1 lg Baking potato, about 10

           -ounces
      1 c  Almonds, with skins

      2 ts Baking powder

      3 lg Eggs, separated

    3/4 c  Sugar

    1/4 c  Unsalted butter, softened

      1 tb Brandy

    1/2 ts Almond extract

           Powdered sugar
           Marzipan "potatoes,"
           -optional (see recipe)
  Bake or microwave potato until soft.  Force pulp through a coarse sieve or
  potato ricer.  There should be 1 cup lightly packed.  Set aside to cool.
  Preheat oven to 350F.  Butter sides of an 8 1/2-inch spring form pan, line
  base with a circle of baking parchment; butter the parchment. Using a nut
  mill, grind almonds to powder, stir in baking powder; set aside.
  Beat egg whites until they start to stiffen, sprinkle with half of the
  sugar, a little at a time, and continue beating until stiff and glossy.
  Beat butter with remaining sugar, then beat in egg yolks, brandy, and
  almond extract.  Using a large rubber spatula, fold in potato, ground
  almonds and egg whites.
  Spoon into prepared pan; bake for 35 to 40 minutes, until a tester comes
  out dry.  Let cool in pan for 10 minutes.
  Run a knife blade around edge before releasing sides of pan.  Place cake,
  on the base, on a rack and let cool completely.  Cake will sink slightly in
  the middle.  Reverse cake onto a plate, peel off paper and place right side
  up on a serving plate.  Dust with powdered sugar before serving.
  MARZIPAN "POTATOES":  You'll need 4 ounces marzipan or almond paste and
  powdered unsweetened cocoa.
  Pinch off pieces of marzipan and roll into elongated balls, each about the
  size of a large marble.  Make these slightly irregular, like tiny new
  potatoes.  Roll in cocoa to simulate brown potato skin. Cut several in half
  to show the white interior.  Arrange a little group on top of the cake, and
  place the rest in twos and threes around the edge of the plate.
  Serves 10.
  PER SERVING:  235 calories, 5 g protein, 23 g carbohydrate, 14 g fat (5 g
  saturated), 76 mg cholesterol, 131 mg sodium, 2 g fiber.
  From an article by Jacqueline Mallorca, San Francisco Chronicle, 2/24/93.
  Posted by Stephen Ceideberg; March 2 1993.