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1. Preheat the' oven to 350°F. Using a pastry brush coat the bottom and sides of an ll-by-17-inch jelly-roll pan with 1 tablespoon of softened butter. Line the pan with a 22-inch-long strip of wax paper allowing the extra paper to extend 2 inches over each end.
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2. Brush the remaining butter evenly over the paper, then sprinkle with 2 tablespoons of flour and tip the pan from side to side to spread the flour evenly. Now turn the pan over and rap it sharply on a table to remove the excess.
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3. Place the almonds on a baking sheet and toast them in the middle of the oven for about 10minutes, or until they color lightly. Set ¼ cup aside and pulverize the rest in a blender or with a nut grinder or mortar and pestle.
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4. In a large mixing bowl, beat the egg whites and salt with a whisk or a rotary or electric beater until they form firm unwavering peaks on the beater when it is lifted from the bowl.
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5. In a separate bowl, beat the egg yolks and sugar with the same beater until the mixture thickens enough to fall back on itself in a slowly dissolving ribbon when the beater is lifted from the bowl. Then stir the pulverized almonds and the teaspoon of almond extract into the beaten egg yolks.
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6. Mix about one fourth of the egg whites into the yolks and pour them over the remaining egg whites. With a rubber spatula, fold together, gently but thoroughly, using an over-and-under cutting motion rather than a stirring motion. Pour the batter into the pan, spread it into the corners with the spatula, and smooth the top.
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7. Bake in the middle of the oven for 15 to 20 minutes, or until the cake is light gold and has begun to come away from the sides of the pan. Remove the cake from the oven and let it cool in the pan for 2 or 3 minutes. Then carefully turn it out on a fresh sheet of wax paper. Gently peel off the top layer of paper and let the cake cool to room temperature before frosting it.
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8. To assemble the cake, trim the crusts from the edges with a large, sharp knife and slice the cake crosswise into four 11-by-4-inch rectangles. Place a rectangular layer of cake on a serving plate and, with a metal spatula or knife, spread it evenly with ¼ cup of the "ovos moles" icing.
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9. Set a second layer on top, spread with another ¼ cup of the icing and repeat the layers of cake and icing. Place the last layer of cake on top and spread the top and sides with the remaining "ovos moles". Arrange the ¼ cup of whole almonds decoratively in two parallel rows along the length of the cake.
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10. Serve at once or let the cake rest at room temperature for 2 or 3 hours to absorb the icing.
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