Chocolate Almond Cake
This chocolate almond cake is my take on Julia Child's legendary Reine de Saba. Rich, almost flourless cake filled with marzipan buttercream and topped with a silky ganache
- Prep time
- 15 min
- Cook time
- 25 min
- Yield
- 8 servings
- Difficulty
- MEDIUM
Ingredients
Quantities are shown as originally provided.
- 4 ounces semisweet chocolate
- 2 tbsp rum (dark)
- 1 stick butter (softened)
- 2/3 cup granulated sugar (plus one tablespoon)
- 3 egg yolks
- 3 egg whites (room temp)
- 1 pinch salt
- 2/3 cup pulverized almonds
- 1/4 tsp almond extract
- 1/2 cup cake flour
- 4 ounces semisweet baking chocolate
- 1/4 cup rum
- 5-7 tbs unsalted butter
- 1/2 cup grated marzipan
- 1 stick salted butter (room temp)
- 1 cup confectioner’s sugar
- 1 tbs hot water
- 1/2 tsp almond extract
Instructions
- 1
For the Cake
- 2
For the egg whites, add a pinch of salt and beat on high until soft peaks form. Add sugar and continue to beat until peaks stiffen.
- 3
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Butter and flour cake pan. Set chocolate and rum in a bowl set over simmering water to melt. Remove from heat when almost completely melted.
- 4
Cream butter and 2/3 cup sugar together for several minutes until they form a pale yellow fluffy mixture. Beat in egg yolks until well blended.
- 5
Beat in egg whites and salt in separate bowl until soft peaks are formed; sprinkle on 1 tbsp sugar and beat until stiff peaks are formed. With spatula, blend melted chocolate into butter and sugar mixture, then stir in almonds, and almond extract.
- 6
Immediately stir one fourth of egg whites to lighten the batter. Delicately fold in a third of remaining whites and when partially blended, sift on one third of flour and continue folding.
- 7
Alternate rapidly with more egg whites and more flour until all egg whites and flour are incorporated. Turn batter into cake pan, pushing batter up to its rim with a spatula. Bake in middle level of oven for about 25 minutes. Cake is done when it has puffed, and 2-1/2 to 3 inches around the circumference are set so that a needle plunged into that area comes out clean; center should move slightly if pan is shaken, and a needle comes out oily.
- 8
Allow cake to cool in pan for 10 minutes. Run knife around edge of pan, and reverse cake on rack. Allow it to cool for an hour or two; it must be thoroughly cold if it is to be iced.
- 9
For the Filling
- 10
Grate the marzipan into a bowl and pour the hot water over. Knead together so the marzipan absorbs the water and softens up.
- 11
Cream butter and marzipan together until well combined then add the sugar and almond extract. Beat until fluffy.
- 12
For the Ganache
- 13
Place chocolate and rum in a bowl set over a pot of simmering water for a few minutes until mostly melted.
- 14
Remove pot from the double boiler and beat un butter a tablespoon at a time. Set aside until the mixture cools down and spread over the cake using a spatula.