Recipe - Russian Chocolate Tort

1 cup Softened butter
2 cup Sugar
4 Eggsseperated
One half cup Heavy cream
1 cup Mashed potatos
1 cup Ground almonds
4 ounce Unsweetened
chocolatemelted
1 teaspoon Pure vanilla extract
2 teaspoon Rum
1 teaspoon Cinnamon
1 One half cup Unbleached white flour
2 teaspoon Baking powder
FROSTING:
3 tablespoon Buttersoftened
1 One half cup Powdered sugarsifted
2 tablespoon Strong, warm freshly brewed
coffee
1 ounce Unsweetened
chocolatemelted
1 tablespoon Strong, dark rum
One half teaspoon Pure vanilla extract
FILLING:
One half cup Raspberry butter OR jam OR
One half cup stewed dried
apricotspureed
16 Whole almonds or One half cup
slivered almonds.

CAKE:

Preheat oven to 325 F. Generously butter and flour a 10inch springform
pan. Cream together the butter and sugar. Beat in the egg yolks, one at a
time, and then add the next 4 ingredients, beating until smooth. Mix in the
vanilla and rum. Sift together the cinnamon, flour and baking powder and
add to the batter, mixing well.

Beat the egg whites until stiffBUT NOT DRYand fold them into the
batter. Pour the batter into the pan and bake for 1 One half hours or till a
knife inserted in the center comes out clean. Allow the cake to cool for
about 15 minutes in the pan, then slide a knife between the sides of the
cake and the detachable side of the springform pan. Remove the pan.

While the cake is cooling, prepare the frosting. Cream together the butter
and powdered sugar. Add the rest of the ingredients and beat till smooth.
When the cake is cool, carefully slice it in half horozontally and spread
the jam or cooked apricots between the layers. Reassemble the cake and
spread the frosting on the top and sides. If you wishdecorate with
almonds.

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