Recipe - Pastel De Chocolate Blanco Del Castillo

For the batter
10 Egg yolks
1 One half cup Sugar
1 One fourth cup Melted butter; still warm
2 cup Pecans; ground
2 cup Raw almonds; skinned and
ground
1/3 cup Flour
One fourth teaspoon (To 1/2) almond extract
Three fourths teaspoon Vanilla extract
10 Egg whites
For the syrup
1 One half cup Water
Three fourths cup Sugar
Three fourths cup Kirsch or rum
For the frosting
8 Egg yolks
1 2/3 cup Sugar
2/3 cup Water
2 One fourth cup Butter; room temperature
9 ounce White chocolate; grated
One fourth teaspoon Almond extract
One half cup Kirsch
For the garnish
11 ounce White chocolate; curls

Recipe by: The Taste of Mexico Preheat oven to 350F degrees. Grease and
flour two 9inch round cake pans.

Prepare the batter: Beat egg yolks until foamy and lemon colored.
Gradually add sugar, and beat until mixture forms a ribbon when poured from
a spoon. Add butter, a little at a time, until mixture form a thick paste.
Add pecans and almonds. Stir. Fold flour, almond and vanila extracts into
the mixture, being careful not to overmix. Beat egg whites until they form
stiff peaks, and fold into batter.

Fill cake pans equally with the batter and bake for 45 minutes or until
done. Remove from oven, cool for 10 minutes, and remove from pans. Cool
completely, and set on plate(s) with a high rim.

Meanwhile prepare the syrup: Heat the water and sugar in a saucepan, and
boil over medium heat for 20 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in liqueur.
Pour syrup over the cooled cakes, allowing the cakes to absorb the syrup
totally.

Prepare the frosting: Beat the egg yolks until foamy and lemoncolored.
Set aside. Heat sugar and water in a saucepan, stirring until the sugar
dissolves. Stop stirring, and heat until the mixture reaches hard ball
stage (260F on a candy thermometer). Add sugar to eggs in a slow steady
stream, beating constantly with an electric mixer. Continue beating until
mixture is cool. Gradually mix in butter and chocolate, alternating. Add
almond extract and kirsch and continue beating until thick and smooth.

Place 1 Tablespoon of frosting on a 12inch serving plate in order to
stabilize cake layers. Place one cake layer on plate, and frost. Top with
second layer, and frost top and sides of cake. Swirl frosting with a
spatula. Spinkle with white chocolate curls.

From Gemini's MASSIVE MealMaster collection at www.synapse.com/~gemini