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 microcook 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 81/2-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.
Yields
10