Gateau Marjolaine (marjolaine Cake)

Total Time: 6 hrs Preparation Time: 4 hrs Cook Time: 2 hrs

Ingredients

• Servings: 10
• 1 1/2 cups blanched almonds
• 1 cup hazelnuts
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 1 cup sugar
• 8 egg whites
• 8 egg yolks
• 1 pinch salt
• 1/4 cream of tartar
• 1/8 cream of tartar
• 6 ounces semisweet chocolate pieces
• 3 ounces semisweet chocolate pieces
• 1 tablespoon water
• 1/3 cup water
• 1 1/2 cups sweet butter
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/4 cup praline, powder
• cooking oil
• powdered sugar
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup water
• 1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
• 1/2 cup blanched almond

Recipe

• 1 in saucepan combine: 3/4 cup sugar, 1/4 cup water, 1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar, and 1/2 cup blanched almonds.
• 2 cook without stirring until mixture is color of dark molasses.
• 3 pour onto oiled cookie sheet and let cool.
• 4 detach the praline from sheet with pancake turner and break into pieces.
• 5 blend half at a time in container of an electric blender for about 20 seconds, or until ground to a fine powder.
• 6 store in refrigerator in a tightly closed container.
• 7 preheat oven to very hot 450 degrees f.
• 8 in separate pans or pie plates put 1+ 1/2 cups blanched almonds and 1 full cup skinned hazelnuts.
• 9 bake in the hot oven for 20 minutes, or until brown, shaking pans occasionally.
• 10 remove from oven and cool.
• 11 grind 1 cup at a time in an electric blender on high speed for about 5 seconds, and empty into a bowl.
• 12 mix ground nuts with 1 1/2 cups sugar.
• 13 reduce oven to very slow 250º f.
• 14 beat until stiff: 8 egg whites (reserve yolks for butter cream), a pinch of salt, and 1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar.
• 15 gradually fold in the sugar-nut mixture.
• 16 line baking sheets with waxed paper and butter paper lightly.
• 17 on it mark 4 bands about 12 inches long and 4 wide.
• 18 spread these bands thickly with the meringue-nut mixture, and bake in the slow oven for about 30 minutes, or until crusty on top, but still pliable.
• 19 invert on waxed paper, and carefully remove waxed paper from bottom of bands.
• 20 cool.
• 21 melt 6 ounces semisweet chocolate pieces over hot water.
• 22 cut circles 2 1/2 inches in diameter from waxed paper and spread these rounds with a thin coating of the melted chocolate.
• 23 place rounds on a cookie sheet and chill in refrigerator.
• 24 in saucepan combine: 1 cup sugar, 1/2 cup water, and 1/8 teaspoon cream of tartar.
• 25 bring to a boil and boil rapidly to 240ºf on a candy thermometer, or until syrup spins a long thread.
• 26 gradually beat the hot syrup into 8 egg yolks, and continue to beat until the mixture is cool and thick.
• 27 beat in bit by bit: 1+1/2 cups sweet butter.
• 28 this makes 1 quart butter cream.
• 29 measure 1 cup of the butter cream and flavor it with 1 teaspoon vanilla.
• 30 measure a second cup and flavor it with 1/4 cup praline powder.
• 31 melt: 3 ounces semisweet chocolate pieces with 1 tablespoon water and stir into remaining butter cream.
• 32 chill all cream until firm enough to spread.
• 33 presentation: place a meringue band on a serving plate and spread with vanilla cream.
• 34 top with second meringue band and spread with half the chocolate cream.
• 35 top with the third meringue band.
• 36 frost sides with remaining chocolate cream and sprinkle top heavy with confectioner's sugar.
• 37 carefully peel waxed paper from bottom of the chocolate wafers and decorate the sides of the cake by overlapping the wafers all the way around.