Portuguese almond and potato cake
1 lg Baking potato, about 10
-ounces
1 c Almonds, with skins
2 ts baking powder
3 lg Eggs, separated
3/4 c Sugar
1/4 c Unsalted butter, softened
1 tb brandy
1/2 ts Almond extract
Powdered sugar
marzipan "potatoes,"
-optional (see recipe)
Bake or microwave potato until soft. Force pulp through a coarse
sieve or potato ricer. There should be 1 cup lightly packed. Set
aside to cool.
Preheat oven to 350F. butter sides of an 8 1/2-inch spring form pan,
line base with a circle of baking parchment; butter the parchment.
Using a nut mill, grind almonds to powder, stir in baking powder; set
aside.
Beat egg whites until they start to stiffen, sprinkle with half of the
sugar, a little at a time, and continue beating until stiff and
glossy.
Beat butter with remaining sugar, then beat in egg yolks, brandy, and
almond extract. Using a large rubber spatula, fold in potato, ground
almonds and egg whites.
Spoon into prepared pan; bake for 35 to 40 minutes, until a tester
comes out dry. Let cool in pan for 10 minutes.
Run a knife blade around edge before releasing sides of pan. Place
cake, on the base, on a rack and let cool completely. Cake will sink
slightly in the middle. Reverse cake onto a plate, peel off paper
and place right side up on a serving plate. Dust with powdered sugar
before serving.
marzipan "POTATOES": You'll need 4 ounces marzipan or almond paste
and powdered unsweetened cocoa.
Pinch off pieces of marzipan and roll into elongated balls, each
about the size of a large marble. Make these slightly irregular,
like tiny new potatoes. Roll in cocoa to simulate brown potato skin.
Cut several in half to show the white interior. Arrange a little
group on top of the cake, and place the rest in twos and threes
around the edge of the plate.
Serves 10.
PER SERVING: 235 calories, 5 g protein, 23 g carbohydrate, 14 g fat
(5 g saturated), 76 mg cholesterol, 131 mg sodium, 2 g fiber.
From an article by Jacqueline Mallorca, San Francisco Chronicle,
2/24/93.
Posted by Stephen Ceideberg; March 2 1993.
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