Caramel Crunch Cake

I realize I haven't posted anything in a while, its not that I have stopped baking since class ended, just that I haven't been taking pictures and writing!

This week, I had an order for a Caramel Crunch Cake :)  I made my own spin on the La Rocca Caramel Crunch Cake (see pic below) that are in most grocery stores which consists of layers of almond meringue, caramel and whipped cream.

I started with the meringue.  I ground up a mixture of almonds and pecans in the food processor until it was a fine powder.  It wasn't getting as fine as I would like so I further pulsed it with cornstarch.  Once this was done, I put it through a medium strainer to get out any remaining lumps.  With the mixer, I whipped the egg whites to stiff peaks, which actually took almost 8 minutes on high to get the right consistency.  After folding in the nut mixture gently, the mixture was divided and spread into three 11" squares.  It's easiest to get the dimensions right if its marked on the underside of the parchment you are spreading it on.

While the meringues were in the oven, I started on the butterscotch caramel.  My first batch actually didn't turn out well since I burned the caramel and it crystalized...so I started again.  The second batch worked out much nicer, but I forgot to take pictures.  I made it fairly light and added a bit of salt at the end to give it a salty caramel flavour.

Next, the whip cream...such a simple thing, yet it tastes so yummy.  I added a pack of Whip-It to the cream just to make sure it was stable enough to hold up during the travel and until the next day.  Also, I switched out the traditional vanilla with cognac, since I've used it in ice cream before and found it really elevated the flavour. Although I only used one tablespoon, I think I went a little overboard with it, one teaspoon is more than enough. 




Once the meringues were out of the oven and cooled, I assembled the cake by layering one of the meringues, a thin layer of butterscotch caramel, a layer of whipped cream and repeating until all of the meringues were used.  Its not a big deal if the meringue cracks or breaks during assembly since the cream covers all of that.  Overall this cake wasn't too difficult and was easily done in one night with no previous prep work.  I think I will make this again as everyone seemed to really like it :)

Inspired by: http://gnufmuffin.blogspot.ca/2006/03/cakes-ctom-1-crunchy-caramel-cake.html

My Modified Recipe

Meringue

100g almonds
20g pecans (any mixture of 120g of nuts should work)
8 egg whites
30g cornstarch
450g sugar
1 tsp vanilla

1.  Draw three 11" squares on parchment paper
2.  Grind almonds, pecans and cornstarch in food processor until a fine powder and sift through a medium strainer
3.  Whip egg whites to a foam, then slowly add sugar.  Continue whipping until meringue forms stiff peaks
4.  Mix in vanilla
5.  Gently fold in nut mixture by hand
6.  Spread meringue onto the prepared parchment paper
7.  Bake at 250F for 90 minutes until meringue is dry
8.  Turn off heat and let cool in the oven for 30 minutes


Butterscotch Caramel

900g sugar
200g water
350g 35% cream
110g unsalted butter
8g salt

1.  Heat the cream just until scalded; set aside
2.  Cook sugar and water until light golden colour (wash sides of pot down with a brush to prevent crystalization)
3.  Remove from heat
4.  Mix in cream until blended
5.  Mix in butter and salt until blended
6.  Pour caramel onto baking tray to cool


Chantilly Cream

1000g 35% cream
50g sugar
1 package Whip-It
1 tsp cognac (can be substituted with vanilla)

1.  Place sugar and cream in a mixing bowl and whip to medium firm peaks
2.  Add Whip-It and mix until blended
3.  Mix in cognac


Assembly

1.  Place a layer of meringue on the cake board
2.  Spread a thin even layer of butterscotch caramel on the meringue
3.  Spread an even layer of cream on top (can use a #9 plain piping tip for this)
4.  Repeat steps 1-3 for 2nd and 3rd meringues
5.  Drizzle extra butterscotch caramel on top