Gateau Reine De Saba: The French Chocolate Cake Beloved By Julia Child

We may have Gateau Reine de Saba to thank for Julia Child's culinary legacy. With one bite, the chocolate cake reportedly won both the heart and stomach of a pre-cooking career Child, and we'd like to think that the experience helped cement her adoration for the French way of cooking. This glazed single-layer cake is named for the Queen of Sheba, and though the cake may look simple, the finished recipe offers decadent bites that deliver unparalleled texture and taste to diners with a serious sweet tooth. Pastry lovers will appreciate the creamy richness of chocolate and butter in each slice, while the addition of almond flour and meringue builds a batter that is both delicate and spongy.

You'll be able to quickly identify this cake in a dessert lineup by looking for shaved almonds around the perimeter, as well a glossy chocolate coating. For those inspired by Child's culinary proclivities and her many best tips for home chefs, a recipe for this dessert is in "The French Chef Cookbook," her second cookbook. Since the recipe first appeared, chefs have put their own spin on the dessert, including melting chocolate in coffee-flavored rum and raspberry liqueur.

Bakers can choose how they would like to create the texture of their reine de Saba cake. From a gooey, brownie-like treat to a cake that offers a dense, almost chewy crumb, the length of time this cake is allowed to cook in the oven helkps to determine its fate. Even better, this satisfying cake recipe can easily be adapted to accommodate those with gluten intolerances, making it ideal for planning dinner party menus.

When preparing this cake at home, allow plenty of time for the cake to cool before you begin slathering the buttery ganache on top. While traditional recipes call for sliced almonds placed along the perimeter of the cake, cooks have gotten creative with presentations that employ ground almonds to dust slices or even separate cupcakes to decorate and serve. Feel free to cater to your culinary whims with drizzles of white chocolate, Nutella, smoked chocolate ganache, or carefully placed mint leaves or seasonal berries as garnish. With her willingness to admit mistakes and be flexible, Child would surely approve of such experimental undertakings.