a food processor fitted with the metal blade or a blender container. Heat the heavy cream in a small saucepan 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.

NOTE: The cream can be kept covered in the refrigerator for a week or frozen for up to a month. If you've frozen the cream, thaw
it overnight in the refrigerator.


Boca Negra Cake:
12 ounces bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
1 1/3 cups sugar, divided
1/2 cup bourbon
1 cup unsalted butter, cut into 10 pieces, room temperature
5 large eggs, room temperature
1 1/2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

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 waxed paper; butter the paper. Put the cake pan in a shallow roasting pan and set aside until needed.

Place the chopped chocolate in a medium bowl; set aside.

In a 2-quart saucepan, mix 1 cup of the sugar and the bourbon; cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the sugar dissolves and the mixture comes to a full boil. Immediately pour the hot syrup over the chopped 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, making certain that each piece of butter is melted before you add another.

Put the eggs and the remaining 1/3 cup sugar in a medium bowl; 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.


NOTE: If you want to make the cake batter in a food processor, put the chocolate in the work bowl of the processor. Bring all of the sugar and the bourbon to a full boil, stirring occasionally until the sugar is dissolved; pour the syrup into the processor 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 cake pan.)

 

Pour and scrape the batter into the prepared cake pan, running your spatula over the top to smooth it. Carefully pour enough hot water into the roasting pan to come about 1 inch up the side of the cake pan.

Bake the cake for exactly 30 minutes, at which point the top will have a thin, dry crust. Remove from oven and 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 wrap.


Serve the cake warm or at room temperature with the chilled White Chocolate Cream.

Storing: Once cooled, the cake can be covered with plastic and kept at room temperature for 1 day or refrigerated for up to 3 days; bring to room temperature before serving. For longer storage, wrap the cake airtight and freeze it; it will keep up to a month. Thaw overnight, still wrapped, in the refrigerator.

Makes 12 servings.

Optional Topping Idea:

Pinot Noir Wine-Laced Strawberries.
1/3 cup sugar
1 cup Pinot Noir wine
2 cups fresh strawberries, hulled and halved
Whipped cream

In a medium bowl, combine the sugar and Pinot Noir. Stir until the sugar is dissolved. Add the strawberries and let sit for 2 to 3 hours. To serve, cut the cake into wedges and top with the Pinot Noir-Laced Strawberries and whipped cream.