Gâteau Reines da Saba (Queen of Sheba Cake)
A delectable, yet deceivingly simple chocolate and almond cake with a light, spongy crumb and sinfully good chocolate glaze. Julia Child claims this was the first French cake she ever made. This became her signature cake, which here has been adapted into rich melting chocolate cake studded with almonds.
- Yield
- 1 9-inch cake
Directions
-
Heat oven to 325 degrees. Butter a 9-inch springform pan, and line the bottom and side wall with parchment paper.
-
In a saucepan over low heat, melt 12 tablespoons butter with 6 ounces chopped chocolate, almond extract, and coffee. Transfer to a bowl and allow to cool.
-
Make the meringue: In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a wire whip, whisk egg whites and salt until soft peaks form. Slowly add 1/2 cup sugar until thick and glossy. Set aside.
-
In a separate bowl, whisk together egg yolks with remaining 1/2 cup sugar until thick. Use a spatula to fold in the melted chocolate mixture. Add almond flour and cake flours and mix well with a spatula. Stir in a dollop of egg whites to lighten mixture. Using a rubber spatula, gently fold in the rest of egg whites, keeping the batter airy.
-
Scrape batter into pan and bake until cake is dry on top and a bit gooey in center, 30 to 40 minutes. After 30 minutes of baking, check center of cake with a tester or toothpick. If center seems very wet, continue baking and checking at 2-minute intervals.
-
Cool cake in the pan on a rack for 20 minutes, then remove side of pan and cool until completely before glazing. Top of the cake may crack as it cools, but glaze will cover most cracking.
-
Prepare the Glaze: Bring heavy cream to a simmer on the stove top, stirring occasionally. Just as soon as you see a simmer, remove from heat and poor over chocolate chips, swirling the bowl to make sure all chips are covered.
-
Let sit for a minute to allow the chocolate to begin melting. With a whisk starting in the center, begin swirling the chocolate and milk working outward until smooth and velvety.
-
Pour evenly over cake. Use a spatula to spread icing out to edges of cake.
-
Allow icing to cool and set before slicing.
From Shawnie's class “Evening in Paris”
