Julia’s Child 3 Chocolates Queen of Sheba (reine de saba)
About this recipe
A chocolate cake recipe that is a pure blessing... Julia Child's Queen of Sheba is an old dessert that survived the decades for a simple reason : It is delicious!
A soft chocolate cake covered in a thin layer of ganache. A French recipe that Julia wrote in her book was an "Extremely Good Chocolate Cake"...
All dong long, I kept opening the fridge to "eat only a smidgen", a thin slice of this beauty. A slice so thin I could almost see my fingers through...
However, at the end of the day, when people asked me where the heck the half of the cake had disappeared, I realized that I, perhaps, ate too many of these thin slices throughout the day...
I am telling ya, this beautiful cake is addictive !
No wonder it is one of Julia Child most successful recipes !
Julia's original recipe
I took the same recipe as written in Julia Child's book. However, I found that the original presentation was a bit old looking.
Modern French pastry focuses on elegance and presentation, which was not the strength of the original recipe indeed, as you can see on the photo here:
In the "Julie et Julia" movie (with Amy Adams and Meryl Streep), Julie (Amy Adams) and her boyfriend eat the "Queen Of Sheba" in the most improper way
Don't blame them ! This cake is so good that you may end up eating it the same way !
The cake recipe is the same. To add to this wonderful recipe a modern look, I modified the ganache presentation with 3 chocolates, instead of 1, to bring different colors. And the presentation consists of stripes which add to the modern feeling
Julia Child, we owe you respect
This is a recipe of Julia Child. I have a great respect for Julia, for the dedication to French Cuisine and her huge work to assemble the French recipes and techniques in her book
She acquired her knowledge while living in Paris and studying at the Cordon Bleu de Paris
Julia spent many years in Paris and discovered the French food, and while attending the Cordon Bleu, learned about French cuisine techniques.
When she moved back to the United States, Julia Child published her book "Mastering the Art of French Cooking, Vol.1", a masterpiece that is still a best seller that you still can find nowadays in all bookstores in the states. What an impressive undertaking !
Le Film "Julie et Julia"
You probably saw the movie about Julia Child "Julie and Julia", starring Meryl Streep et Amy Adams
The recipe is on page 677
Modifications to the original recipe
I modified only a few things...
● As I told you above, the only difference is the 3 chocolate ganaches (3 colors), and the stripes layout
Diagram
1. For the Dark Chocolate (¼ lbs or 113 g), I recommend a quality chocolate, with 70% grade minimum. If you can, take a good brand like Valrhona.
2. If you live in the Los Angeles area, you may find professional grade chocolate, like Valrhona at Surfas (close to downtown), Jane Cake Supplies (La Cañada), or Nicole Market (South Pasadena)
Nicole's market
921 Meridian Avenue
South Pasadena, CA 91030
USA
Jane's Cake & Chocolate Supply
645 Foothill Blvd
La Cañada Flintridge, CA 91011
USA
3. 
Melt the Dark Chocolate (¼ lbs or 113 g) with the Coffee (2 Tablespoons or 30 g) in a double-boiler
4. Stir until the chocolate is fully melted
5. Set aside, to let cool slighty
6. For the next steps, you may mix everything "manually" with a spatula, or with the stand mixer (like a Kitchen Aid appliance), using the 'paddle', or with a electric beater
7. In a bowl, cream the Sugar (½ Cup or 135 g) and the Butter (½ Cup or 113 g), for several TXT_MINUTS
8. Separate the Eggs (3) (whites and yolks)
9. In a bowl, beat in the Egg Yolks
10. Add in the Almond Flour (½ Cup or 38 g) and the Almond Extract (¼ teaspoon) and mix
11. With a rubber spatula, blend in the melted chocolate
12. In a separate bowl, beat the egg whites until soft peaks are formed
13. When the whites are fluffy, add in the Sugar (2 teaspoons or 12 g) and continue beating the whites
14. We now have 3 bowls : The melted chocolate, the flour, the beaten egg whites
15. Mix in 1/3 of the beaten whites to lighten the mixture
16. The, delicately fold in the second 1/3 of the beaten whites
17. Using a rubber spatula or a wire whip, gently fold the batter whithout whisking
18. Sift the Flour (½ Cup or 64 g) and the Baking Powder (½ teaspoon or 2 g)
19. Gently fold
20. Alternate by adding 1/3 of the beaten egg whites
21. and gently fold in
22. The batter you get must be fluffy
The cake pan
23. For the cake pan, use a metal or glass mold, 7.87" (or 7 7/8" or 20 cm) in diameter
24. Butter and flour the cake pan, or use a Cooking spray
25. Turn the batter into the greased cake pan, and spread the batter with an offset Icing Spatula
Baking
26. Bake in preheated oven at 340 °F / 170 °C for 20/25 minutes
27. Allow the cake to cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then run a knife around the edge and transfer to a cooling rack
The ganache
28. Place in 3 different bowls : the Dark Chocolate ( 11 oz or 300 g), the White Chocolate ( 11 oz or 300 g) and the Dulcey Chocolate ( 11 oz or 300 g)
29. The DULCEY chocolate is a "blond" chocolate, from the brand VALRHONA. You may find it in specialty stores (Los Angeles: Jane's Cake Supplies, or Nicole Market). You may replace 2 ways :
1- melt some white chocolate and add some "blond' food coloring
2- bake at very low temperature white chocolate. After a while, the white chocolate turns into Dulcey
30. Bring to a boil the Cream (½ Cup or 120 g)
31. Pour on the Dulcey Chocolate ( 11 oz or 300 g), let it melt without stirring for 5 minutes
32. Then start stirring
33. You may mix with an immersion blender (sometimes called 'hand blender')
34. Pour onto a tray with a silicone mat or with a parchment paper
35. Freeze
36. Proceed the same way for the other ganaches : the White Chocolate ( 11 oz or 300 g) with the Cream (½ Cup or 100 g), and the Dark Chocolate ( 11 oz or 300 g) with the Cream (⅔ Cup or 150 g)
37. Freeze
38. After 1 hour, take the trays out of the freezer
39. Wait so that the ganaches become softer
40. Slice long stripes in each ganache, approx. 0.78" (or 25/32" or 2 cm) in width
41. Transfer the stripes onto a new pan with a silicone mat or with a parchment paper
42. Aternate : Dark, Dulcey and white ganaches
43. To make sure the stripes are parallel, push them with a tray
44. Each time you add a strip, squeeze them gently so you leave no gap
45. Refrigerate (the ganaches melt quite fast)
Assembling
46. You need to use a pastry ring, 0.78" (or 25/32" or 2 cm) larger than the cake
47. If you cake is 7.87" (or 7 7/8" or 20 cm) in diameter, take a ring that is 8.66" (or 8 21/32" or 22 cm) in diameter
48. Once the ganache softens at room temperature, press the ring onto the ganache
49. Take the unused chocolate (around the ring), microwave it (to melt), and spread on one side of the cake
50. Place the cake onto the "stripes" - the side with the melted chocolate should touch the stripes (the melted chocolate acts as a glue)
51. You may use an acetate film
52. For the "side ganache", simply microwave a bowl with the Dark Chocolate ( 7 oz or 200 g) and the Cream (¼ Cup or 60 g)
53. Stir, and pour on the side of the cake (between the cake and the ring)
54. Freeze for at least 1 hour
55. Take out of the fridge and remove the ring
56. Place on a cake stand
The almond candies
57. For the almond candies, I am placing in a silicone mold with large square cavities the Crushed Almonds (3 Tablespoons or 32 g)
58. Make a caramel by melting in a saucepan the Sugar (½ Cup or 120 g)
59. Pour the hot caramel and wait that it sets
Place in the refrigerator at least 1 hour before serving
You may keep it well refrigerated 2 days
Bon appétit !
Maravillosa tarta.
Muchas gracias por el paso a paso.
Un saludo.
Una receta simple y buena para quien les gusta el chocolate !