Jamaican Chocolate Cake

Ingredients

1 1/2 c self rising flour
1 1/2 t baking powder
1 mixed spice
3/4 c margarine
3/4 c superfine sugar
3 eggs
2 t unsweetened cocoa powder
2 t water
1/2 c granulated sugar
5/8 c water
2 cinnamon sticks
1/4 c dark rum
2 t slivered almonds
6 oz semisweet chocolate

Instructions

-in pieces Whipped cream Preheat oven to 325'F. (165'C.). Generously grease a 5-cup fluted or plain tube pan and dust lightly with flour. Sift flour, baking powder and Mixed Spice into a bowl. Add margarine, superfine sugar and eggs. Blend cocoa powder with hot water and add to flour mixture. Beat well with a wooden spoon 2 minutes or 1 minute if using an electric mixer. Turn mixture into prepared pan. Bake in preheated oven 1-1/4 hours or until well risen and cake begins to shrink from edges of pan. Carefully turn out cake onto a wire rack and cool. Combine granulated sugar and 2/3 cup water in a saucepan. Add cinnamon and heat gently, stirring to dissolve sugar. Boil 5 minutes. Remove from heat, add rum and discard cinnamon. Place cake on a plate. Spoon syrup over cake and let stand 2 hours. Stud top of cake with almonds. Melt chocolate; carefully spooon over cake, spreading to give a smooth even coating. Let stand several hours. Pipe (with a pastry bag) whipped cream around bottom of cake.