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Bête Noire
The creation of cookbook author Lora Brody, bête noire is a flourless chocolate cake that gets its silky, ultrasmooth, almost custard-like texture from the sugar syrup in the base, as well as from gentle baking. We bring a uniquely complex flavor to our version by caramelizing sugar with black peppercorns before dissolving the caramel with orange juice and bourbon. A combination of bittersweet and semi-sweet chocolate yields a rounder, richer finish than just one type of chocolate, while Angostura bitters lends a spiciness and depth that balances the sweetness of the dessert. We’ve forgone the classic ganache coating and opted to use quickly candied orange zest for a garnish that adds contrasting color and texture. Though the cake requires at least 4 hours of chilling to fully set, it’s best served at room temperature, so don’t forget to remove the cake from the refrigerator at least two hours before serving. For neat slices, dip the knife in hot water, then wipe it dry before each cut.
12
Servings
Tip
Don’t use a whisk to combine the ingredients for the batter; a large silicone spatula is better. A whisk incorporates air, which leads to bubbles rising to the surface during baking and marring the smooth, shiny surface. Also, don’t forget to run a knife around the edges of the cake the moment it comes out of the oven; loosening the edges from the sides of the pan prevents the cake from cracking as it cools. Finally, don’t cover the cake before refrigerating, as a cover may trap condensation that can drip onto the cake.
1 hour 40 minutes
plus cooling and chilling
Ingredients
-
8
tablespoons (1 stick) salted butter, cut into 16 pieces, plus more for the pan
-
12
ounces bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
Directions
-
01Heat the oven to 275°F with a rack in the middle position. Coat the bottom and sides of a 9-inch springform pan with butter. Line the bottom of the pan with kitchen parchment, then butter the parchment. Set a wire rack in a rimmed baking sheet. In a large bowl, combine the bittersweet and semi-sweet chocolates and the butter; set a fine mesh strainer across the bowl, then set aside.
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March 17, 2024
Beautiful & Delicious
I made this for company that is gluten free. I was pretty sure they'd like it but I was a skeptical, I hate Old Fashions. Boi was I wrong! Absolutely delicious, simple to make, looks beautiful, and impressive when served.
February 12, 2024
Delicious!
I made a couple times and both were delicious! First time I used orange bitters and the second Angostura aromatic bitters (like the recipe calls for). Both were terrific! If you want more orange, orange bitters was great. Aromatic made it more herbal and bitter. Both awesome!
December 26, 2023
Silky smooth with deep flavors
This was a huge hit for Christmas dessert. The flavors were incredible, texture was so smooth (not even an hint of grittiness) and it was not particularly difficult to make. Definitely will be on my go-to dessert list for future parties!
December 19, 2023
Delicious!
It's worth it to buy angostura bitters if you don't already have them-- this flavor is noticeable in the final product
October 1, 2023
Quite the crowd-pleaser cake
Overall a delicious and relatively easy cake to make after narrowly avoiding a few wrecks, ha! The peppercorns did not 'pop', and the color of the sugar was changing too fast; perhaps I had too much heat on the pan? The chocolate did not completely melt after adding the syrup, so had to place it over a double boiler to do the trick. Can the cake be made with the water volume substituted with more bourbon instead without changing the texture?
I am fearless in cooking but more cautious in baking and had I not seen the incomparable Bianca Borges demo this in a youtube video I may have been "too afraid" to try it. But watching her instilled confidence in me. Nolo timere, cooks! This is more cook's dessert than baker's. (I'll link video at the end of my comments. )
I reduced the recipe by one-half given we needed to feed only four people. A 9" springform (as specified originally) which is roughly 63.6 in area and a 6.25" - which I also have - is roughly 30.6 in area so I cut the recipe in half, used the smaller pan and away we went. It took 8 -10 minutes more to bake (as expected given the just a tad deeper volume when using the half recipe in a 6.25" pan) and outcome was just right. Made per recipe for ingredients and technique, it went together in a finger snap and was "ahhh..."some at presentation. (Refrigerated this overnight before serving.) Really delicious - although I was hoping for the peppercorns to be more present in the flavors. Leftovers were great day two. Keeper! Bianca Borges demo on youtube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=1&v=u3WLS8xkhPA&feature=emb_logo
The bete noire is in the fridge awaiting service at dinner tonight. The orange peel was finished in sugar per recipe and it now looks lovely finely cut and awaiting its' role as garnish for the edge of the dessert per photo. But I'm not sure how I'll get this to adhere to the edge - as the photo shows, without just falling off. Is there a technique for this I need to know about? The bete noire surface will be firm and without something between the candied / sugared orange peel and the cake, won't the peel just slide off?
After adding the bourbon to the orange juice, could additional orange juice be used instead of water to bring the total to one cup, or would there be some sort of negative effect?
Hi Ted -
No. Since we are making a sugar syrup here we need the balance of sugar to water to be exact to produce the right texture of syrup. Since orange juice contains sugar, adding more orange juice would throw off the ratio of sugar to water and create a too-thick syrup.
Best,
The Milk Street Team
I love the flavor and texture of this, especially when I don't forget the bitters. It is a really strong chocolate and complex flavor. It seems to bake quite a bit faster in my oven. I like adding a little espresso powder, and using the orange version of Angostura bitters (rather than the original Angostura) since my navel oranges don't seem to have much flavor.
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When baking with bourbon, should I just use the cheap one? Kentucky straight? I'm curious about your thoughts. Would rye ever be appropriate?