TWD-Boca Negra

Boca Boca is Bella Bella

I'm not sure what Boca Negra is.  It sounds like a drink though.  I'm going to assume it isn't, as I can't imagine there are drink recipes in this cookbook!  Perhaps I should look up the recipe now...hmmm there's an idea!

Okay, put away the alcohol and mixes....Boca Negra is a chocolaty cake.  I guess I can deal with that.
It looks VERY chocolaty indeed.  I am thinking it is kind of like a flour less cake.  It looks so good and relatively simple.  I am going to use my blender to pull this recipe all together.  After reading the recipe, it looks like it can be all mixed up in a food processor or blender.  What better way to break in our new blender! (without the breaking part being literal....of course)  And how cool would it be to make a cake in a blender!  Perhaps my view of cool is a little skewed. 

So I started the recipe.  (without the blender)  Well, the recipe said to use the food processor.  And I just couldn't mess up all this chocolate. 

White chocolate chops up real easy and I think (like all chocolate) looks good chopped up.

Heavy cream gets heated up and then added to the chocolate in the food processor for a little spin.

Decided on using Grand Marnier rather than Bourbon.  Do you like how that sentence makes it sound like it wasn't just because I don't have bourbon?

This white chocolate sauce tastes real good with the Grand Marnier....so glad I decided on that rather than the Bourbon. (yep)
Not sure why this sauce needs to spend a night in the fridge.  Can't imagine it gets better than this, after a rest. 

Today, I am starting on the cake portion of this recipe.
Butter, eggs, sugar, chocolate, grand marnier and a little flour.  The chocolate and grand marnier are a fabulous combination.  Sure do hope this cake turns out!

Cake release is a good thing. 

But chocolate is better....in comparison to cake release that is......

Sugar and grand marnier melting.  It will be added to the chopped chocolate. 












I decided to try the blender after all.  I put the chopped chocolate and then added the boiling sugar mixture to it.  It didn't do well in the blender.  It seemed to bog down my blender and it didn't want to blend.  It was way to thick of a mixture for the blender to work properly.

So I decided to scoop it all out and try the food processor instead. 
The food processor didn't have any troubles at all.  It blended everything up nicely.  Was able to add the butter and then the eggs.  It came together beautifully.

I'm sure if I had a blendtec blender, I wouldn't have any issues using a blender for this.  I'm fine with using the food processor though.  It was an easy cake to bring together.

The cake batter is very pudding like.  Not sure how this is going to bake up.  It does need to sit in a water bath for the full baking time.










The recipes indicates that the cake will take Exactly 30 minutes to bake.  I've just come up to the 30 minute mark, and there is NOOOOOOO WAY this cake is done.  Very giggly in the middle. (no comments from the peanut gallery on that one!)
So I put it back in the oven for another 10 minutes.  And even after those 10 minutes, still seems too underdone.  I am giving it another 10 minutes.  I fear for this cake's success.  Like the little boy from Sixth Sense.....I see cake fail.

Cake just out of the oven after a grand total of 50 minutes. 
Now the recipe indicates that I need to cover this hot cake and hot pan with saran wrap and invert on a plate.  Did I mention this is a hot pan????? <please note: all expletives have been removed from this post>

Saran wrap going on hot cake and hot pan.  I did mention this was hot out of the oven, right??!!

Okay, I have successfully inverted hot cake and hot pan onto my cake board.  Have set the hot pan into the sink.  Did I mention the cake and pan are hot???

Parchment removed and cake inverted one more time onto a platter.  I think I have succeeded.  No fail here......yet.  What we have here is cake release....and I can now breathe a sigh of relief.







So it sat for about a half hour to cool a bit and then I cut into it.  Here was another point were I was sure there would be a fail.

No fail here either!!  I heated the knife under hot water. (wiped it down before cutting)  And it cut beautifully!!  (okay, be cool Sandra...things could still go wrong....like it tasting awful)





The white chocolate sauce did indeed get better with an overnight stint in the fridge.  It got nice and thick.  (still just as yummy)

 Love the look of the white chocolate sauce melting on the still warm cake.  That is a thing of beauty.  I am seriously pleased with this cake so far.  Let's hope it passes the taste test!

My track record for recipes from this book has not been great. I think this recipe has turned things around. 





Oh my god, Becky!

It truly is a thing of beauty.  If you are a lover of chocolate, this cake is for you.  The addition of Grand Marnier to the mix certainly made it taste great.  I am pleasantly surprised (and super shocked) at how well this came together. 

Head over to Tuesday's with Dorie to see what everyone else thought of the cake.  Cathy of A Frederick Food Garden is hosting this time around.  (and sharing the recipe)