| 1 | To make ganache, chop 2 oz of the chocolate into small pieces and place in small bowl. |
| 2 | Pour cream into a small saucepan and heat until bubbles appear around edge. |
| 3 | Pour hot cream over chocolate, let stand several minutes, and stir until smooth. |
| 4 | Pour ganache into 6 squares of a plastic ice-cube tray. |
| 5 | Freeze until solid. |
| 6 | Butter six 3-inch metal baking rings and place on a parchment-lined baking sheet; set aside. |
| 7 | Melt butter and remaining 12 oz chocolate in a heatproof bowl over simmering water. |
| 8 | Stir until smooth. |
| 9 | Let cool slightly. |
| 10 | Meanwhile, combine egg yolks, 6 tablespoons of the sugar, and the vanilla in bowl of an electric mixer. |
| 11 | Beat until thick and pale yellow, 5 to 8 minutes. |
| 12 | Add chocolate butter mixture and thoroughly combine. |
| 13 | Fold in ground almonds. |
| 14 | In a separate bowl, beat remaining 4 tablespoons sugar with the egg whites until stiff. |
| 15 | Fold into egg yolk-chocolate mixture. |
| 16 | Spoon about 3 t of batter into each ring. |
| 17 | Remove frozen ganache cubes from freezer; you may need to dip the bottom of the ice tray in hot water to get them out. |
| 18 | Place a cube in the center of each ring. |
| 19 | Spoon remaining batter into rings, being careful to keep ganache cubes in center and cover them completely. |
| 20 | Freeze filled molds until solid, about 1 hour. |
| 21 | Heat oven to 375". |
| 22 | Take baking sheet from a freezer. |
| 23 | Wrap any cakes to be saved and replace in freezer; leave the rest on sheet. |
| 24 | Bake for 20 to 25 minutes. |
| 25 | Remove from oven and let cool 5 to 10 minutes. |
| 26 | To unmold, cover one hand with a clean dish towel and pick cake up on a spatula with the other. |
| 27 | Invert cake into hand, pull off ring, then invert again onto a plate and dust with confectioners" sugar, if desired. |
| 28 | Serve immediately. |
| 29 | martha stewart living/feb. |
| 30 | & march/94 scanned & fixed by di and gary |
