Preheat oven to 350° F. Butter and flour a 9″ x 2 1/2″ springform pan.

Melt the 56% cacao chocolate in a small bowl set over simmering water; cool until lukewarm.

Whisk together the flour and almonds.

Cream the butter with the sugar and vanilla in a stand mixture using the paddle blade at medium speed. Add the egg yolks one by one, mixing till each yolk is well incorporated. Lower the speed and add in the warm chocolate followed by the almond mixture. The batter will be very thick

In a clean bowl, beat the egg whites to soft peaks; stir a quarter of them into the chocolate mixture to lighten the batter. Gently fold in the remaining whites.

Transfer the batter into the prepared pan and bake 50 minutes. Test the cake with a toothpick; a few moist crumbs should adhere. Using the bottom of a 8-inch cake pan, push down on the top so that the edges and center are flush. Allow to cool in the pan for 20 minutes. Remove the sides of the springform pan and invert the cake onto a cooling rack set on a half sheet baking pan or cookie sheet. The baking pan will catch all the drips of chocolate when icing and will be easy to rotate when glazing the cake. (The bottom has now become the top of the cake). Cool completely.

Slice the cake in half horizontally, and take off the top without cracking it. (It helps to use the base of a removable-bottom 11-inch tart pan to slide between the still-stacked layers before lifting the top to the side).

Warm the apricot jam till it starts melting, and push it through a sieve. Liberally brush the sieved jam over the bottom half of the cake (it is more of a filling than simply a glaze). Return top half of the cake by sliding onto the lower half, then brush the warm jam over the top and sides. Let the glaze set for about 30 minutes before icing the cake.

In a small sauce pan, scald the cream and Karo Syrup together. Whisk in the the 70% chocolate (I used Tucson Chocolate Factory bars from Bolivia). Stir 1 minute over the heat, then remove and continue to stir until the chocolate has completely melted (it may have melted in that first minute).

Cool a few minutes, then pour over the cake; don’t let it cool too much or it will need spreading, which tends to mess up the smooth top of the cake. Spread the ganache evenly with the spatula over the top and sides, letting excess drip through the rack to the baking sheet. The sides may need an extra coating.

Chill the cake on its rack until the ganache is completely set. Transfer to a serving plate and refrigerate. I added some gold leaf for fun, but obviously this is not necessary. Bring to room temperature before serving.