Boca Negra Mini Cakes Recipes

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 325°F. Butter insides of eight 4- to 5-ounce ramekins. Lightly coat insides of ramekins with sugar. In a medium saucepan combine the 1 cup sugar and the orange juice. Bring to boiling over medium-high heat, stirring constantly. Remove from heat; add chocolate and the 1/2 cup butter, stirring until melted. Add eggs, one at a time, whisking after each addition. Stir in flour, adobo sauce, and salt. Place prepared ramekins in a 13x9x2-inch baking pan. Divide chocolate mixture evenly among ramekins. Place baking pan on oven rack. Pour enough boiling water into the baking pan to reach halfway up the sides of the ramekins. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes or until mixture is set (will not have a clean-knife test). Using tongs, carefully remove ramekins from the water. Place on a wire rack; cool for 10 minutes. If desired, invert onto individual dessert plates. Serve warm with Sweet Crema SWEET CREMA: Stir together 3/4 cup Mexican crema or sour cream and 1/4 cup sugar.

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).

Steps:

• Heat the cream in a saucepan until small bubbles form around the edge. Meanwhile, put the white chocolate in a food processor or in a blender container. Pour the cream over the chocolate; process until completely smooth. Add the Bourbon; taste and add up to a tablespoon more if you like.
• Pour into a container with a tight-fitting lid; refrigerate 8 hours. (The cream can be kept in the refrigerator for a week or frozen for up to a month; thaw overnight in refrigerator.).
• Heat oven to 350 degrees.
• Lightly butter a 9-inch round cake pan; line the bottom with buttered parchment or wax paper. Put the cake pan in a shallow roasting pan; set aside.
• For the cake, heat the sugar and Bourbon to a full boil in a small saucepan over medium-high heat. Cook to a syrup, about 2 minutes.
• Place the chocolate in a food processor; pour the syrup into the work bowl. Process until the mixture is completely blended, about 12 seconds.
• Add the butter, in pieces, with the machine running.
• Add the eggs, one at a time.
• Add the flour. Process until smooth, about 15 seconds.
• Transfer the batter into the prepared pan.
• Pour enough hot water into the roasting pan to come about 1 inch up the sides of the cake pan.
• Bake until the top is dry, about 30 minutes. Remove the cake pan from its water bath; wipe the cake pan dry.
• Cover the top of the cake with a sheet of plastic wrap. Invert the cake onto a flat plate, peel off the parchment.
• 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.