TO MAKE GENOISE: Preheat oven to 350 F. Grease and flour bottom and sides of a 14 inch x 10 inch baking pan. Shake out excess flour.

Combine eggs and sugar in a medium mixing bowl. Place bowl in a pan of hot water. Beat until mixture is very thick and just warm. Mixture should form a ribbon when beaters are lifted. Remove from heat and add vanilla. Continue beating until mixture is almost cool. Fold flour into egg and sugar mixture.
Mix in butter.

Pour batter into prepared greased pan; level top. Bake in a preheated oven
20-25 minutes or until set on top. Cool pan on a wire rack 10 minutes. Run a knife carefully around the edge. Remove from pan. Cool completely on wire rack. Use within 36 hours or wrap and freeze up to 6 weeks.

TO MAKE THE RUMBALLS: In a medium bowl, combine cake crumbs, sugar, almonds, rum and lemon juice. Melt chocolate in a bowl or top of a double boiler set over a pan of simmering water. Add to rum mixture with SUFFICIENT CREAM for mixture to HOLD TOGETHER when pressed between fingers. Form teaspoonfuls of mixture into 18 small balls. Refrigerate on a baking sheet 4 hours or until firm.

TO MAKE THE ICING, combine sugar, butter, chocolate and rum in a small saucepan. When chocolate and butter softens, add a tablespoon of water. Warm again and add sufficient water to liquefy.

TO COAT RUM BALLS, insert a poultry skewer in center of a rum ball. Tilt pan of icing and dip each ball. Let excess drip. To decorate, roll in chocolate sprinkles to coat completely. Refrigerate in a covered container with waxed paper between layers up to 10 days Makes 18 rum balls.

If you can't find superfine sugar in your grocery stores, take regular sugar and whiz in blender until it becomes like powder.

Chocolates & Petits Fours

Donated by Olga Drozd