Boca Negra Recipes

BOCA NEGRA CAKE

Steps:

• Put the white chocolate into the work bowl of a food processor fitted with the metal blade. Process until it is finely chopped. 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.
• Pour the prepared cream 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.
• Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 350.
• Lightly spray the bottom of a 9-inch round cake pan with baking spray. Line the bottom with parchment or waxed paper; butter the paper and sides of the pan. Put the cake pan in a shallow roasting pan and set aside until needed.
• Put the chopped chocolate in a food processor. Process until finely chopped.
• In a medium saucepan, mix 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 process until the chocolate is completely melted and the mixture is smooth.
• Piece by piece, add the butter into the chocolate mixture with the processor running. Make certain that each piece of butter is melted before you add another. Add the eggs, one at a time, while the processor continues to run. Add the flour and then let the processor run for an additional 15 seconds.
• 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 side of the cake pan. Bake the cake for exactly 30 minutes, at which point the top will have a thin, dry crust.
• Cover the top of the pan with a large piece of plastic wrap--at this point the excess plastic wrap will cling to the sides of the warm pan. Invert the plate onto a large plate (not the plate you will serve it on) and (this part was easier with 2 people) peel the plastic wrap from the sides of the pan, so that the plastic wrap is no longer attached in any way to the pan. Before it can reattach, lift the pan off of the cake, leaving the cake behind on the plate. Remove the parchment paper which will be stuck to the bottom of the cake. Place the ultimate serving plate or platter on top of the cake and invert again. Peel the plastic wrap off of the cake.
• Serve the cake warm or at room temperature with the chilled white chocolate cream (folded into whipped cream as described above, if desired).
• 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. I used my cake keeper to store it without any plastic wrap. For longer storage, wrap the cake airtight and freeze it; it will keep up to a month. Thaw overnight, still wrapped, in the refrigerator.

BOCA NEGRA RECIPE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 180C (160C fan-forced). Grease a deep 22cm round cake pan; line the base and side with baking paper.
• Stir the bourbon and sugar in a small saucepan over medium heat, without boiling, until sugar dissolves. In a mixmaster or food processor, blend or process chocolate and bourbon mixture until smooth. With the motor operating, add the butter, piece by piece, processing until combined. Add eggs, one at a time, processing until combined between additions.
• Pour mixture into pan.
• Place pan in a large baking dish. Pour enough boiling water into baking dish to come halfway up side of pan.
• Bake about 30 minutes or until edge is set (centre will still be a little soft). Remove pan from dish; cool 10 minutes. Cover; refrigerate for 4 hours or overnight until set.
• Carefully turn cake out of the pan onto serving plate; dust lightly with cocoa. Serve with double cream and drizzle with puree.
• Raspberry Puree: Place the raspberries, water and sugar in a small saucepan over medium heat. Stir until sugar dissolves and simmer for 5 minutes. Use a stick blender (or pop mixture into a blender or food processor) for 30 seconds then strain through a fine sieve. Refrigerate until ready to use.

BOLOGNESE SAUCE

Steps:

• In a large skillet, warm oil over medium heat and saute bacon, onion and garlic until bacon is browned and crisp; set aside.
• In large saucepan, brown beef and pork. Drain off excess fat. Stir in bacon mixture, mushrooms, carrots, celery, tomatoes, tomato sauce, wine, stock, basil, oregano, salt and pepper to saucepan. Cover, reduce heat and simmer one hour, stirring occasionally.
• Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until al dente; drain.
• Serve sauce over hot pasta.

BOCA NEGRA

Steps:

• heat oven to 350F
• add 1 cup of sugar to bourbon and bring to a boil
• add chocolate and melt
• cut butter into chunks and add one at a time until melted
• whisk rest of sugar with eggs until thick
• add chocolate to egg mixture and combine
• add flour
• line pan with parchment paper and place in water bath which brings water 1 inch up pan
• place pan and bath into oven for 30 mins
• cover pan with plastic wrap and invert
• remove parchment and invert again onto serving plate
• serve at room temperature with whipped cream

BOCA NEGRA PICOSITO CON SALSA DULCE DE TOMATILLO

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 325°F. Butter the bottom and sides of eight 4-ounce ramekins or one 9-inch cake pan (not a springform pan) and dust with sugar, tapping out the excess.
• TO MAKE THE CAKES, remove the stems, seeds, and veins of the chiles and toast them flat in a hot skillet over medium heat for 2 to 3 minutes until fragrant, flipping them so they don't burn. Transfer to a bowl, cover with very hot water, and let soak until softened, 20 to 30 minutes. Drain, reserve the liquid, and purée the chiles in a blender or food processor, adding a bit of the liquid as needed to form a smooth paste. Press through a fine-mesh sieve if the paste isn't completely smooth. You will only need 1 1/2 tablespoons of the paste, but you can freeze the rest for later use.
• Place the chocolate in a large heatproof bowl. Combine the orange juice and sugar in a small pot over medium heat and cook, stirring, until the sugar has dissolved. Pour over the chocolate and stir until melted and combined. (I like to use a whisk, but don't beat it, simply stir.) Add the butter, little by little, and stir until melted. Whisk in the eggs, one at a time, then add 1 1/2 tablespoons chipotle paste and the flour and salt, stirring until smooth. Pour into the prepared ramekins.
• Place the ramekins, evenly spaced, in a towel-lined baking dish to prevent them from sliding. Carefully pour hot water to fill three-fourths of the way up the sides. Bake until a thin, crusty layer forms on top and the cakes are set, 40 to 45 minutes. If using a cake pan it should take 50 to 55 minutes to bake. Remove the baking dish from the oven and remove the ramekins with a towel or tongs. Let cool for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, make the sauce.
• TO MAKE THE TOMATILLO SAUCE, remove the husks from the tomatillos, rinse them under cold water, dry with a towel, and coarsely chop them. Put them in a pot, scrape the vanilla bean into the pot and add the pod, and add the piloncillo, water, sugar, and canela. Cook over medium heat, stirring from time to time, until the tomatillos are very tender, 15 to 20 minutes. Remove and discard the vanilla pod and canela. Transfer to a food processor and purée to the desired consistency (completely smooth or a bit chunky). Let cool. (This can be made up to a week in advance and stored in the refrigerator in an airtight container. If it is too thick, add a bit of water until it is a pourable consistency.) Serve slightly warm or at room temperature.
• To unmold the cakes, dip a small, sharp knife into hot water, dry it quickly, and run it around the edges. Dip the bottom of the ramekins or cake pan into very hot water for about 1 minute (a bit longer if using a cake pan) and unmold onto plates. Be careful because they are fragile and will be difficult to move once they are unmolded. Chill in the refrigerator for at least 40 minutes if using ramekins, 1 hour if using a cake pan.
• To slice the cake, dip a sharp knife into very hot water and quickly dry with a towel between each slice (this will make nice clean edges). Serve the unmolded cakes at room temperature with sauce on the side.

BOCA NEGRA CHOCOLATE CHIPOTLE CAKES

Steps:

• Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 325°F. Butter ramekins and dust with sugar, knocking out excess.
• Toast chiles in a dry heavy skillet over moderate heat, turning, until fragrant, 1 to 2 minutes. Discard stems, seeds, and ribs, then soak chiles in hot water to cover until softened, about 30 minutes. Drain, reserving soaking liquid. Purée chiles in a mini food processor or a blender, adding 2 to 3 tablespoons soaking liquid as needed to form a paste. Force paste through a fine-mesh sieve into a bowl and discard solids. Set aside 1 1/2 tablespoons chile paste and freeze remainder for another use.
• Bring juice and 1 cup sugar to a boil in a 1- to 1 1/2-quart saucepan, stirring until sugar is dissolved. Pour hot syrup over chocolate in a large bowl, stirring until chocolate is melted. Add butter and stir until melted.
• Add eggs 1 at a time, whisking after each addition, then stir in chile paste, flour, and salt. Divide among ramekins and bake in hot water bath , uncovered, until just firm and top is starting to crust, 50 to 60 minutes. Transfer ramekins with tongs to a work surface and let stand 2 minutes.
• Unmold warm cakes directly onto dessert plates (they will be difficult to move once they adhere).
• *Available at Mexican markets, many supermarkets, and Chile Today-Hot Tamale (800-468-7377).