Bad Cook, Better Baker

Asian-bakery inspired coffee flavored cake with a vanilla-almond sponge frosted with coffee whipped cream

This cake is my pride and joy, my signature among my family and specifically, my Vietnamese mother and aunt who will dole out the coveted compliment of “not too sweet” if I deserve it–and on the flip side, will absolutely not hold back on any criticism. Even as a self-proclaimed sensitive person, I truly believe in transparent, frank feedback when it comes to baking. When it comes to feedback in my corporate job… I’m maybe a little less receptive. Does anyone actually enjoy constructive criticism or is that a lie we’ve been fed to respond with during interviews? Clearly, you can tell my true thoughts on the subject.

The sponge itself is Michael Lim’s Vanilla Cake recipe, a tried-and-true recipe published on Youtube in 2016: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A3qNclBDhWs

The only thing I add is almond extract, which I think compliments the bitterness of the coffee frosting. I will say that I adjust this depending on if the audience is almond-adverse (which, to me, is insanity… but I digress). You can dial it back to 1/8 tsp but I love an almond-forward sponge.

The cook time and temperatures for my recipe are also different – for Lim’s sponge, he cranks up the temperature at the end to brown the top. For my recipe, we actually don’t want any browning and will be scraping off the top eggy layer of the cake that forms, since I feel like it affects the mouthfeel.

Lim’s recipe also calls for a 6″ springform cake for a taller cake, whereas I call for roughly the same amount of batter for each 8″ round cake layer. This recipe is written for a three-layer 8″ round cake, scaled up 2.5x of his original recipe. I’ve found that this is the perfect layer thickness. However, I’ve definitely made this with a 2x recipe for a 2-layer cake, which results in slightly thicker cake layers that can definitely be sliced in half to make four thinner layers, if desired.

The frosting recipe is my own, through MANY trials and tribulations – and by tribulations, I mean that it took me maybe a year of making this cake consistently before I finally started writing down measurements instead of eyeballing it every time. Blame my undiagnosed ADHD.

This cake is reminiscent of the Vietnamese bakery cakes in Westminster, CA (notably, Van’s Bakery, IYKYK) that were reserved for Special Occasions, since they were considered a luxury with a high price point for my family. Of all of accomplishments, of which there are very few, I think I can honestly say this cake is the one evokes the most pride from my mother (hilariously enough). But my true source of validation comes from her older sister, my aunt–she’s the esteemed cook in the family, so as a Bad Cook, Better Baker, you can imagine how much joy it evokes when she brings out her Tupperware to request a take-home portion of the cake every time.

Enough blabbing – here’s the recipe!

EQUIPMENT

• 3 8″-round pans
• parchment paper (cut into rounds)
• stand mixer or hand mixer
• spatula

INGREDIENTS

VANILLA ALMOND SPONGE CAKE

• 10 egg whites*
• 2 1/2 tsp vinegar
• 300 g sugar
• 10 egg yolks
• 300 g all-purpose flour
• 1 1/4 tsp salt
• 75 ml oil
• 100 ml milk (whole milk preferably, but non-fat or non-dairy will still work)
• 1 1/4 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/4 tsp almond extract (optional, can reduce to 1/8 tsp)

SYRUP SOAK

• 3/4 cup sugar
• 3/4 cup water
• 1/4 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/8 tsp almond extract (optional, can omit)

COFFEE WHIPPED CREAM FROSTING

• 3 1/2 TB instant coffee + 1 TB hot water
• 720 g heavy whipping cream (cold from fridge)
• 83 g powdered sugar
• 1/4 tsp cocoa powder
• 1/2 tsp vanilla
• 1/8 tsp almond extract (optional – can omit)
• 2 TB instant pudding mix (white chocolate or vanilla)

*Egg whites and yolks should be room temperature. I recommend separating whites and yolks while cold and then leaving to sit 30 minutes to get to room temp.

INSTRUCTIONS

SPONGE CAKE

1. Heat oven to 307 degrees (can go to 305 if oven only goes in 5-degree increments). Line cake pans with parchment paper rounds.
2. In a small bowl, combine milk, oil, and extracts. In a separate medium bowl, whisk flour and salt together. Set aside.
3. In a separate small bowl, whisk egg yolks until smooth and no lumps remain.
4. In the bowl of a stand mixer, add eggs and vinegar. Whip until egg whites are frothy/opaque. Add sugar one tablespoon at a time until sugar is fully incorporated and stiff peaks form.
5. Pour in half of egg yolks and fold by hand with a spatula to combine. Once there are no further yellow streaks, pour in the second half of the yolks and repeat.
6. Sift in the flour mixture in 3 parts. Fold in the first one-third of the flour mixture by hand with a spatula. After the flour is incorporated, add in half of the wet mixture. Fold by hand with spatula. After the wet mixture is incorporated and no pools remain, add the second third of the flour mixture and fold. Add in the second half of the wet mixture and fold. Repeat with the last third of the flour mixture until wet and dry ingredients are fully ingredients, taking care to scrape and fold the bottom of the bowl so there are no pockets of flour remaining.
7. Divide the batter equally between three rounds. Using a toothpick or skewer, start in the middle of the pan and make concentric circles to the edge of the pan to get rid of any air bubbles.
8. Bake for 24-27 minutes, or until edges of the cake are slightly darkened. The top of the cake should still be pale. Test by inserting a toothpick into the center and remove the pans if the toothpick comes out dry.
9. Allow cakes to cool in pans for 10-15 minutes, or until the edges pull from the pan naturally. Invert onto wire racks and allow to cool completely before adding frosting.
   TIP: If making ahead of time, soak layers in syrup (see instructions below) before wrapping tightly in saran wrap and keeping at room temperature. Do not refrigerate. Layers will keep for 1-2 days.

SYRUP

1. Add water and sugar into a small saucepan on stove over low-medium heat. Stir until sugar is dissolved, then remove from heat. Let cool before using.

FROSTING

1. Mix instant coffee granules with 1 TB of warm water. Stir until dissolved. Set aside to cool (around 5 minutes) before adding to frosting mixture.
2. Combine heavy cream, powdered sugar, vanilla extract, and almond extract to a stand mixer bowl (or if using a hand mixer, add to a heavy-bottomed bowl). Beat with a whisk attachment until mixture is thickened, but before reaching soft peaks.
3. Slowly drizzle in the coffee mixture down the sides of the bowl while continuing to whip.
4. Slowly increase to medium/high until reached medium-stiff peaks.
5. Sprinkle in pudding mix and whisk by hand to combine until stiff peaks form. Cream should hold its shape and pull away from the sides.
6. Use immediately or refrigerate overnight. This can be made overnight and will keep for 1-2 days.

CAKE ASSEMBLY

1. Brush enough syrup to thoroughly soak the first layer of cake.
   TIP: You can also pour into a squeeze bottle for easy distribution but it may lead to over-soaking the cake layer, which would make the cake gummy.
2. Spread roughly 1 and a 1/2 cups of frosting onto the layer.
3. Add the second layer on top and repeat the process. Top with the remaining cake layer, and cover the top and side of the cake with frosting.
4. Chill.