Bête Noire with Raspberry Sauce by Naomi Pomeroy

Updated at: Thu, 17 Aug 2023 03:15:38 GMT

Step 1

MAKE THE CAKE Preheat the oven to 325°F. Brush an 8-inch square baking pan with 1 tablespoon of the butter and line the bottom with a piece of parchment paper cut to fit (do not skip this step, or removing the cake from the pan later will be difficult). Make a simple syrup by heating the water and sugar together in a small saucepan over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the sugar dissolves, about 5 minutes. Set aside.

Step 2

Fill a saucepan with water to a depth of about 2 inches. Fit a metal or heatproof glass mixing bowl onto the rim of the pan, making sure it doesn’t touch the water below. Bring the water to a simmer over medium heat. Place the chocolate and the remaining 4 tablespoons of butter in the bowl and stir until melted and smooth, about 10 minutes. Remove the bowl from the heat and slowly add the warm simple syrup to the chocolate mixture, whisking constantly until combined.

Step 3

In a separate bowl, whisk together the eggs and salt until evenly mixed, about 30 seconds. Add the eggs to the melted chocolate mixture and whisk until combined.

Step 4

Pour the batter into the prepared pan and place the pan in a roasting pan. Add boiling water to the roasting pan to come halfway up the sides of the baking pan. This water bath ensures the cake will bake evenly, preventing the edges from overbaking before the center is done. Bake for 22 to 26 minutes, until a thermometer inserted into the center of the cake reads 160°F; the edges should be no hotter than 180°F. If you don’t own a thermometer, keep in mind the cake will seem barely set and that it’s better to remove it from the oven slightly underdone than risk overbaking, which will make the texture chalky. Because there’s so much chocolate in the cake, it will firm up with cooling and cut like a dream.

Step 5

MAKE THE RASPBERRY SAUCE While the cake is baking, in a small nonreactive saucepan, combine the raspberries, sugar, water, corn syrup, lemon juice, and salt. Bring to a simmer and cook, stirring occasionally, until the raspberries have broken down, about 2 minutes. Taste for sweetness and add up to 2 tablespoons sugar if necessary.

Step 6

Mix together the cornstarch and water in a small bowl. Stir this slurry into the simmering raspberry mixture and cook for 1 minute. Pour the sauce through a fine-mesh strainer set over a bowl, pressing against the raspberries until all that’s left in the strainer is their seeds; discard the seeds. Let the sauce cool, cover, and refrigerate until you’re ready to serve.

Step 7

When the cake has finished baking, allow it to cool for about 30 minutes in the water bath, and then carefully remove it and let it cool completely to room temperature. To make unmolding easier, refrigerate the cake, uncovered, for a few hours.

Step 8

To unmold the cake, line a baking sheet with parchment paper, place a wire rack on top of the parchment, and quickly flip the cake pan over onto the rack. Most of the time it simply takes a firm tap to release the cake, but if it’s being stubborn, slightly warming the bottom of the pan will help release it: on the stove top for a minute, briefly in a bath of hot water, or even with a handheld torch grazed across the bottom of the pan.

Step 9

Bring about 4 cups of water to a boil and pour it into a heatproof pitcher or jar. Dip the blade of a sharp chef’s knife into the hot water, wipe off the water, and cut the cake in half. Dip and wipe the blade again and cut the cake in half again, perpendicular to the first cut, to make quarters. Continue to dip and wipe the knife and cut the cake until you have 16 squares, each measuring about 2 inches. Carefully space the pieces about ½ inch apart on the rack.

Step 10

MAKE THE GANACHE Place the chocolate in a mixing bowl and sprinkle over the salt. In a small saucpean over medium heat, warm the cream until small bubbles form at the edges, about 5 minutes. Do not let it come to a boil. Pour the cream over the chocolate and let sit undisturbed for 5 minutes to melt the chocolate. Stir the chocolate mixture with a spatula until completely shiny and smooth, about 2 minutes. Let cool slightly (ideally to around 85°F).

Step 11

Put the ganache into a small pitcher or measuring cup and slowly pour it around the edges of each cake square. The top is usually easy to fill in, so concentrate on getting it evenly on the sides of the cake. Let the squares cool to room temperature before serving, about 2 hours. The ganache-coated cake squares can be refrigerated for up to 3 days but should be allowed to stand at room temperature for at least 1 hour before serving. The excess ganache that pours off the cake can be used to make truffles (chill the ganache for about 1 hour, roll it into balls, and then toss with cocoa powder), or added to hot milk for a killer hot chocolate. Because it is half cream, it should be stored in the fridge, where it will keep for about 1 week.

Step 12

ASSEMBLE THE DISH For each serving, ladle 2 to 3 tablespoons of the raspberry sauce on a small plate. Place a piece of cake in the pool of raspberry sauce, top with a quenelle of the vanilla bean whipped cream, and garnish with a few raspberries. Serve immediately.

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