luisa_calif
Well-known member
Bake spongecake (see link) day before & keep covered (I just use a dome cover)
Toast sliced almonds ahead (can leave these off if someone can't have nuts)
Chill THREE cups of cream for whipping
Make Honeycomb Brittle -keep in a dry place (tinned?)
Honeycomb Brittle Recipe
Heat in a tall, heavy pan (I use bottom of my pressure cooker) 3/4 cup sugar, 1/2 tsp instant coffee, 2 TB water & 2 TB light corn syrup to soft crack, 285 deg on a candy thermometer. Have a dry,ungreased alum pan at the ready. Stir in 1.5 tsp sieved(I use a fine tea strainer & sieve right into the pot) Baking Soda with a wooden spoon just until the soda is evenly distributed and the mass of cooked sugar will foam up like a chemistry experiment to a billowy mass. While it is at its largest volume (nearly right away) spoon into the alum pan. Let cool thoughly and then you can just knock it out in one piece. It will deflate sightly while it cools. After making a batch the night before I thought I needed more so I made another batch. One would probably have been enough, but nice to have a bit more for insurance purposes and for eating!
TO ASSEMBLE CAKE:
Cut cake into 3 even layers, use a wire device or dental floss or whatever you like (maybe serrated knife?)
Using a Mallet (GENTLY, Marilyn!)break up the brittle into pieces the sizes of dimes, pennies, and nickles (Okay, okay you Can toss in some quarters if you're That kind...)Do this in a roasting pan to contain the flying shards.
Whip 3 cups cream until fairly stiff with a bit of powdered sugar (less sweet than to taste, if that makes sense)
In the bowl with a spatula, divide into FOUR portions.
Spread each layer with one fourth of the cream, sprinkle with the smaller pieces of brittle. Place next layer on an repeat. Frost the top with one fourth cream and the sides with one fourth. Artisticly place nice shards on the top and sides. Sprinkle top with nice slices of toasted almonds, not the broken ones! The brittle will eventually dissolve into the cream so that's why do this not too long before serving.
Did I mention put this on your best cake plate? A pedestal would be Primo. Use a serrated knife to cut, then a cake server to serve slices on their sides. You may need skewers to keep cake in place, we didn't until we got down to the last quarter of cake during the serving.
That's It! Really it's not that hard....
http://www.marthastewart.com/recipe/blums-coffee-crunch-cake
https://recipeswap.org/fun/wp-content/uploads/Finer_Kitchens/Luisa_Calif/AssemblyofHoneycombBrittleCake.jpg
Toast sliced almonds ahead (can leave these off if someone can't have nuts)
Chill THREE cups of cream for whipping
Make Honeycomb Brittle -keep in a dry place (tinned?)
Honeycomb Brittle Recipe
Heat in a tall, heavy pan (I use bottom of my pressure cooker) 3/4 cup sugar, 1/2 tsp instant coffee, 2 TB water & 2 TB light corn syrup to soft crack, 285 deg on a candy thermometer. Have a dry,ungreased alum pan at the ready. Stir in 1.5 tsp sieved(I use a fine tea strainer & sieve right into the pot) Baking Soda with a wooden spoon just until the soda is evenly distributed and the mass of cooked sugar will foam up like a chemistry experiment to a billowy mass. While it is at its largest volume (nearly right away) spoon into the alum pan. Let cool thoughly and then you can just knock it out in one piece. It will deflate sightly while it cools. After making a batch the night before I thought I needed more so I made another batch. One would probably have been enough, but nice to have a bit more for insurance purposes and for eating!
TO ASSEMBLE CAKE:
Cut cake into 3 even layers, use a wire device or dental floss or whatever you like (maybe serrated knife?)
Using a Mallet (GENTLY, Marilyn!)break up the brittle into pieces the sizes of dimes, pennies, and nickles (Okay, okay you Can toss in some quarters if you're That kind...)Do this in a roasting pan to contain the flying shards.
Whip 3 cups cream until fairly stiff with a bit of powdered sugar (less sweet than to taste, if that makes sense)
In the bowl with a spatula, divide into FOUR portions.
Spread each layer with one fourth of the cream, sprinkle with the smaller pieces of brittle. Place next layer on an repeat. Frost the top with one fourth cream and the sides with one fourth. Artisticly place nice shards on the top and sides. Sprinkle top with nice slices of toasted almonds, not the broken ones! The brittle will eventually dissolve into the cream so that's why do this not too long before serving.
Did I mention put this on your best cake plate? A pedestal would be Primo. Use a serrated knife to cut, then a cake server to serve slices on their sides. You may need skewers to keep cake in place, we didn't until we got down to the last quarter of cake during the serving.
That's It! Really it's not that hard....
http://www.marthastewart.com/recipe/blums-coffee-crunch-cake
https://recipeswap.org/fun/wp-content/uploads/Finer_Kitchens/Luisa_Calif/AssemblyofHoneycombBrittleCake.jpg
