|
In the late eighties, Julia Childs, the cooking chef I had grown up watching in the States, published The Way to Cook. I remember going to the food show in New York and meeting her, and having her sign a copy for me. She was something that still appeals tremendously to my sense of the way to approach food: classic French technique without getting all fussed about every step. Take your own way… take risks… and enjoy a good glass of Burgundy while you are cooking.
In this book, which I have sadly since misplaced, was a recipe for a wonderful flourless chocolate torte called Gâteau de Reine de Saba… Torte of the Queen of Shiba. There are many variations on this old French recipe… change the nuts, exclude the nuts… but it is always sure to please - and as easy as it gets.
To make it in the traditional fashion, take 1 cup of almonds – preferably toasted in the oven for 15 minutes at 200oC as it brings out more flavor (but you can skip this if you’re in a hurry) – and grind them into a meal in your food processor. It takes about a minute but you do want the consistency of coarse flour. In a double boiler or a pan within a stainless steel bowl over it filled with boiling water, combine approximately one kilo (2.2 lbs.) of good quality European semi-sweet chocolate. You can find this in blocks at Mega or Sam’s in PV, but I actually do not like to keep big quantities of this around in these temperatures, so I usually purchase mine at Rizo’s in the deli section where they have a surprisingly good selection, and the price is quite decent. About 120 pesos a kilo.
Add two sticks of good quality butter to the chocolate and let the mixture melt. If you’ve got some Amaretto or brandy around, add a quarter cup. It will give you bolder flavor. If not, skip it. The traditional way is to take a spring form pan and butter it generously. I actually prefer to take little pyrex dishes and do smaller individual treats. They cook more rapidly and they look great on a plate. Sexy is always better on a plate if you ask me.
Take an electric hand mixer, or if you are really ambitious, a hand whisk, and beat 8 large egg whites into stiff peaks, then add ¼ cup of sugar and 2 tablespoons of vanilla... If you refrigerate the eggs and add a pinch of salt, your work will be much easier. While we often do not refrigerate our eggs here in Mexico - which is perfectly safe, it is far easier to separate the white from the yolk when they are cold.
All the recipes say to softly fold in the egg whites one-third at a time into the chocolate mixture, but I say, “Nonsense!” Take one-third of the stiff egg whites and beat them in with your electric mixer at low speed. Then with a wooden spoon, fold in the rest. As I said, I like the smaller versions of this dessert. Small monkey dishes which cost about 11 pesos around town work perfectly. Make sure they are well buttered and pour the batter into each. Put into a large and deep baking dish (I just did them in the disposable foil type) and fill with hot water to about 3/4’s of the height of the containers. Bake at 180oC for 45 minutes or until slightly firm to the touch.
Another classic to serve with this dish is a raspberry coulis. Raspberries are expensive. I paid 110 pesos today for two tiny boxes, but any berry will do - strawberries, blueberries, even apples or pears. It’s simple. Dice or chop your fruit into small pieces and add 2 cups of wine and a quarter cup of sugar. You could also add a little canela molida – ground cinnamon or nutmeg – and cook on a low temperature until there is virtually no liquid left. Some people don’t like the seeds and so therefore strain the coulis when cooled through a sieve. I actually like the texture of raspberry seeds and so leave well enough alone.
For plating, simply turn the dessert out of the cooking dish unless you have used a spring form. The texture is half way between a chocolate mousse (or pudding) and a cake, so take care. Drizzle a little heavy cream over it and sprinkle with azucar glass (confectioners’ sugar) and then add a little of the coulis to the side. Big, bold, delicious! Email to a friend Buen Provecho!
Seth Cloutman
E-mail: sethcloutman@gmail.com
Feedback about this article
Previous Articles
|
Current
Weather Report
In this book, which I have sadly since misplaced, was a recipe for a wonderful flourless chocolate torte called Gâteau de Reine de Saba… Torte of the Queen of Shiba. There are many variations on this old French recipe… change the nuts, exclude the nuts… but it is always sure to please - and as easy as it gets.
All the recipes say to softly fold in the egg whites one-third at a time into the chocolate mixture, but I say, “Nonsense!” Take one-third of the stiff egg whites and beat them in with your electric mixer at low speed. Then with a wooden spoon, fold in the rest. As I said, I like the smaller versions of this dessert. Small monkey dishes which cost about 11 pesos around town work perfectly. Make sure they are well buttered and pour the batter into each. Put into a large and deep baking dish (I just did them in the disposable foil type) and fill with hot water to about 3/4’s of the height of the containers. Bake at 180oC for 45 minutes or until slightly firm to the touch.