2/3 cup cake flour
1/4 cup unsweetened Dutch process cocoa powder
3/4 cup sugar
5 whole eggs
5 egg yolks
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
3 tablespoons Amaretto liqueur
1 cup (about 5 ounces) coarsely chopped toasted almonds, for garnish
Apricot Buttercream
Chocolate Glaze

Apricot Buttercream:
1 cup (firmly packed) dried apricots (about 8 ounces)
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup plus 2 teaspoons Amaretto liqueur
3 sticks (3/4 pound) unsalted butter, at room temperature

Chocolate Glaze:
3/4 heavy cream
8 ounces good quality bittersweet chocolate, broken into pieces
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 1/2 cups sifted confectioners' sugar

Directions:
Apricot Buttercream:
In a small saucepan, combine the apricots, sugar, 1/2 cup of the Amaretto and 3/4 cup of water. Bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to moderate and simmer, uncovered, until the apricots are tender and slightly glazed and the liquid has been reduced to about 1/3 cup, 10 to 15 minutes.

Remove from the heat and let cool for 5 minutes. Strain the liquid into a small bowl and reserve. Pass the fruit through the fine disk of a food mill or puree in a food processor until smooth.

In a large mixer bowl, beat the utter at high speed until very pale and fluffy. Add the apricot puree and beat until well blended. Beat in 2 tablespoons of the reserved apricot syrup and the remaining 2 teaspoons Amaretto.

Chocolate Glaze:
In a saucepan, warm the cream over low the until hot to the touch but not boiling. Remove from the heat. In a double boiler or stainless steel bowl set over a pan of hot water, warm the chocolate and butter over hot, not simmering, water; stirring occasionally, until melted and smooth.

Stir the warmed cream into the chocolate until completely blended. Add the confectioners' sugar and whisk vigorously until it dissolves. Remove from the heat and let the glaze cool at room temperature until thickened to a spreadable consistency, about 30 minutes. Don't refrigerate or cool over ice.
If the glaze becomes too stiff for spreading, reheat over a pan of hot water; then let cool to the desired consistency.

The Cake:
Preheat the oven to 300°F. Butter a 10 x 3 inch cake or springform pan. Line the bottom of the pan with a circle of parchment or waxed paper; butter the paper. Dust the pan with flour and tap out any excess. Sift together the flour and cocoa. Set aside in a sifter or strainer set over a small bowl.

In a large stainless steel bowl, combine the sugar with the whole eggs and egg yolks. Holding the bowl with a mitt, whisk directly over moderate heat until the mixture is hot to the touch (120°F on an instant reading thermometer), about 2 minutes.

Remove from the heat and beat with an electric mixer on high speed for 5 minutes, or until the mixture is pale, thick and doubled in volume. Reduce the speed to medium and continue to beat for 3 to 5 minutes, or until a finger run through the batter creates a trough that will not collapse. This may take a few minutes longer if you are using a hand held mixer.

Working quickly, remove about 1 1/2 cups of the beaten egg mixture to a medium bowl. Add the melted butter to the 1 1/2 cups of beaten egg mixture; fold and stir with a rubber spatula until blended so that there are no streaks of butter. Set aside.

Sift the dry ingredients over the remaining beaten eggs and fold quickly until blended. Pour the reserved egg and butter mixture over the batter and quickly fold together. Pour the batter into the prepared pan.

Bake in the center of the oven for 1 hour, or until the cake begins to pull away from the sides of the pan and a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean.

Remove the cake from the oven and let cool in the pan on a rack for 10 minutes. Loosen the edges if necessary, with a small sharp knife. Invert to unmold the cake onto the rack, peel off the paper and let the inverted cake cool completely before proceeding to assemble.

To assemble, carefully slice the cake horizontally into 3 even layers with a long serrated knife. Sprinkle 1 tablespoon of the Amaretto liqueur on the bottom layer to moisten the cake. Spread a thick layer of buttercream (about 2/3 cup) over the bottom layer with a metal pastry spatula. Repeat with the second layer.

Place the third layer, flat bottom side up, over the buttercream; gently press the layers together with the palms of our hands. Sprinkle the top of the cake with the remaining 1 tablespoon Amaretto. Spread the remaining buttercream over the top and sides. Refrigerate for about 30 minutes to set the frosting.

Quickly spread the chocolate glaze over the top and sides of the cake. With a thick spatula, work the glaze decoratively or marble with the buttercream underneath. If desired, garnish the sides of the cake with the chopped almonds.

16 servings.

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