BLUM'S COFFEE CRUNCH CAKE

Blum's Coffee Crunch Cake image

Provided by Martha Stewart

Yield Makes one 10-inch cake

Number Of Ingredients 10

2 1/4 cups cake flour (not self-rising)
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 cup vegetable oil
6 large eggs, separated
Zest of 1 lemon
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
Coffee Frosting
Coffee Crunch

Steps:

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, 3/4 cup sugar, baking powder, and salt. Add 3/4 cup water, oil, egg yolks, zest, and vanilla; beat until smooth.
In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, whisk egg whites on medium-high speed. With machine running, add remaining 3/4 cup sugar in a slow steady stream, beating until incorporated and stiff glossy peaks form.
Remove bowl from mixer. Gently but thoroughly, fold beaten egg whites into batter, in two additions. Pour batter into a 10-inch tube pan. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 1 hour. Remove from oven, and invert onto a narrow necked bottle if your pan doesn't have feet. Let stand until cool, about 1 hour, before removing pan.
Place cake on a serving platter. Cover cake with an even layer of frosting. Just before serving, sprinkle top and sides of cake generously with coffee crunch.