Queen of Sheba Cake

This Queen of Sheba Cake recipe really is SO good.  My mom used to make this for special occasions when we were growing up. It’s a rendition of a recipe from The Ovens of Brittany restaurant in Madison, Wisconsin.  While I never went there myself (it has been closed for many years), I’ve heard people wax poetic about the amazing pastries that they served.

This is one of those pastries.

“Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?”

This recipe was made for my new book club.  I was specially requested by my friend Karen to bring “something decadent” so I figured a chocolate cake with brandy-soaked currants, mixed with meringue, and topped with raspberries would fit the bill quit nicely.  It truly was glorious.

I apologize in advance for the copious photos.  It was such a photogenic dessert I just couldn’t help myself.

Oh and the book we read was A Handmaid’s Tale- anyone read it?  It was the perfect recipe to accompany a discussion of a satirical feminist novel, if I do say so myself.

The lady at the grocery store thought I was a huge glutton for purchasing so much ghirardelli.

You will need to melt the chocolate in a double boiler- you CAN use the microwave, but I’ve found that you’re a lot more likely to end up with burned chocolate.

Separate the egg yolks from the whites.  Just toss all the yolks directly into the batter.

This is the fun part… Add the chocolate, currants, and walnuts.

For some reason I must have skipped photographing the meringue step.  However, this is more or less what your batter will look like prior to the addition of the egg whites.  When you do add the egg whites, fold in very gently, and mix until just combined- don’t over-mix or you’ll lose the fluffiness.

The cake just before baking.

I made 2 cakes. One was gluten free.  It seemed to work out just fine, except I used a bad brand of flour so it tasted kinda funky (Note: Avoid Bob’s Red Mill brand).  But for any gluten-free people out there- in this recipe you can definitely substitute regular flour for gluten- free flour and it’ll turn out just fine!  You may need to increase the baking time slightly.

Oh glorious Queen of Sheba Torte.

You are so beautiful.

So decadent.

I will eat you immediately before I go to book club.

Yup, here is me taking a slice because I just cannot wait.

The Decadent Queen of Sheba Cake

Adapted from The Ovens of Brittany

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Prep Time 40 minutes mins

Cook Time 45 minutes mins

Ingredients

  

• Queen of Sheba Cake
• Recipe from The Ovens of Brittany

_For Cake_

• 6 oz semi-sweet chocolate I used ghirardelli
• 1/3 cup dried currants
• 3 tablespoons brandy
• 6 oz butter 12 tablespoons, room temperature
• 1 cup plus 1 tablespoon of sugar divided
• 1 tsp almond extract
• 5 eggs- yolks and whites separated
• 1/3 cup ground walnuts
• 1 cup flour

_For Topping_

• 6 oz semi-sweet chocolate I used ghirardelli
• 4 tbsp butter
• 1/4 cup ground almonds
• 1 pint of raspberries

Instructions

 

• Instructions:
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour an 8 inch cake pan and set aside. Melt chocolate in double boiler over medium-heat. Set chocolate aside to cool.
• In a large mixing bowl, cream butter, 1 cup of sugar, and almond extract until fluffy. Add egg yolks and mix until combined. Keep egg whites in a separate mixing bowl. Do not let egg whites come into contact with any oil or butter.
• Combine currants and brandy in a small bowl and heat in microwave for 40 seconds.
• Pour currant and brandy mixture, walnuts, and melted chocolate into the batter. Stir until well-combined.
• Prepare the meringue. Using clean hand-mixer, beat egg whites on high speed until soft peaks form. Add 1 tablespoon of sugar. Continue beating until egg whites form stiff peaks, but are not dry.
• Gently fold egg whites and flour into the batter, adding small portion of each very gradually. Do not over-mix.
• Pour into prepared cake pan and bake for approximately 40-45 minutes, until cake is just set. Center will jiggle slightly and cake will have separated slightly from walls of the pan. Toothpick inserted into the center will be slightly gooey.
• Cool on cooling rack in the pan for 15-20 minutes. After, turn cake out onto a serving plate and allow to finish cooling.
• Meanwhile, prepare ganache in a double boiler- melt remaining chocolate and butter, mixing until smooth. Pour over cooled cake and spread evenly.
• Garnish with ground almonds and raspberries. Chill to allow ganache to set. Serve at room temperature.