Chocolate Potato Cake Recipe

I couldn't really get a good picture of it...it needs some warm tones (too yellow without the flash and too white with it...ah well). This is one of my family's favorite recipes (from the Eating Well cookbook). The potato put us off at first, but really just locks in the moisture. For the above, I've doubled the recipe and made it as a layer cake, the layer filling consisting of ginger preserves and some pomegranate seeds, and then the whole thing covered in chocolate frosting and more pomegranate (usually I make the layer and outside chocolate and the top I cover with raspberries, but it's not raspberry season...). Also, the recipe usually calls for half a tsp of cinnamon and a quarter tsp of nutmeg, but I prefer cardamom. Here's the recipe:

Ingredients:

* 1 cup sugar
* 1/2 cup vegetable oil
* 2 large eggs
* 1/2 cup cold, plain, mashed potatoes
* 1 cup flour
* 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
* 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
* 1/2 teaspoon cardamom
* 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
* 1/2 cup buttermilk
* Pinch of salt

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly oil a 9-inch round spring-form pan and line the base with wax or parchment paper. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together sugar, oil, and eggs. Whisk in the (well-mashed) potatoes. In another bowl, stir together flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, cardamom, and salt. Using a spoon or rubber spatula, alternately add the dry ingredients and the buttermilk to the egg mixture, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients. Spoon the batter into the cake pan. Bake for 30-35 minutes, or until the top springs back when touched lightly. Let cool on a rack for 10 minutes. Invert the cake onto a rack and let cool thoroughly. Once cool, do what you like.

Youtube.com video:Beyond Reality - Top Chef Chicago Recap - 5/06/08