Coffee Chiffonlets with Dulce de Leche Whipped Cream

Chiffonlets, what a cute name!  Makes me want to scour the SPCA for a forlorn little poodle mix, take her or him to the dogie parlor and re-christen her Chiffonlet.  Or if it's a him, Dulce.  These little cakes are stunning.  Espresso on a fork.

Simple ingredients really; cake flour, sugar,leavening, instant espresso, eggs, oil, vanilla and cream of tartar poured into a non-stick mini bundt cake pan.  They stuck anyway and had to be hacked out.  A Kahlua sugar syrup brushed over the cake made for a depth of coffee flavor.  The crowning glory for these tiny little cakes was the incredibly delicious whipped cream with caramelized condensed milk.  I will never look at a can of condensed milk the same way again. 

This Dulce de Leche Whipped Cream is so exquisite there  really is no need for the cake, judging by all the spoons I washed, the dibs over bowls and beaters.  I suppose as a caramel lover it's only natural to be completely captivated by dulce de leche.  One of my very favorite Hagan Daz ice cream flavors is their Dulce de Leche.  My paternal grandmother made a rice pudding which was frequently stirred while baking in the oven, producing a caramel, chewy candy throughout.  I realize now it was a version of dulce de leche.

This is the first attempt at caramelizing the condensed milk.  It came out of the oven resembling curdled custard.  Using a cast iron pan for the water bath probably was just a little too hot.  Carnation has a double boiler method on their web site so I gave that a try.  It was easier and less terrifying for me than facing a pie pan floating precariously on scalding water.

This recipe goes to the top of the Favorite Cakes list.  Next time I'll make it in a regular size angel food cake pan if I have not found the mini angel food cake pans since this recipe totally justifies buying them.