Boca Negra
The Social Boca Negra (Chocolate Cake) with White Chocolate Cream

Boca Negra

Makes 12 servings.

"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 five minutes."

The 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. 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.

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

Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 350 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. 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 hot 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 the each piece of butter is melted before you add another. 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.
(If you want to make the 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 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.)
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. 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 well keep for up to a month. Thaw overnight, still wrapped,
in the refrigerator. This recipe is from Baking with Julia

Source: <http://www.hungrybrowser.com/phaedrus/m0409F04.htm#2>

The Social Boca Negra (Chocolate Cake) with White Chocolate Cream

White chocolate cream (see recipe below)
1/4 cup Chambord (black raspberry liqueur)
1/4 cup strawberry liqueur
1 1/3 cups sugar (divided)
12 ounces chopped semi-sweet chocolate
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, diced, left out until room temperature
5 eggs, room temperature
1 1/2 tablespoons flour

One to two days before making cake, make white chocolate cream.
To make cake: Preheat oven to 350 F.
Bring Chambord, strawberry liquor and 1 cup of the sugar to a boil,
stirring constantly. After liquid boils, add chocolate. Keep stirring
until chocolate is melted. Slowly whisk in butter. In bowl, mix eggs with
remaining 1/3 cup sugar and slowly add tomixture. Add flour and mix well.
Butter bottom of a 9-inch round cake pan. Line bottom of buttered pan
with parchment, then add batter to pan. Batter will come to top of pan.
Set cake in a larger pan, and add water to the larger pan to a depth of
1 inch to create a water bath.
Bake 50 minutes or until crust forms on the top and cake appears done.
Cake will rise just slightly.
When done, remove cake from water bath and set on a wire rack to cool.
Let sit about 20 minutes or until cake is almost cool. While cake is
still a little warm, unmold. If cake cools completely it will be
difficult to remove from pan.

Set on a serving plate and decorate top with dollops of white chocolate
cream. Makes about 8 servings.

White chocolate cream
1/2 cup whipping cream
6 ounces shaved white chocolate
2 1/2 tablespoons good-quality bourbon

In saucepan, bring cream to a boil. Pour over white chocolate in a bowl
and whisk until all the chocolate is melted. Add bourbon and whisk in.
Place in a covered container and refrigerate 1 to 2 days to firm up.
Consistency of this frosting should be thick but still spreadable.

Source: <http://www.jsonline.com/entree/cooking/may04/231982.asp>

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