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Family Cookbook
recipes
Coffee Crunch Cake
When Jane was at Stanford there was a restaurant at Stanford Shopping Center called Blum's. It was where classmates often went for birthday dinners...and the favorite cake was the Coffee Crunch Cake. This is the best guess of how it was made.

Required Ingredients


Sponge Cake:
7 Eggs - separated - room temperature
1 TeaspoonVanilla
1 CupSugar
3 TablespoonCold water
½TeaspoonCream of Tartar
1 CupSifted Cake Flour (sift before measuring)
¼TeaspoonSalt

Whipped Cream:
2 Cupheavy cream
1 TablespoonKahula
½CupSugar...or to taste

Coffee Crunch:
1 ½CupSugar
¼TeaspoonInstant Coffee
¼CupHot Water
¼CupWhite Karo
1 TablespoonSifted soda

Preparation Instructions

  1. Resift cake flour with salt. Set aside.
  2. Beat 7 egg whites with cream of tartar until soft peaks form. Gradually add ⅓ sugar beating on high until peaks are stiff but not dry. Set aside.
  3. Beat 7 egg yolks with ⅔ cup sugar and the vanilla until thick and pale yellow, about 2 to 3 minutes. Beat in the water.
  4. Sift the cake flour mixture evenly over the egg yolk mixture, but do not mix in. Place about ¼ of the egg white mixture over the egg yolks and cake flour and gently fold together. Then fold in the remaining egg whites.
  5. Gently distribute the folded mixture inside an ungreased 10" tube pan and place in a preheated 325° oven. Bake for about an hour until the top is golden brown, a tooth pick inserted comes out clean and the top springs back when lightly touched.
  6. Remove from the oven and turn upside down to cool. Most tube pans have little tabs to keep the pan elevated during cooling, but if not put the tube over a bottle to keep the bottom suspended. When cool run a knife around the edge of pan to release the cake and invert on a cake plate.
  7. When cool the classic sponge cake can be turned into the Coffee Crunch Cake: Slice the cake in thirds horizontally. Spread each layer with whipping cream flavored with sugar and kalua to taste. Spread the top and sides with the same whip cream. The two inside layers and the outside take about 2 cups of cream whipped.
  8. While cake is baking, make the coffee crunch. Place the water, sugar, karo and instant coffee in a sauce pan and cook to hard crack stage (290°). Remove from heat and immediately sprinkle the sifted soda evenly over the top trying to avoid lumps. Stir vigorously until blended and pulling away from the sides of the pan. Spread gently on a shallow metal, ungreased pan. Crack when cool.
  9. Before serving, sprinkle the coffee crunch over the whip cream. (Note: The crunch can also be sprinkled on the two inside layers of whip cream as the cake is assembled; however it does not stay crunchy but just flavors the whip cream.)