Julia Child’s Reine de Saba Cake

Channel your inner Julia Child, bake her famous Reine de Saba, or Queen of Sheba, cake and transform your next meeting into a full-on party.

Utensils:

Round cake pan

(8 inches in diameter, 1 1/2 inches deep)

3-quart mixing bowl

Wooden spoon or electric beater

Rubber spatula

Cake rack

Small saucepan

Small flexible-blade spatula or table knife

Cake:

4 ounces or squares semisweet chocolate

2 tablespoons rum or coffee

1/4 pound or 1 stick softened butter

2/3 cup granulated sugar

3 egg yolks

3 egg whites

Pinch of salt

1 tablespoon granulated sugar

1/3 cup pulverized almonds

¼ teaspoon almond extract

3/4 cup sifted cake flour (returned to sifter)

Glaçage au Chocolat (chocolate-butter icing):

1 ounce (1 square) semisweet baking chocolate

1 tablespoon rum or coffee

3 tablespoons unsalted butter

Directions for the cake: Preheat the oven to 350° F.

Butter and flour the cake pan. Melt the chocolate (and rum or coffee) over almostsimmering water.

Cream the butter and sugar together until they form a pale yellow, fluffy mixture.

Beat in the egg yolks until well blended.

In a separate bowl, beat in the egg whites and salt until soft peaks are formed; sprinkle on the sugar and beat until stiff peaks are formed.

With rubber spatula, blend the melted chocolate into the butter and sugar mixture, then stir in the almonds and almond extract. Immediately stir in onefourth of the beaten egg whites to lighten the batter. Delicately fold in a third of the remaining whites and when partially blended sift in one-third of the flour and continue folding. Alternate rapidly with more egg whites and more flour until all egg whites and flour are incorporated.

Turn the batter into the cake pan, pushing the batter up to its rim with a rubber spatula. Bake in middle level of preheated oven for about 25 minutes. Cake is done when it has puffed, and 2 1/2 to 3 inches around the circumference are set so that a needle plunged into that area comes out clean; the center should move slightly if the pan is shaken, and a needle comes out oily.

Allow cake to cool in the pan for 10 minutes. Run a knife around the edge of the pan, and reverse cake on the rack. Allow it to cool for an hour or two; it must be thoroughly cold if it is to be iced.

Directions for the icing:

Stir the chocolate and rum or coffee in small saucepan set over not-quitesimmering hot water until chocolate has melted into a very smooth cream.

Remove saucepan from water and beat the butter into the chocolate a tablespoon at a time. Then beat over bowl of cold water until chocolate mixture is cool and of spreading consistency.

At once, spread over cake with flexible-blade spatula or knife.

Source: Mastering the Art of French Cooking, 1964, by Simone Beck, Louisette Bertholle and Julia Child, from The Henry Ford Archive of American Innovation.