Julia Child's Favorite Cake Was A Boozy French Classic

Julia Child had an eclectic palate, enjoying everything from bog-standard goldfish crackers to bougie oysters on the half shell. However, when it came to dessert, there was one French classic that was her absolute favorite. Showcased to her viewers on an episode of The French Chef, the Queen of Sheba cake (or gateau Reine De Saba) was a chocolatey creation flavored with a boozy shot of rum.

You'll find alcohol in many traditional bakes, such as black forest cake (which is flavored with kirsch), or Jamaican black cake that features wine, rum, or brandy. In Child's recipe for Queen of Sheba cake, the rum lends the interior a complex flavor, warmth, and aroma that complements the richness of the chocolate and deepens its character. The alcohol is cleverly added in two stages; the first is in the melted chocolate that's stirred into the batter, and the second is in the chocolatey frosting the cake is decorated with at the very end.

To make Queen of Sheba cake, cream butter and sugar together before beating in some egg yolks. Then incorporate cooled, melted chocolate (flavored with rum), ground almonds, almond extract, and flour into the mixture. Finally, fold through egg whites that have been whipped with cream of tartar and a dash of salt before baking. Julia Child's favorite oven brand was the Garland Model 182 stove, but as long as your home oven is preheated to 350 degrees Fahrenheit, the cake should be ready in 25 minutes.

A toothpick inserted in the center of a baked Queen of Sheba cake should have a little chocolate on it. This is because the finished cake is supposed to be set on the perimeter but be moist and tender in the middle, almost like a brownie. The alcohol (as well as the ground almonds) in the batter helps the cake to retain its moist character. Once cooled, the gateau is coated in a fudgy frosting — made with softened butter, more melted chocolate, and rum — before it's decorated with whole almonds. The chocolate brand Julia Child claimed was the best in the U.S. was Scharffen Berger, but any semi-sweet chocolate suitable for baking will work.

If you don't have any rum on hand, you could swap it for brandy or cognac (Grand Marnier is a great option, too, if you like the flavor of chocolate orange desserts). Alternatively, nix the alcohol and use instant coffee instead. Nigella Lawson's recipe for Gateau Reine de Saba is made with strong coffee and subs all the flour for ground almonds, which also makes it gluten-free. Not a fan of chocolate? A dessert that was so good that it actually made Julia Child cry tears of joy upon tasting it was a brioche tart made with a light vanilla custard.