Tuesday, February 19, 2013

Boca Negra - TWD: Baking with Julia

Tuesdays with Dorie: Baking with Julia - 27th Installment.  The recipe is Boca Negra.
I'm starting to think these posts should have subtitles.  Subtitle this one "I'm not sure Jack Daniels is my favorite choice for baking"!

This recipe went EXACTLY as described in the book.  I used the food processor for the white chocolate cream, and then used it again for the cake batter - talk about speedy.  I liked pouring the sugar syrup on top of the chocolate and blending it - it worked well.   I remembered to have butter and eggs at room temperature, and then I baked it exactly 30 minutes, and it did, indeed have a firm top, and then I took it out.
Just after baking
We ate it warm, and it was pretty yummy (see note on bourbon below...).   The texture is amazing, and it's very intense.  The rest went into the fridge, so we'll eat that chilled.

This recipe calls for bourbon in both the white chocolate cream and the cake.  I'm not so savvy when it comes to liquor, so when I looked in the cabinet, and found Jack Daniels, I asked Richard (my husband) "Is this bourbon?"  It's whiskey, but we weren't sure it was bourbon, and we thought probably not.  (Some of you are laughing at me right now for my ignorance :-)  We decided that it was close enough, so I used it in the cake.  I don't think I would do that again - it seemed to make it kind of harsh, even after baking, although perhaps that's just my lack of sophisticated taste for whiskey.  Richard thought it tasted pretty good, so maybe just a matter of personal preference.  I left it out of the white chocolate cream, and was glad, since I think it would have been overwhelming in that topping.  I am going to check out what my fellow BWD bakers did with this recipe, since someone is sure to have done something creative with the liquor component of this (Grand Marnier, anyone?).    I did like the fact that this recipe was SO reliable and simple - exactly as advertised.

4 comments:

  1. I wasn't creative enough to use a different liquor. we loved the cake, oh-so-intense and just as good the next day.

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  2. I had whiskey in the cupboard but wasn't sure if it would have the same flavour as bourbon????? I think one is made with rye and the other corn?? So I went with Grand Marnier, which I knew would go great with chocolate. But I do want to get some bourbon and try this again, to see what I was missing!
    Your cake looks wonderful! I loved this cake a lot.

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  3. I once read that "all bourbons are whiskey, but not all whiskeys are bourbons". That is the extent of my knowledge! I ended up using cognac being that is what I had on hand - turned out great. I think this cake can take any substitution and still turn out great. Your cake looks so very creamy.

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  4. I am on vacation and had no bourbon or whiskey in the house, but I had chocolate wine! I thought it worked well! I will use bourbon next time! Your cake looks luscious!

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