Coffee Crisp chocolate bars rank just below hockey and just above poutine (and pretty much tied with Michael J. Fox) in terms of things Canadians are proud of. And if you’re like me, you often eat candy bars wondering “how do I turn this into a cake?”. So if you’re a coffee lover, or a chocolate lover, or a weird vanilla wafer lover, this cake is pretty dang good…maybe even better than the actual candy bar. And if you ask me, the best kind of Canada Day Cake there is.
And yes, it uses a store-bought vanilla bundt cake. Sure, you can make your own, but there are so many recipes in this cake, why not save a step? The coffee cream and ganache are the stars of this cake, not the actual cake, so make life a little easier. Always take the opportunity to make less dishes, right?
Print recipe
Pin recipe
Prep pan
- Store-bought vanilla bundt
Filling
- 10.6 oz vanilla wafer cookies
- ¾ cup of water
- ¾ cup of whipping cream
- 2 tsp instant coffee or espresso granules
- 1/3 cup sugar
- Pinch of salt
- 3 egg yolks
- 2.5 tablespoons of cornstarch
- 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
- 2 tablespoons cold butter
Milk Chocolate Ganache
- 1.2 cup whipping cream
- 200g milk chocolate chips or baking bars, chopped
- 2 tablespoons of butter
Instructions
Instructions for the Filling
Step 1
In a saucepan over low heat, warm the coffee and cream and water, but do not boil. While it warms over low heat so it doesn’t boil, whisk the egg yolks, cornstarch, sugar, and salt. You’ll want to whisk it for at least two minutes.
Step 2
Add a tablespoon of the warm cream to the egg mixture and whisk. Do this five more times, and then slowly increase the amount of warm half and half you add to the eggs. Use your judgement, you don’t want to stand there forever, but you don’t want the hot cream to scramble the eggs. Once all the half and half is incorporated, put it back in the saucepan. Bring to medium heat, whisking constantly for three minutes or until the mixture thickens. You want this thick or your cake will be floppy.
Step 3
Remove from heat and add the cold butter and vanilla. Whisk in. Pour into a bowl and place plastic wrap directly over so you don’t get a weird film from forming. Chill in the fridge for at least three hours, but no more than 3 days, or it will get watery.
Instructions for Assemly
Step 1
You need to slice the cake into three even(ish) parts (a top, a middle, a bottom). Think of this cake as your Big Mac bun. It helps to use a serrated knife and a chilled cake.
Step 2
Place the bottom slice of the cake on a platter or cake stand. Use you judgement to divide the coffee cream into four portions. They don’t have to be precise. Spread one of the portions over the bottom of the cake. Cover the coffee cream with the wafers. Try to cover as much surface area as possible with wafers. You’ll likely have to cut some wafers into smaller pieces. You have two layers of wafers in this cake, so just don’t use more than half of the package. Carefully cover the wafers with another portion coffee cream.
Step 3
Place the middle slab of the cake on top. Add another layer of coffee cream, another layer of wafers, and another layer of coffee cream. Place the top layer of the cake. Chill the cake while you make your ganache.
Instructions for Milk Chocolate Ganache
Step 1
Warm the whipping cream in the microwave until hot. Place the chocolate chips or chopped chocolate in a bowl and cover with the hot cream. Let stand for two minutes then stir until chocolate is melted. Let it cool for about five minutes so it’s not so hot it melts your coffee cream in your cake.
Step 2
Even after cooling it for five minutes, it’s going to be pretty liquidy still. You need to cover the cake in the chocolate the way you’re most comfortable doing. I like using a piping bag and “coloring the cake in”, but you may just want to straight pour the chocolate on top. Whatever you do, you may want to have the cake on a rack with something underneath to catch the drips. These are security drips in case you have bald spots. Bald spots on men are acceptable, bald spots with icing are not. You can use an offset spatula or butter knife or whatever you have to smooth the icing, or you can leave it. Chill the cake for at least one hour, but ideally longer to make sure it sets properly.
More sweet recipes
Pistachio Bundt Cake with Pistachio Ganache
The key to this cake is to keep the actual cake as simple as possible because you will cry for at least twenty minutes while making the pistachio ganache. It’s that horrible to make, but it’s also really worth it, and if you ask me, the salt from your tears really...
Cherry Pie Bundt
Don’t get me wrong, I have fully bundted a pie before (I did a pumpkin pie bundt for this past thanksgiving) but the idea of a cherry pie bundt just seems dense and bland and counterproductive to getting coworkers to like me. And yeah, this is definitely more of a...
Wanut Crunch Bundt
The Walnut Crunch. It was more than just a Tim Hortons donut, it was a lifestyle. Chocolate. Walnuts. Glaze; nothing wrong there (unless you’re allergic to walnuts…hi again, Meaghan). Sadly, the Walnut Crunch met the same fate as the Dutchie: an early death. This cake...
Pumpkin Pie Bundt Cake
Sometimes life presents you with challenges. Like when you’re known as the girl that bundts things and you’re asked to bring a pumpkin pie to thanksgiving dinner. I mean, did you really think you were going to get a standard pumpkin pie, Shauna? Of course not. You...
Chinese Sesame Ball Bundt Cale
Chinese Sesame Balls are chewy, the perfect amount of sweet, and the sesame seeds give them the best crunch. They’re almost the perfect snack. But let’s face it, deep frying is equal parts intimidating, a hassle, and it makes your house smell like the fair days later....
Gulab Jamun Bundt
To know gulab jamun is to love them. Individually the ingredients are powerhouses, but combined they are unstoppable. Like the dessert version of the 1990's Chicago Bulls. That makes Pippen the cardamom, Jordan the rose water, and Rodman the, well, nuts. But deep...
Chocolate Peanut Butter Bundt Cake
Because peanut butter and chocolate go together like Ross and Rachel, like Thelma and Louise, and like Harry and Sally (and yes, I’ll have what she’s having if she’s having peanut butter and chocolate). This cake is soooo good. I make it all the time and everyone...
Butterscotch Bundt Cake
This is hands down the best butterscotch bundt cake I have ever made. Fine, fine, fine, it’s the only butterscotch bundt cake I have ever made, but it’s so good I don’t have to try another recipe. If you like butterscotch, and who the heck doesn’t, the addition of a...
Strawberry Shortcake Bundt with Cream Cheese Filling
You just can’t beat this strawberry shortcake recipe. Actually, that’s not true, you have to beat it twice (the whipped cream and then cream cheese filling). There are four elements to this cake, but you can make the cake and the cream cheese filling in advance....