Special Mother's Day Cake

Cake Ingredients:
1½ cups almonds; skinned
6 oz. Semi-Sweet Chocolate; chopped
¾ cup granulated sugar
6 oz. unsalted butter
6 large eggs; yolks & whites separated
1 tsp. fresh lemon juice

Icing Ingredients:
½ cup heavy cream
2 tsp. instant espresso or coffee powder
8 oz. Semi-Sweet Chocolate; chopped

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Toast almonds in a single layer on a cookie sheet in a 350º oven for about 15 minutes or until the almonds are lightly colored and fragrant. Make sure to shake the pan occasionally to turn almonds while toasting.

Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees. Spray the bottom of a 9” spring form pan with a non-stick cooking spray. Dust lightly with flour or very fine, dry bread crumbs. Shake out any excess and set prepared pan aside. Warm chopped chocolate in the top of a small double boiler over warm water set at moderate heat. Cover until partially melted, then stir until smooth. Set aside to cool to room temperature. Reserve ½ cup sugar and place the remaining ¼ cup sugar with the almonds in a food processor or blender and chop until nuts are fine and powdery. Set aside.  

In a large mixing bowl beat the butter until soft. Add ¼ cup of sugar and reserve the remaining ¼ cup sugar for use later. Beat sugar and butter until thoroughly combined.  Add the egg yolks, one at a time, and continue to beat until smooth. Add the melted chocolate and blend on low speed until combined. Add almonds and continue to beat mixture on a low speed setting.  

In a clean bowl with clean beaters, beat the egg whites with salt and lemon juice. Start on low speed and gradually increase until the egg whites hold a soft shape. Reduce speed again and add remaining ¼ cup sugar. Then on high speed, beat egg whites to soft peaks. Gently fold the egg whites into the chocolate mixture about one-third at a time until blended. Pour the cake batter into the prepared spring form pan an quickly rotate to level the batter. Bake for 20-minutes at 375º, then reduce heat to 350º and continue to bake an additional 50-minutes. Remove cake from pan when cooled, after about 1 hour.  

To prepare the icing, scald the heavy cream in a saucepan over medium heat until a thin skin forms on the top. Add the espresso or coffee powder and whisk to dissolve. Add the chocolate and whisk to dissolve, for about a minute or two.  Remove from heat and continue to stir to finish melting the chocolate. Let icing cool for about 15 minutes, then pour over the top of the cake, starting at the center. Gently push the icing with a spatula over the sides to dribble down the cake. Top with shaved chocolate, or whipped cream just prior to serving. A fresh strawberry is an optional garnish with each served slice.   Yield: one 9” cake