French Orange Cake

1 cup boiling water
1 pound pitted dates, chopped
1/2 cup butter
1 cup sugar
2 eggs, separated
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons baking powder
Grated rind of 3 oranges
2 cups chopped toasted almonds
1/8 teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 300 degrees.
Lightly grease and flour one angel food cake pan.
Pour 1 cup of boiling water over the dates. Cream the butter and sugar until they are very light. Beat in the egg yolks. Combine the flour, baking soda, and baking powder. Add them alternately with the date mixture to the creamed mixture. Stir in the orange rind and chopped almonds. Beat the egg whites with 1/8 teaspoon of salt until they are stiff. Fold the egg whites into the batter. Turn it into the prepared pan and bake for 1 hour or until the cake tests done. Pour the following topping over the cake before removing it from the pan.

Topping:
1/2 cup orange juice
1/4 cup orange liqueur
1 cup sugar
Grated rind of 1 orange

Combine all the ingredients in a saucepan and heat until the sugar is dissolved. Pour it over the warm cake. When the cake is cool, remove it from the pan. Place it on a platter and slice. Serves 10 to 12.