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10-14-2014 05:42 PM
You might want to click on the link below to read more
about this cake, about Blum's and about some of the
interesting people associated with this recipe. It's
a great bit of San Francisco nostalgia.
Blum’s Coffee Crunch Cake
1 1/4 c cake flour, sifted
1 1/2 c sugar, divided use
1/2 t salt
6 egg yolks
1/4 c water
1 c, 7 to 8, large egg whites
1 t cream of tartar
1 t vanilla
1 T fresh lemon juice
1 t grated lemon zest
Coffee crunch topping
Unflavored vegetable oil
1 T baking soda, sifted
1/4 c strong brewed coffee
1 1/2 c sugar
1/4 c light corn syrup
Frosting:
2 c heavy cream
2 T sugar
2 t vanilla
For the cake: Adjust rack in lower third of oven, preheat to 350 degrees. Sift the flour, 3/4 c of the sugar and the salt onto a sheet of wax paper, set aside.
In a small bowl using an electric hand mixer, beat the egg yolks with 1/4 c of the sugar until the mixture is thick and pale in color. Add the water and continue to beat until thickened, about 4 minutes. Whisk the egg whites in the bowl of a heavy-duty mixer just until frothy. Add the cream of tartar and continue to whisk until soft peaks form. Add the remaining 1/2 c sugar in a steady stream, whisking until thicker, stiffer, glossy peaks form, about 2 to 3 minutes. Whisk in the vanilla, lemon juice and lemon zest.
Pour the yolk mixture over the beaten egg whites. Fold the two mixtures together with a rubber spatula. Using a metal spatula, scoop up a third of the flour mixture and sprinkle it over the surface, fold in with the rubber spatula. Repeat 2 more times just until the ingredients are incorporated. Gently pour batter into an ungreased 10-inch round tube pan with removable bottom (like an angel food pan). Level the surface with the rubber spatula.
Bake for 50 to 55 minutes or until the top springs back slightly when lightly touched, and sounds spongy. Remove the cake from the oven and invert the pan over a long-necked bottle to cool for about 45 minutes. To remove the sponge from the pan, carefully slip a flexible metal spatula down one side of the pan and slowly trace the perimeter to release the cake. When the sides are free, push up on the removable bottom to release the cake completely. Tilt the cake, with the bottom still attached, and gently tap the bottom against the counter to loosen the cake. Rotate the cake, tapping a few more times, until it appears free. Cover the cake with a rack and invert, remove the bottom of pan. Let cool to room temperature.
Coffee crunch topping: Generously oil a large baking sheet. Sift the baking soda onto a small sheet of wax paper, set nearby. Combine the coffee, sugar and corn syrup in a deep, heavy 4-quart saucepan. Place over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, until the sugar dissolves. When the mixture is clear and it begins to boil, increase the heat to medium-high and cook until the mixture reaches 290 degrees on candy thermometer. Toward the end of cooking, around 270 to 280 degrees, stir occasionally to prevent the mixture from scorching and becoming too foamy.
Remove from heat and stir in baking soda. The mixture will foam up fiercely. While mixture is still foaming, pour it out onto the oiled baking sheet. Do not spread, just let it cool undisturbed for at least 1 hour.
Break or crush into very small pieces by placing between 2 sheets of wax paper and tapping or rolling with rolling pin. Store in airtight container.
Frosting: Combine cream, sugar and vanilla in a bowl and beat until the cream holds soft peaks.
To assemble: Slice the cooled cake into 3 equal layers using a serrated knife. Spread whipped cream between each layer, carefully stacking the layers. Spread the remaining whipped cream over the top and sides of the cake. Refrigerate. Just before serving, generously sprinkle top and sides with coffee crunch.
Note: (This note was posted on the link below from the daughter of the man who created the recipe) two main parts of the recipe are missing. My father always put crunch in between the cake layers with the cream filling, not just around the outside. Also, he always had coffee whipped cream filling and icing, not plain vanilla
Per serving: 440 cal.; 5 g pro.; 68 g carb.; 17 g fat (10 sat.); 160 mg chol.; 351 mg sod.; 0 g fiber.
http://lizditz.typepad.com/i_speak_of_dreams/2005/03/blums_of_san_fr.html
10-14-2014 09:22 PM
I enjoyed reading the stories, Beebee. TYVM!
10-16-2014 04:07 PM
Hi, Sabatini. I thought it was interesting, too. Thanks for letting me know. Hope all is
well with you.
10-16-2014 04:21 PM
I (barely) remember Blum's! Blum's and I. Magnin closed when I was very young, but I remember going to both with my mom.
10-16-2014 04:27 PM
thanks for sharing..
10-16-2014 05:00 PM
We made this for my birthday a couple of years ago. It was totally wonderful and brought back all the memories I had of having this cake for family birthdays when I was growing up in the Bay Area. It was my favorite cake and I loved being reminded of Blums. The recipe works and it is worth the effort if you are feeling nostalgic for the original cake.
10-16-2014 05:10 PM
On 10/16/2014 blondy55 said:We made this for my birthday a couple of years ago. It was totally wonderful and brought back all the memories I had of having this cake for family birthdays when I was growing up in the Bay Area. It was my favorite cake and I loved being reminded of Blums. The recipe works and it is worth the effort if you are feeling nostalgic for the original cake.
Thanks all for your responses. Blondy, I'm so glad to hear your 'story'; those food memories are so dear.
10-16-2014 10:16 PM
I remember Blum's in San José and San Francisco. They had fancy Napoleons too. In those days fancy desserts weren't always found at your corner bakery like we see today. These recipes were special It was so long ago, liver and onions were stars on the menu, LOL! The diet plate consisted of a hamburger patty, cottage cheese and fruit (canned fruit).
I have had this recipe for years. In the 1970's after Blums closed, the recipe was posted in the San Jose Mercury News. I made it in the 1980's. It is a lot of work, because you are making the candy as well. I do remember the cream was coffee flavored. The cake itself is a cross between a sponge cake and a chiffon cake..
I think making one of these cakes every year or two is good to hone the "old school" cooking skills. it also is a great lesson for the younger cooks.. It is not the same as buying a good sponge cake and then filling it. Homemade sponge cake is a whole different thing than bakery made
10-16-2014 11:54 PM
After having been frustrated with substitute teaching and no possibility of a permanent teaching job, I had to find a position that would allow my husband to quit law school and go back to school for an engineering degree. I ended up working in Blums' admin office, which was on the first floor of their 4 floor candy factory and 4th floor bakery located at Broadway and Front Strees in San francicsco.
It was an interesting first job out of teaching. Toward the end of my time there, I worked in the bakery as the Head Baker's assistant. This provided a great foundation for me, as I owned my own small commercial bakery while my daughter was small.
The Coffee Crunch Cake was the best selling cake we made. All of the cakes were delivered to the restaurants, each of which had a mini bakery, without the topping. The topping was delivered in ten gallon plastic bags and kept tightly sealed. If a customer special ordered a Coffee Crunch Cake, the cake was delivered with a small plastic bag of crunch. Some customers were incensed that they had to apply the topping, not realizing that once it's on, it begins to deteriorate over a short period of time. The Blums Bakery did not place crunch between layers.
The bakers at Blums were wonderful! The Head Baker was from Vienna and was so, so talented. His team did all of our wedding cakes. The remainder of the bakers were mostly Italian and Latino. We usually turned out somewhere between 22 and 45 wedding cakes per week and that is in addition to all of the French pastries, cakes and pies that were made. Blums pumpkin pie was the best I have ever had. That's once recipe I could not get when they closed the factory and moved the candy operation to Minnesota.
I cannot begin to tell you the production per week, especially if a holiday of some sort was involved. Our most famous customer was Alfred Hitchcock.
I do have Blums Coffee Toffee Pie recipe. If anyone would like me to post it, let me know.
10-17-2014 12:31 AM
Beebee...Looks so Yummy Thank You so Much for posting
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