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MASCOTTE CAKE
To make the spongecake, grease and flour a 9-inch round cake pan. Preheat the oven to 350F. Whisk the eggs and sugar until foamy. Whisk in the vanilla extract. Sift the flour into the batter in 3 batches and fold together. Add the butter with the last batch. Pour the batter into the cake pan and bake for 35-40 minutes. Cool in the pan on a rack, then unmold and cool completely. To make the praline buttercream icing, heat the sugar and water over low heat, stirring occasionally at the beginning to help dissolve the sugar. When the sugar has dissolved, increase the heat to boil the sugar rapidly. Put a candy thermometer in the pan after the sugar comes to a boil. Boil the sugar, without stirring, until the candy thermometer reaches 250F. In the bowl of a mixer beat the egg whites with the salt until foamy. Add the cream of tartar and beat the whites until they hold stiff peaks. With the mixer running, add the hot syrup to the whites in a stream, beating, and beat the mixture until completely cool. Beat in the butter, a little at a time. Beat in the crushed pralines. To make the syrup, heat the sugar and water over low heat stirring occasionally at the beginning to help dissolve the sugar. When the sugar has dissolved, increase the heat to boil the sugar rapidly. Boil until sparkling clear, about 2-3 minutes. Leave to cool, then stir in the rum. Slice the spongecake horizontally into 3 equal-sized pieces. Brush each piece on one side with the rum syrup. Place one piece on a serving platter and frost the middle with the icing. Repeat with the remaining layers, then frost the outside of the cake. Sprinkle the toasted almonds all over the cake. Place narrow strips of wax paper on top of the cake and sift over the confectioner╒s sugar. Remove and discard the wax paper strips.
