TIRAMISU CAKE

My mother LOVES tiramisu. Every time I’m at the grocery store trying to decide on a quick dessert for the family between something like chocolate cake and tiramisu (hard decisions, I know), the latter is the winner every time because I know without a doubt that my mother will eat it, along with the rest of my family. So for her birthday, this tiramisu cake was a no-brainer. It has spongy cake layers soaked in espresso syrup, encased in a light and fluffy whipped coffee/Kahlua cream. This cake is pretty much the next best thing to the actual dessert, just a little more fun to decorate and present.

While this cake is good day of or day after, it’s even better with age. I noticed that as the days the leftovers sat in our fridge increased, the more moist the cake was and the more pronounced the coffee flavors were. This cake is a great one to make if you’re crunched on time and need to prepare it ahead of time, and I actually encourage making this about three days before the event/time of need to let the cake sit and soak up the flavors. That being said, be extremely generous with the espresso syrup and make sure every inch of each layer’s surface is covered and saturated before moving on.  Another note - I omitted the ½ cup chocolate chips that the original recipe called for in the filling between the layers since chocolate tends to get hard in the fridge, but feel free to add that back in.

Tiramisu Cake

From Smitten Kitchen

Makes 1 two layer 9-inch cake

Cake

2 cups cake flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/8 teaspoon baking soda

¼ teaspoon salt

1 ¼ sticks unsalted butter, room temperature

1 cup (sugar

3 large eggs

1 large egg yolk

1 ½ teaspoons pure vanilla extract

¾ cup buttermilk

Espresso Extract

2 tablespoons instant espresso powder

2 tablespoons boiling water

Espresso Syrup

½ cup water

1/3 cup sugar

1 tablespoon Kahlua

Frosting

1 8-ounce container mascarpone

½ cup confectioners’ sugar, sifted

1 ½ teaspoons pure vanilla extract

1 tablespoon Kahlua

1 cup cold heavy cream

Cocoa powder, for dusting

To make cake: Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter two 9×2 inch round cake pans, dust the insides with flour, tap out the excess, and line the bottoms of the pans with parchment or wax paper. Put the pans on a baking sheet. Sift together the cake flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Working with a stand mixer, preferably fitted with a paddle attachment, or with a hand mixer in a large bowl, beat the butter on medium speed until soft and creamy. Add the sugar and beat for another 3 minutes. Add the eggs one by one, and then the yolk, beating for 1 minute after each addition. Beat in the vanilla; don’t be concerned if the mixture looks curdled. Reduce the mixer speed to low and add the dry ingredients alternately with the buttermilk, adding the dry ingredients in 3 additions and the milk in 2 (begin and end with the dry ingredients); scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed and mix only until the ingredients disappear into the batter. Divide the batter evenly between the two pans and smooth the tops with a rubber spatula. Bake for 28 to 30 minutes, rotating the pans at the midway point. When fully baked, the cakes will be golden and springy to the touch and a thin knife inserted into the centers will come out clean. Transfer the cakes to a rack and cool for about 5 minutes, then run a knife around the sides of the cakes, unmold them, and peel off the paper liners. Invert and cool to room temperature right-side up.

To make extract: Stir the espresso powder and boiling water together in a small cup until blended. Set aside.

To make syrup: Stir the water and sugar together in a small saucepan and bring just to a boil. Pour the syrup into a small heatproof bowl and stir in 1 tablespoon of the espresso extract and the liqueur or brandy; set aside.

To make frosting: Put the mascarpone, sugar, vanilla, and liqueur in a large bowl and whisk just until blended and smooth. Working with the stand mixer with the whisk attachment or with a hand mixer, whip the heavy cream until it holds firm peaks. Switch to a rubber spatula and stir about one quarter of the whipped cream into the mascarpone. Fold in the rest of the whipped cream with a light touch.

To assemble: If the tops of the cake layers have crowned, use a long serrated knife and a gentle sawing motion to even them. Place one layer right-side up on a cardboard round or a cake plate protected with strips of wax or parchment paper. Using a pastry brush or a small spoon, soak the layer with about one third of the espresso syrup. Smooth some of the mascarpone cream over the layer. Put the second cake layer on the counter and soak the top of it with half the remaining espresso syrup, then turn the layer over and position it, soaked side down, over the filling. Soak the top of the cake with the remaining syrup.

For the frosting, whisk 1 to 1 ½ tablespoons of the remaining espresso extract into the remaining mascarpone filling. Taste the frosting as you go to decide how much extract you want to add. With a long metal icing spatula, smooth the frosting around the sides of the cake and over the top. Refrigerate the cake for at least 3 hours before serving – the elements need time to meld. Just before serving, dust the top of the cake with cocoa.