Coffee Chiffon Cake with Pecan Nut Brittle
- Prep Time: 60 minutes
- Cook Time: 90 minutes
- Total Time: 2 hours 30 minutes
- Yield: 1
- Category: Baking
Description
The coffee chiffon cake with pecan nut brittle is a comforting dessert that is perfect to share with friends and family for those special occasions.
Ingredients
Chiffon Cake
2 ½ C (625 ml) all-purpose flour
1 C (250 ml ) castor sugar
1 Tbsp (15 ml) baking powder
1 tsp (5 ml) salt
¾ C (180 ml) freshly brewed coffee
1 C (250 ml) cooking oil
8 egg yolks
8 egg whites
1/4 tsp (1.25 ml) cream of tartar
Coffee Icing
1 C (250 ml) softened butter (room temperature)
2 C (500 ml) icing sugar
1 vanilla pod, halved and deseeded
3 tsp (15 ml) instant coffee (add 1 tsp (5 ml) warm water to make a paste)
Pecan Nut Brittle
½ C (125 ml) sugar
2 tsp (10 ml) butter
1 C (250 ml) pecan nuts (coarsely chopped)
Instructions
Chiffon Cake
Preheat the oven to 170 °C.
Sieve flour, castor sugar, baking powder and salt together.
Place the flour mixture into the bowl of a mixer and add the coffee, oil and egg yolks. Mix on a slow speed until smooth.
Whisk the egg whites with the cream of tartar to soft peak. Slowly add the castor sugar, whisking until stiff peaks form.
Fold the flour mixture into the egg whites – folding in carefully so as not to deflate the egg yolks.
Pour the mix into a chiffon cake tin (do not grease the tin, chiffon cakes cling to the side of the pan in order to rise and will not rise correctly if it is greased).
Bake for about 60 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. Once baked, leave in the tin for 10 minutes on a cooling rack. Loosen the sides with a knife to help remove from the tin. Once removed, cool completely before icing.
Coffee Icing
Place the butter, icing sugar and vanilla seeds in a mixer and blend until pale in colour. Add the coffee paste and mix through completely.
Pecan Nut Brittle
Place the sugar in a small saucepan over high heat and stir until the sugar turns a light, golden caramel colour. Add the butter and mix in.
Once well mixed in, add the nuts and stir until the nuts are well coated.
Pour onto a well greased or lined baking tray and cool completely. Once cool, break into pieces.
Blend a quarter of a cup of the brittle until fine for dusting the cake once iced.
To Assemble
Once the cake has cooled completely, cut the top off the cake to even it out. Turn the cake over to onto the flat cut bottom. Place on a serving plate or cake stand and cover the cake with the coffee icing.
Sprinkle the blended brittle over the top of the cake. Using a piping bag with a round nozzle (size 17), pipe drops of the icing over the top of the cake. and decorate with the remaining pieces of brittle. Slice and serve.
