This recipe comes from her very first published AND most famous cookbook, Mastering the Art of French Cooking. According to her description, it is supposed to be slightly underdone. It has a "creamy" center - OH MY!! It is covered with chocolate butter icing and is supposed to be decorated with almonds.
Please note that this does not rise a lot and makes a cake that is about an inch or an inch and a half tall!
Here is the recipe . . . and don't forget to put on your pearls, girls!!
Reine de Saba (Chocolate and Almond Cake)
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Butter and flour an 8 inch round cake pan.
Melt 4 ounces or squares of Semi-sweet chocolate with 2 T of rum or coffee (I didn't have rum - so coffee it is!!). Set aside.
In a mixing bowl:
cream 1 stick of softened butter with 2/3 cup sugar
until they form a pale yellow, fluffy mixture.
Beat in 3 egg yolks until well blended.
In a separate bowl, beat the 3 egg whites and a pinch of salt until soft peaks form.
Sprinkle on 1 T sugar and beak until stiff peaks form.
With a rubber spatula, blend the melted chocolate into the butter and sugar mixture, then stir in 1/4 tsp almond extract and 1/3 cup chopped almonds
Immediately stir in 1/4 of the beaten egg whites to lighten the batter.
Delicately fold in a third of the remaining whites and when partially blended, slowly add 1/2 cup cake flour* and continue folding until all egg whites and flour are mixed.
Pour batter into cake pan. Bake in middle level of the oven for 25 minutes. Cake is done when it has puffed and 2 1/2 to 3 inches around the edge and when a needle plunged into the area comes out clean. The center should move slightly if the pan is shakened. Do not be shocked when the cake sinks after being taken out of the oven - that is normal!!! So do not panic!!
Allow the cake to cool in the pan for 10 minutes. Run a knife around the edge of the pan and reverse the pan on the rack. Alllow it to cool for an hour to two. It must be thoroughly cold before it is to be iced.
*Just in case you don't have cake flour - don't make a wild dash to the grocery store!! If you have all purpose flour and cornstarch - you are in luck. For every cup of flour, remove 2 T of flour and replace them with 2 T of cornstarch. Now sift the heck out of it - I usually sift it about 5 times. Eureka!! You have now made cake flour - pat yourself on the back!
Chocolate Icing - Glacage Au Chocolat
This is so easy it is sinful and it is DELICIOUS!!
You will need:
2 ounces or squares of semi-sweet chocolate
2 T rum or coffee (again I didn't have rum, so coffee it is!)
5 or 6 T unsalted butter
Melt the chocolate with the coffee. Add 1 T of butter at a time, mixing until the butter has melted.
I put then put the icing into the refrigerator to cool down and until it was "spreadable."
In the meantime, I chopped up a handful of almonds to sprinkle on top of the cake.
Once the icing has cooled down, spread a thin layer on top and on the sides and sprinkle the chopped almonds on top.
VERDICT!
OH MY!!! Want to talk about a decadent dessert!! I won't classify this as a cake, it is more like a very moist and rich brownie! My husband loved it and thought it would be wonderful with ice cream. I would probaby make it again but not soon because my waist line doesn't need it!
You definitely have to try this recipe!! As Julia would say, Bon Appetit!!
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