Ingredients
1 1/2 cup sugar, plus...
2 tbsp sugar
1/4 cup strong coffee
1/4 cup light corn syrup
1 tbsp soda, sifted
1 (10-in.) angel food cake
2 cup whipping cream
2 tsp vanilla
Directions
Combine 1 1/2 cups sugar, coffee and corn syrup in saucepan at least 5
inches deep. Bring mixture to boil and cook to 310F on candy
thermometer or hard-crack stage (small amount of mixture dropped into
cold water will break with brittle snap). Remove syrup from heat,
immediately add soda and stir vigorously just until mixture thickens
and pulls away from sides of pan. (Mixture will foam rapidly when
soda is added. Do not destroy foam by excessive beating.) Immediately
pour foamy mass into ungreased 9-inch square metal pan (do not spread
or stir). Let stand without moving until cool. When ready to garnish
cake, knock hardened mixture out of pan and crush between sheets of
waxed paper with rolling pin to form coarse crumbs. Split cake into 4
equal layers. Combine cream, remaining 2 tablespoons sugar and
vanilla in chilled bowl and beat until stiff. Spread about 1/2 of
cream between layers and remainder over top and sides of cake.
Sprinkle generously with crushed topping. Refrigerate until ready to
serve.
Servings: 12 servings
Coffee Crunch Cake Recipe brought to you by Recipe Ideas
Categories: Cake; Coffee; Dessert
The History of Recipes
Written recipes as an idea can be traced back into the distant past, in fact as far back into history as the ancient Egyptians, and potentially, even further back. Interesting though that is, sadly, these ancient recipes were just primitive hieroglyphic or cunieform recipes for meal preparation.
In an interesting twist, the most ancient recipe found, according to historians are some stone tablets in ancient Sumerian which recount the baking of bread which is then used to make a drink, quite possibly a form of beer as it is recorded as having made drinkers feel exhilarated and blissful. Later on, in The time of the romans 25BC a man called Apicius assembled some documents showing how to cook the recipes enjoyed by wealthy roman citizens. In his scrolls, he describes how the meals were separated into hors d`oeuvres, entrees and dessert, a very modern way of dining. Aspicius also describes how the early Romans made use of many different aromatic flavours, including a few you will know for example thyme, mint and dill. Later on, in the 15th century, the Crusaders brought back a variety of spices and herbs from the East, including spices like rosemary and coriander. These new foods and tastes created a surge in publications on food, the majority of which are kept safe in private libraries. Over the succeeding few centuries, the powerful families of Europe strove to serve the most exotic banquets, and as a result the best chefs and their recipe collections were greatly in demand. However, it wasn`t until the 1800s that formal cookery and cookery books became popular. Mrs Isabella Beeton in the UK, and the equally well-known Fannie Merritt Farmer in the USA, dedicated years of their lives to assembling, trying out, and publishing recipes common in their social group. When we get to the 20th century, recipe publications were greatly in demand mostly due to increased literacy, people having increased leisure time and having more money. The TV revolution brought us TV chefs and the accompanying recipe books. Which brings us neatly to the present day and the invention of computers and the internet, permitting everybody to search through thousands of recipes like those on sites such as the one you are reading now. |
We hope you enjoy this Coffee Crunch Cake recipe.
