I can't take credit for the perfection that is the Chiffon Cake portion of this recipe, nor for the crisp, airy Coffee Crunch Honeycomb topping. Both of those are inherently dairy-free and come straight from
Serious Eats' adaptation of Blum's original (which apparently comes from
Valerie Gordon's book Sweet) -- and they are solidly developed and
very tasty. My main contribution is the Coffee Coconut Cream, which is a dairy-free stand-in for the traditional Coffee Whipped Cream and surprisingly satisfying and subtle in its coconuttyness. It's creamy, silky and practically foolproof (I've yet to overwhip coconut milk). I might even prefer it to the original!
Regarding the candy temperature for the Crunch: I could not for the life of me get the candy to escalate from 270F-305F in the pan without it scorching by the time the baking soda was whisked in, even off the heat. After several attempts (and the house and my hair reeking of burnt sugar), I pulled the pan from the heat right when it reached 270F anticipating that it would keep rising while I quickly whisked in the baking soda, and it worked like a dream. Could just be my limited experience with candy making or my candy thermometer (though we did check the calibration right before starting!), but go with your gut. Candy that is smoking is too hot!
Trifle Variation: The cake scraps from this recipe lend themselves beautifully to individual trifles boasting all of the same features and flavors of the cake but with a much more casual assembly. Just tear the scraps into bite-sized pieces and layer them in tiny trifle (or wine!) glasses with the Coconut Coffee Cream and plenty of Coffee Crunch Honeycomb between and over the top. (If you're feeling particularly...rustic, we'll say...you can even skip the mini cakes altogether and trifle the whole dang thing!)