Bolo Polana

Description
Cashew and potato cake

Ingredients

 * 3 medium-sized boiling potatoes (about 1 pound), peeled and quartered
 * 2 tablespoons + 3 x ¼-pound sticks unsalted butter, softened
 * 2 tablespoons flour
 * 2 cups sugar
 * 2 cups roasted unsalted cashews, finely chopped or pulverized in a blender or with a nut grinder
 * 2 teaspoons finely grated fresh lemon peel
 * 2 teaspoons finely grated fresh orange peel
 * 9 egg yolks
 * 4 egg whites

Directions

 * 1) Drop the potatoes into enough boiling water to cover them completely and cook briskly, uncovered, until they are soft enough to be easily mashed with a fork.
 * 2) Drain, then mash the potatoes vigorously with a fork or put them through a ricer set over a bowl.
 * 3) Set the potatoes aside to cool to room temperature.
 * 4) Preheat the oven to 350°F.
 * 5) With a pastry brush, spread 2 tablespoons of the softened butter evenly over the bottom and sides of a spring form cake pan 9 inches wide and 3 inches high.
 * 6) Sprinkle the pan with the flour, tipping it from side to side to spread the flour evenly.
 * 7) Then invert the pan and rap it sharply to remove the excess flour.
 * 8) In a deep bowl, cream the 3 sticks of softened butter and 2 cups of sugar together by beating and mashing them against the sides of the bowl with the back of a spoon until they are light and fluffy.
 * 9) Beat in the potatoes, cashews, lemon peel and orange peel.
 * 10) Add the egg yolks, 1 at a time, stirring after each addition, and continue stirring until the mixture is well blended.
 * 11) With a wire whisk or a rotary or electric beater, beat the egg whites until they are stiff enough to form firm, unwavering peaks on the beater when it is lifted from the bowl.
 * 12) Stir a heaping tablespoon of the whites thoroughly into the potato mixture.
 * 13) Then spoon the remaining egg whites over the mixture and, with a rubber spatula, fold them together gently but thoroughly.
 * 14) Pour the batter into the buttered and floured pan, spreading it and smoothing the top with the spatula.
 * 15) Bake in the middle of the oven for about 1 hour, or until the top is brown and a skewer inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean.
 * 16) Let the cake cool for 5 minutes.
 * 17) Then remove the sides of the pan and with the help of a large metal spatula slide the cake off the base onto a wire rack.
 * 18) Serve the bolo polana while it is still slightly warm, or let it cool to room temperature before serving.