Amaretto Chocolate Cake

Ingredients

3 eggs (separated)
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup butter
1 cup brown sugar (packed)
2 1/4 cup plain flour
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
3/4 cup cold strong coffee
3/4 cup Amaretto

Amaretto frosting:

6 Tbs butter
500g confectioner's sugar; sifted
3 Tbs unsweetened cocoa powder
3 Tbs Amaretto
2 Tbs coffee beans, ground

Method

Grease and flour two 22cm cake pans.

Preheat oven to 180 C (or 160 C if fan forced).

Beat egg whites until frothy, then beat in granulated sugar until stiff peaks form. Set aside.

Cream butter and brown sugar until fluffy. Beat in egg yolks one at a time.

Sift flour, cocoa powder and baking soda together. Add to creamed mixture along with Amaretto and coffee; blend well. Fold egg whites into batter.

Pour into prepared pans. Bake 30 to 35 minutes or until done. Cool 10 minutes, invert on wire rack and remove pans. Cool before frosting.

Amaretto Frosting:

In a large bowl, cream together butter and sifted confectioners' sugar. Add cocoa powder, Amaretto and ground coffee beans. Beat until smooth.

Place one layer on cake plate and spread frosting on top. Position second layer over the first. Spread frosting on cake sides and top. Decorate with shaved chocolate, if desired.