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Coffee Crunch
Use a 4-1/2 quart heavy saucepan for this, although a smaller one will do. Have a jelly roll pan ready or some other baking sheet with sides to receive the hot caramelized crunch. It is not necessary to grease the pan. Into the saucepan put:
1-1/2 cups sugar
1/4 cup strong coffee (use 'brewed' coffee, not instant)
1/4 cup light corn syrup
Bring to a boil slowly, stirring now and then to help dissolve sugar. After it reaches the boil and the sugar has dissolved, do not stir anymore. Put heat to high and boil until mixture reaches 290 degrees on a candy thermometer. You may have to put on mitts and tilt the pan to get a reading. Remove from heat and let boiling subside for just a few seconds then add:
1 tablespoon sifted baking soda
Sprinkle it over then beat like hell long enough to really distribute the soda well. This will froth up and start to swell like a weird blob. Immediately scrape out onto the jelly roll pan. Do not spread it out. Just leave it in one big lump. As it cools it will shrink.
When cool, remove from sheet then crack into 3 or 4 pieces and put into a plastic bag right away or it will get gooey. It keeps well out of the air for many weeks.
To Assemble: Slice the cake into three layers using a saw bladed knife. 4 cups heavy whipping cream (could use 3, but not as fabulous) Whip until very stiff, but perhaps not quite so stiff as for piping with a pastry bag.
Fold in:
2 teaspoon vanilla
Sprinkle over:
2 teaspoons instant coffee
Fold in well. Break up the coffee crunch saving enough rather large, quarter-sized pieces to cover the top of the cake.
Crush the rest into a combination of fine and 1/4 inch coarse crumbs. Place the bottom layer on an attractive cake plate. Spread the whipped cream over the cake slice making a generous layer of cream about 1/2 inch thick.
Sprinkle with some of the finer crumbs. Add the second layer then repeat cream and crunch crumbs. Place the top layer on. Cover top and sides (can even fill in the hole if you like) with the remaining cream then use the finer crunch and smaller pieces on the sides and finish the top with the larger pieces.
Cover the whole cake very well top and sides with plastic wrap. Refrigerate until the next day.
To Serve: Can serve chilled right from refrigerator, but I prefer to bring it out to room temperature one half hour before serving. Unwrap as soon as you remove it from the refrigerator. Use a saw bladed knife to serve this.
Yield: 10 to 12 servings
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