I think I’ve found my cake heaven!
This devilishly decadent Tiramisu Cake is a definite favourite and it perfectly captures one of the best puddings ever invented (or at least I think so!). It’s made up of three layers of fluffy, cloud-like genoise sponge soaked in coffee and sandwiched with a gorgeous, creamy mascarpone filling. And it doesn’t stop there…
Covering the cake is a soft and delicate coffee Italian meringue buttercream that’s finished off with piped chocolate buttercream flowers and roasted coffee beans.
So elegant and very tasty!
This recipe makes a 6″ cake with three layers of genoise sponge. You may be familiar already with genoise – it’s the sponge found in lady fingers to make tiramisu or trifle and it’s also the cake in Jaffa Cakes! Genoise is a fatless sponge and relies on the air beaten into the eggs for it to rise. The trick is to be patient at the start and just keep whisking!
This cake is so easy to switch between gluten-free and ‘normal’ It’s as simple as switching out the corn flour or gluten-free plain flour for normal plain flour.
I’ve also chosen to decorate this cake with Italian meringue buttercream. This type of buttercream is not as sweet as the standard butter/icing sugar buttercream so it suits this cake perfectly! I find it has a much silkier texture – it’s also a really lovely buttercream to pipe with. If you’ve never made it before, it can be a little bit daunting, but I’m sure it will become a staple in your cake decorating repertoire once you get the hang of it!
If piping isn’t your thing, you can dust the top of the cake with cocoa powder for an authentic tiramisu look!
This recipe may take up to 3 hours to make.
Ingredients
For the sponges:
- 5 eggs
- 150 g granulated sugar
- 90 g gluten-free plain flour or corn flour (if you don’t require a gluten-free diet, you can substitute for normal plain flour)
- 3/4 tbsp corn flour (5 g)
- 1/2 tsp baking powder (make sure to use gluten-free baking powder)
- 90 ml strong espresso
For the mascarpone filling:
- 250 g mascarpone (keep cold)
- 75 g icing sugar
- 30 ml strong espresso
- 90 ml double cream
For the Italian meringue buttercream:
- 100 g granulated sugar
- 100 ml water
- 4 egg whites (approx. 125 g)
- 325 g unsalted butter, softened and at room temperature
- 2 tbsp coffee extract or strong espresso
- 2 tbsp cocoa powder
To decorate:
- roasted coffee beans
Useful Equipment: three deep 6″ cake tins, mixing bowl, hand or stand mixer with whisk/beater attatchements, saucepan, sugar thermometer (see tip in recipe if you don’t have one), metal or glass mixing bowl, serving board, palette knife or cake scraper, piping bag/nozzles, sieve for dusting
Method:
- Preheat the oven to 175 °C fan/325 °F and line the bottom and sides of three 6″ cake tins.
- In a mixing bowl and using a hand/stand mixer, whisk the eggs and sugar together on a high speed for 13-15 mins or until pale, foamy and tripled in size. (This is when you need to be patient!)
- Sift in the gluten-free plain flour, corn flour and baking powder and fold in carefully. You want to keep as much of the air in the mixture as possible so do this step gently!
- Divide the mix evenly between the three cake tins and bake in the oven for 20-22 mins or until a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean. Leave to cool in the tins for 5 mins before turning out onto a wire rack.
- While the cake bakes, you can make the Italian meringue buttercream. In a medium saucepan, dissolve the sugar and water together on a medium heat. Once dissolved, turn to a high heat and boil the mixture until a temperature of 118 °C is reached. This is the hard ball stage – if you don’t have a thermometer, drop a small tsp into a bowl of cold water. If the sugar forms a firm ball that is difficult to mould with your fingers, it is ready. If not, keep heating until this stage is reached. Meanwhile, place your egg whites into a metal or glass bowl and whisk on a medium speed until stiff peaks form. Once the syrup is at temperature, pour slowly into the egg whites whilst whisking, ensuring a steady stream of sugar (and careful not to touch the mixer). Keep whisking until the mixture has cooled back to room temperature (your patience is required again!). Once cooled, add the softened butter gradually (cutting into cubes helps!) and beat until combined (If you are using a stand mixer, switch to the paddle for this stage). Finally add your coffee flavouring and mix to combine. (TIP: If your buttercream starts to separate, take 2 tbsp out and heat briefly in the microwave until melted. Pour back into your buttercream and keep whisking until a smooth consistency is reached).
- Once your cake is cooled, make the filling by whisking the cold mascarpone in a bowl for a couple of mins. Add the icing sugar and whisk to combine. Repeat for the coffee and finally, the cream. Whisk for 2-3 mins.
- Assemble the cake by placing the first layer on your desired cake board and, using a pastry brush, moisten the sponge with roughly a third of the espresso. Cover the sponge with an even layer of mascarpone filling. Repeat this step for the second and then top with the third. You can use up any leftover mascarpone filling by spreading it on top and around the cake, acting as a crumb coat for the buttercream. Leave to chill in the fridge for at least 30 mins.
- Once chilled, cover the cake in your Italian meringue buttercream. You can use a palette knife or a cake scraper to achieve a smooth surface (a turntable is a good investment for this too!). Using any leftover buttercream, mix in your cocoa powder to create a chocolate coffee flavour. Fill your piping bag and pipe to decorate. I used a Wilton 104 petal piping nozzle for the flowers and used coffee beans for the centre. I used a Wilton 1M to pipe the smaller flowers on the top of a cake and a Wilton 98 tip to pipe the border. For a simpler decoration, use the cocoa powder to dust the top of the cake for a more authentic tiramisu look. Buon appetito!
This cake lasts up to 3 days and should be stored in the fridge. Not suitable for freezing.
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