Ingredients

• ¾ cup almonds (blanched and ground with 3 tablespoons granulated sugar)
• ¼ teaspoon almond extract
• ½ cup cake flour
• 3 egg whites
• 3 tablespoons granulated confectioner’s sugar
• For meringue base -
• 3 large egg whites
• Pinch salt
• ¼ teaspoon cream of tartar (scant)
• 1 1/3 cup granulated sugar
• 12 oz semisweet baker’s chocolate melted with 1/3 cup strong coffee
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 3 tablespoons Rum. Dark, Jamaican
• 4 tablespoons butter, unsalted, softened
• For the filling -
• 4 tablespoons butter, unsalted, softened
• For the decoration -
• 3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa; in a tea strainer
• Confectioner’s sugar; in a sifter
• For the spun caramel veil -
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 3 tablespoons syrup, corn, white

Directions

• Directions
• A jelly roll pan about 11 by 17 inches; butter, wax paper and flour for the pan; an electric blender or food processor for the almonds; a table-model electric blender or food processor for the almonds; a table-model electric mixture for the meringue; a pastry bag with 3/8 inch tube opening and a separate tube with 1/8 inch opening, for the mushrooms; a buttered and floured no-stick pastry sheet for the mushrooms; a serving board to hold the log plenty of wax paper; an oiled broom handle suspended between 2 chair backs and newspapers on the floor.