This week I made a Reine de Saba cake, which translates to Queen of Sheba. It was the first French cake Julia Child ever ate. It felt like the perfect cake to make from Mastering the Art of French Cooking and my last recipe of this series.

I started by beating butter and sugar, like most cakes, and then added the egg yolks. I then whipped the egg whites to stiff peaks with a little sugar. The egg whites are the only leavener in this cake, so it's essential to get them correct. I folded in melted chocolate, brewed coffee, and finely ground almonds into the butter mixture. Once all of that is well incorporated, I alternated folding in flour with the egg whites. It's important to be very gentle. You don't want the eggs white to deflate, and you don't want for gluten to develop. Once everything was well combined, I baked the cake in an eight-inch cake pan until puffed and gently set in the center.

Once cool, I made the buttercream frosting, a combination of melted chocolate, brewed coffee, and of course, butter. I melted all ingredients and then cooled them by whipping the frosting in an ice bath. I decorated the cake with sliced almonds. Bon Appétit!

As I mentioned before, this is the last recipe from the series: Mastering the Art of French Cooking. I decided to do this project this semester since I didn't have any classes in the kitchen. I had no idea when I started that it would help provide me with focus and purpose during a global pandemic. I have loved everything I have made this semester, and I learned so much.

I have a few weeks off from school before the summer semester starts. There will be plenty to blog about once the summer semester begins. Almost all my classes are lab classes, so I'll be baking and cooking a ton. Until then, I am going to do a short series about #quarantinecooking. Cooking has provided me with so much focus during this incredibly uncertain and rapidly changing time. I want to share everything I have cooked and learned.