Reine de Saba Chocolate Cake

One last week blogging the best of French food, one last amazing French dessert. That amazing dessert being Reine de Saba Chocolate Cake.

AKA, the Queen of Sheba cake.

Being Thanksgiving in the States, when looking for a dessert for southern France, I tried to focus on holiday recipes. One interesting practice that I came across was the Provencal tradition of 13 desserts at the Christmas table. While I recognize it’s not yet Christmas, I thought it was a fun idea and worth sharing.  I mean, sure I’ll take 13 desserts at any point in time!

On Christmas Eve, the table is laid out with 13 individually cooked dishes, representing Christ and the 12 apostles at the Last Supper. The 13 desserts can vary from region to region but the core items are as follows:  the first four represent the four ‘beggars,’ or the four monastic groups (Dominicans, Augustines, Franciscans and Carmelites); then something from Africa to represent the three wise men;  next two types of nougat, white and black, to represent good and evil; then a type of brioche bread to signify ‘breaking bread’ as at the Last Supper; and finally the remaining items are made up of a selection of other fruits, nuts and pastries.  Pretty fun, huh? 

The desserts in Southern France utilize the light, fruity flavors of the region. So, fruit in dessert. Since my original comments on the matter on week 1, I’ve gotten quite a lot of crap from my friends about it, so I’d like to clear a few things up. I’m not anti-fruit. I like fruit! And I do like fruit desserts on occasion. HOWEVER, if presented with a fruit dessert and a non-fruit dessert, I will always, always pick the non-fruit one because in my mind, they are just better. Total personal preference, so don’t hate!  Anyway, the desserts in southern France seemed to be a lot of fruit tarts and fruit creams.  Again, there is nothing wrong with that.  However, you know what other kinds of French desserts are good? Chocolate ones. So, while not exactly region specific, I’m making something rich and chocolate-y. It is Thanksgiving week, after all.  I think it’s allowed. I mean, after six weeks, I have yet to make a chocolate dessert…what’s that about?  Shame on me. So this week, I remedy the problem with Reine de Saba, or Chocolate Almond Cake.  I made a few tweaks with the flavorings that I hope you enjoy.  Happy Thanksgiving!

In what I think was season 1 of Grey’s Anatomy, Izzy spent almost the entire episode trying to figure out the secret ingredient in her mom’s chocolate cupcake recipe. It turned out to be coconut extract. Ever since seeing that, I have added just a bit of coconut extract to anything chocolate that I make. It’s not enough to taste coconut-ty, but adds a certain “Je ne sais quoi” to a dessert that makes everyone scratch their heads in confusion and lick their lips in delight.  I think you’ll like the end result, and start incorporating Izzy’s trick into all your chocolate desserts, too.

If you want one that’s GF-friendly, check out this NYT version!