"I feel the end approaching.
Quick, bring me my dessert, coffee and liqueur."
- Pierette, great-aunt of Anthelme Brillat-Savarin

Italian Rum Cake
Gourmet January 1987

4 large eggs
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/8 teaspoon salt
4 tablespoons clarified butter, lukewarm
1 cup dark rum
1/4 cup tart orange marmalade
3 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped
1/2 ounce unsweetened chocolate, chopped
2 tablespoons strong brewed coffee
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup confectioner's sugar, sifted

In a large metal bowl beat the eggs lightly, put the bowl in a pan filled with enough hot water to reach halfway up the side of the bowl, and stir the
eggs until they are barely warm. Remove the bowl from the pan and add
the granulated sugar. With an electric mixer beat the mixture for 5 to 10 minutes, or until it is triple in volume, and beat in the vanilla. Sift the flour and salt over the mixture in batches, folding the flour mixture in gently but thoroughly after each addition, and fold in the clarified butter, 1 tablespoon at a time. Line a buttered 9-inch round cake pan, 2 inches deep, with a round of wax paper and butter the paper. Turn the batter into the pan, smoothing the top, and bake the cake in a preheated 350 degrees F oven
for 25 to 30 minutes, or until a tester comes out clean. Let the cake cool
in the pan for 15 minutes. Turn the cake out onto a rack, peel off the
paper carefully, and let the cake cool completely.
Slice the cake horizontally with a serrated knife into two layers, put one
layer cut side up on a serving plate, and brush it with 1/2 cup of the rum. Spread the layer with the marmalade, top it with the remaining layer of
cake cut side down and brush the layer of cake cut side down and brush
the layer with the remaining 1/2 cup rum.
In the top of a double boiler set over barely simmering water melt the semisweet chocolate and the unsweetened chocolate with the coffee,
stirring. Transfer the chocolate mixture to a bowl, let it cool to room temperature, and stir in the unsalted butter and the confectioner's sugar.
If necessary chill the icing until it is of spreading consistency. Spread the cake with the icing and chill it, covered loosely, for at least 6 hours and
up to 2 days.