Tiramisu Cake Recipe

Tiramisu is such a respected dessert, but I’m confident this Tiramisu Cake will delight fans of the traditional Italian pud and hopefully everyone else as well! With its Marsala-soaked espresso sponges, espresso buttercream, fluffy mascarpone icing and classic dusting of cocoa powder, it’s a favourite bake among staff and customers alike.

Tiramisu Cake Recipe

Makes 1 x 20cm/8in cake to serve 12–16

Preparation

• 1 x batch of Vanilla Buttercream (¼ tsp vanilla extract)
• 1 x batch of Espresso Buttercream (1½ tbsp strong espresso, cooled)
• 1⁄2 x batch of Mascarpone Icing

Chocolate truffles

• 150g dark chocolate chips (54% cocoa solids)
• 15g unsalted butter
• 60g double cream
• 25g cocoa powder, sifted
• 1–2 tbsp cocoa powder
• gold leaf or gold lustre dust (optional)

Espresso Sponge

• 500g caster sugar
• 330g unsalted butter, softened
• 135g vegetable oil
• 8 eggs
• 500g self-raising flour
• 6 tbsp espresso coffee, cooled (or strong instant)

To Finish

• Marsala wine or espresso, for soaking the sponges
• 80g dark chocolate, melted and cooled
• Make your Vanilla and Espresso Buttercreams and Mascarpone
• Icing, cover and set aside.

Method

For the chocolate truffles

1. Melt together the chocolate and butter, either over a bain-marie or gently in the microwave in 15-second bursts, then add the cream and stir to combine thoroughly.
2. If you have a silicone truffle mould, pour the ganache mixture into the holes and place in the fridge to set. Otherwise, just put it into a bowl and refrigerate until set, then use a teaspoon to scoop small amounts out that you can roll between your hands (wear latex gloves to avoid heat transfer and very messy hands!). Place the balls onto a baking sheet lined with greaseproof paper and chill for at least 1 hour.
3. Once they’re set, toss half of the truffles in the cocoa and leave the other half plain, or jazz them up with gold leaf or lustre if you fancy, then pop them back into the fridge until it’s decorating time!

For the Espresso Sponge

1. Preheat your oven to 190°C (170°C fan) and grease four 20cm/8in round sandwich tins.
2. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, or a large mixing bowl, beat together the sugar, butter and oil for a couple of minutes until pale and fluffy.
3. Add the eggs, two at a time, beating for 30 seconds after each addition to ensure they are well combined. Sift the flour directly into the bowl and start to fold it through on the lowest speed of the mixer or by hand using a large metal spoon. When the flour is almost completely incorporated, pour in the cooled espresso and fold that in as well to create a thick, smooth batter.
4. Distribute the batter evenly among the prepared tins and level the tops with a palette knife.
5. Bake for 22–24 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into the centre of each sponge comes out clean.
6. Leave to cool for 15–20 minutes before removing from the tins and allowing to cool completely.

To Finish

1. Level and trim your espresso sponges and use a cake leveller or a sharp, serrated bread knife to carefully split each sponge into two layers so that you have 8 thin, fragile layers. Stick the first layer onto a cake board or a large, flat plate using some espresso buttercream.
2. Drizzle or brush a small amount of Marsala or espresso all over the sponge. You want to lightly soak, not drown it! Top with a generous, even layer of mascarpone icing.
3. Place the next sponge layer on top and repeat, but this time with a layer of espresso buttercream.
4. Keep building up the layers in this way, alternating between the two icings and finishing with an upside-down sponge for the top layer. Chill in the fridge for at least 20 minutes, then trim any lumps and bumps off the edge of the cake with a serrated knife to neaten the sides.
5. Crumb-coat the top and sides of the cake with coffee buttercream and chill for 30 minutes, or until the icing is set.
6. Apply a neat top coat of vanilla buttercream and chill for another 10 minutes.
7. Take some of the remaining coffee buttercream and use a palette knife to spread a light band of it all around the bottom half of the cake. Smooth this out with a cake scraper and chill for 10 minutes until set.
8. Mix a little of the melted and cooled chocolate into some of the remaining vanilla buttercream and repeat the previous step, but this time only go about two-thirds of the way up the coffee band, to create a two-layer effect.
9. Pour the remaining melted chocolate into the centre of the top of the cake and spread it out with a small palette knife to create a pool of chocolate, leaving a 2.5cm/1in ring of exposed buttercream around the edge. Using a small sieve, carefully dust this with cocoa, taking care not to go over the exposed buttercream.
10. Put the last of the coffee buttercream into a piping bag fitted with a star nozzle, then pipe neat blobs, just over 2.5cm/1in apart, around the edge of the top of the cake.
11. Take your truffles from the fridge and place them alternately in between the buttercream blobs to finish.