Bête Noire
For the second installment of the French-style chocolate cake search I returned to my baking book library and came upon one with an eye-catching title – Growing up on the Chocolate Diet by Lora Brody. It’s been on the shelf for years with one page bookmarked, the recipe for Bête Noire. I vaguely remember being alerted to this author and the cake by a Craig Claiborne and Pierre Franey article that I had photocopied and kept in my paper recipe files. As Claiborne had a superb record of showcasing baking talent (think Maida Heatter) it must have immediately caught my attention. I also found the cake’s name intriguing.
It was finally time to try this recipe and wow, am I glad I did. While it comes out looking somewhat similar to last week’s G¢teau au Chocolat, it is a different and unique chocolate taste experience – more similar to a baked souffle or mousse than a cake. Part of its distinctiveness is the creamy texture, owing to its baking in a water bath.
I have scaled down the original 9-inch recipe to an 8-inch. Also, procedures and the baking time have been revised. In the original recipe, you add finely chopped (to facilitate melting) chocolates to a hot sugar syrup. Finely chopping chocolate is a pain, so it hit me to simply melt the chocolate first, then add it to the syrup.
The balancing of two recipe processes (beating the eggs, and cooking the syrup) has been modified to save time and keep the chocolate mixture at optimum temperature. The original recipe called for a baking time of between 25 and 30 minutes. At 25 minutes, the cake is nowhere near set. I found the optimum time to be between 33 and 34 minutes. The last time, I set a timer for exactly 33 minutes, didn’t open the oven door until then, and it was perfect.
The optimal texture for the Bête Noire is found two to four hours after removal from the pan. Not that I would reject a piece after that, or the next day.
As with the G¢teau au Chocolat, the flavor is dependent on the chocolate, so use high-quality chocolate for both the unsweetened (100%) and the bittersweet. I’ve settled on Ghirardelli 100% and Guittard 64% as my favorites for this cake.
Do try this– a small slice with a bit of slightly sweetened whipped cream is a heavenly dessert experience.
Bete Noire
| Yield: 1 8†cake | # of Servings: 12 |
Ingredients:
.4 cup (3.2 oz / 80 g) water1
¾ cup (5.65 oz (160 g) sugar
6.4 oz (182 g) unsweetened (100%) chocolate, broken into pieces, melted
3.2 oz (91 g) chocolate 60% to 64%, broken into pieces, melted
13 tbl (6.5 oz / 184 g) unsalted butter, cut into 8 pieces, room temp
4 extra-large eggs2 (8 fl oz)
¼ cup (1.9 oz / 54 g) sugar
Special equipment needed:
- 8†cake pan
- 1 to 1 ½ qt heavy bottomed saucepan
- Hand held or counter-top mixer with whisk attachment
- Instant read thermometer
- Rectangular baker or roasting pan large enough to hold the 8†cake pan.
Pre-recipe preparations:
- Preheat oven to 350 °F.
- Butter the cake pan and line with parchment circle, lightly butter the parchment.
- Bring water to boil in a water kettle, set aside.
- Melt the chocolates together, keep warm
Directions
- Place the sugar and water in a small saucepan and stir to combine, being careful to minimize the sugar crystals on the side of the pan.
- Place the saucepan over a low flame.
- To a counter-top mixer bowl, add the eggs and sugar. Start beating using the whisk attachment on medium-high speed (KitchenAid speed 7). The eggs will continue beating for between 12 and 15 minutes, until they are tripled in volume.
- Return to the saucepan, increase the flame to medium, and bring to the boil. Wash down any sugar crystals that may have formed on the sides of the pan with the pastry brush dipped in water.
- Boil the sugar for 2 minutes. It should reach 220 °F on an instant read thermometer.
- Remove pan from heat and place on a heat-proof pad or trivet on the counter.
- Add the melted chocolate. Stir with a wire whisk to blend.
- Add the butter, piece by piece, stirring until each piece is melted and mixture is well-blended. Set aside in warm place.
- Turn mixer speed to low and pour the chocolate mixture into the eggs in a steady stream allowing the whip to incorporate the chocolate mixture into the eggs. Don’t over mix. Stop the mixer and remove the bowl to the counter.
- Scrape the remaining chocolate mixture from the pan into the machine bowl, gently folding from the bottom of the bowl up just until mixture is homogenous.
- Pour batter into prepared cake pan. Set the cake pan in the rectangular pan and place in oven.
- Fill rectangular pan with enough hot water to surround the cake pan to about a 1†depth.
- Bake for between 33 and 35 minutes. The cake is done when it feels slightly firm and cake tester inserted into center comes out with moist crumbs.
- Remove cake pan from oven and place on a cooling rack for 20 minutes.
- Run a sharp paring knife around the edge of the cake. Place an 8†cardboard cake circle or cookie sheet over the pan and invert the cake to remove from the pan. Remove the parchment circle, then invert again (right side up) onto a serving plate (with at least a 9†circumference) or another 8†cardboard circle. Note: Be careful when flipping cake right-side up as it is still soft and tends to slide on a plate
- Let the cake cool on a cooling rack for approximately 3 hours, or until just room temperature.
- At serving time, dust lightly with powdered sugar. Clean the knife with hot water and a paper towel between cuts.
- Serve small slices with lightly sweetened whipped cream, beaten just until soft mounds.
Notes:
- For exact measurement, water may be weighed by placing a measuring cup or saucepan on a scale, tared to zero, and then adding water to specified weight.
- If you don’t have extra-large eggs, beat a sixth egg in a small bowl or measuring cup and add just enough to the eggs to make 8 oz.
