Chocolate kokakia

Bring sugar, water and the juice of half a lemon to a boil in a small saucepan; once the sugar dissolves take it off the heat, stir in the vanilla and cool completely.

Line three baking pans with parchment, trace two inch circles two fingers apart, and flip the paper ink side down.

Preheat the oven to 350F.

Beat the six egg whites until frothy, add a little under half the sugar, and beat on high three to four minutes to a stiff meringue; transfer it to another bowl.

In the same bowl beat the six yolks with the remaining sugar, vanilla, instant coffee and light olive oil on high about two minutes until thick and pale.

Whisk the flour, cornstarch, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt together.

Lighten the yolk mixture with about a third of the meringue, add the dry ingredients gradually on low, and fold the rest of the meringue in before the flour is fully mixed.

Finish by hand with the whisk or a spatula until no white streaks remain; do not over mix.

Fill a pastry bag halfway and pipe rounds about a quarter inch high, well spaced, since they spread and rise.

Bake 10 to 12 minutes, one tray at a time, and do not over bake.

Rest the baked cakes five to ten minutes, then lift them off with an offset spatula and flip them over.

Make the ganache: put semi-sweet chocolate with instant coffee, vegetable oil and vanilla in a bowl, pour boiling heavy whipping cream over, let it soften and whisk until melted and shiny.

Whip heavy whipping cream with confectioner's sugar and vanilla until it thickens, then whip in four heaping tablespoons of cooled ganache until thick.

Brush the cakes with simple syrup, pipe whipped cream onto half of them, dip the other half in ganache and set them on top.

Freeze 15 to 20 minutes to set, thaw about five minutes so they are tacky again, then roll them in chocolate sprinkles.

Variation: ice the sides with leftover ganache before rolling so the sides are fully covered in sprinkles.