Tiramisu Cake

Layers of coffee-flavored sponge cake and mascarpone cream make this Tiramisu cake an absolutely delightful afternoon treat.

Tiramisu cake with layers of mascarpone cream and coffee-flavored cake.

Ingredients Needed

  • Butter.
  • Sugar. White granulated sugar or caster sugar will both work.
  • Flour. All purpose flour.
  • Baking powder.
  • Salt.
  • Eggs.
  • Vanilla extract.
  • Warm milk.
  • Instant coffee.
  • Mascarpone.
  • Heavy cream/whipping cream.
  • Powdered sugar/icing sugar.
  • Cocoa powder.
Tiramisu cake

How to make Tiramisu Cake

This cake has three components that ensure it’s perfectly flavored with coffee (without it being overpowering). Each element is super easy to make and they are all essential to this cake’s great texture and delicious flavor.

  1. The sponge cake: I made a simple coffee-flavored sponge cake batter in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Simply cream together the butter and sugar then add the eggs and vanilla. Sift in the dry ingredients and finally stir in the hot milk and coffee. I just dissolve instant coffee granules into the hot milk. Pour the batter into three 7-8inch/20cm cake pans that you’ve greased and lined with parchment paper then bake in a preheated oven until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Allow to cool on a wire rack until room temperature.
  2. The coffee soak: While the cake is baking, I make a coffee soak to infuse even more coffee flavor and keep the cake layers moist, but you could use a few shots of espresso instead and just use less water. Simply simmer together water, sugar and instant coffee together in a small saucepan set over medium heat until the sugar has dissolved. You can add alcohol to the soak too for an authentic tiramisu flavor. Marsala wine, brandy, dark rum, Kahlua (coffee liqueur) will all work.
  3. The mascarpone frosting: This is a simple stabalized whipped cream frosting. You’ll whip the mascarpone and powdered sugar together (I do this in the bowl of my stand mixer with the whisk attachment but you can use electric beaters or a whisk and a large bowl too). Whip the cream until stiff peaks form then fold into the mascarpone mixture. From here it’s just an assembly job where you’ll layer the cakes (that you’ve brushed with the coffee soak) with the creamy mascarpone frosting and finally give it a generous dusting of cocoa powder to finish.
Tiramisu cake layers brushed with coffee soak

Can I make this ahead?

This cake can be made the day in advance and kept covered in the fridge. The layers can be made up to a week in advance, wrapped well and frozen. Leftovers can be kept in the refrigerator in an airtight container for up to 3 days.

Tiramisu cake

Tiramisu Recipes

Tiramisu cake

Tiramisu Cake

Layers of coffee-flavored sponge cake and mascarpone cream make this Tiramisu cake an absolutely delightful afternoon treat.
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Course: Cake, Dessert
Cuisine: Italian
Keyword: Tiramisu Cake, Tiramisu cake recipe
Prep Time: 45 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
Calories: 640kcal
Author: Alida Ryder
Servings: 12

Ingredients

For the sponge cakes

  • 250 g (2 sticks) butter room temperature
  • 300 g (1½ cups) caster sugar
  • 2 tsp vanilla extract
  • 4 extra-large eggs I use free-range
  • 300 g (2½ cups) cake flour all purpose flour
  • 2 tsp baking powder
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 250 ml (1 cup) milk heated
  • 1 tbsp instant coffee

For the coffee soak

  • 125 ml (½ cup) water
  • 100 g (½ cup) sugar
  • 2 tbsp instant coffee

For the mascarpone frosting

  • 500 g (1lb) mascarpone
  • 250 ml (1 cup) heavy cream / whipping cream
  • 250 g (2 cups) powdered sugar / icing sugar sifted
  • cocoa powder for dusting

Instructions

  • Pre-heat the oven to 350°F/180°c and grease three 7-8inch/20cm cake pans and line the bottom with parchment paper.
  • In a large bowl, beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
  • In a different bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder and salt.
  • Add the eggs to the butter and sugar mixture one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the vanilla extract and mix well.
  • Add the ground coffee/instant coffee to the warm milk and mix until dissolved.
  • Add the flour mixture and the milk/coffee alternating to the the butter, sugar and eggs mixture. Make sure to mix well after each addition.
  • Divide the batter between the prepared cake pans and place in the pre-heated oven.
  • Bake for 25-30 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the cakes comes out clean.
  • Remove the cakes from the oven and allow to cool for 10 minutes in the pan before turning out onto a wire rack and allowing to cool completely.
  • In the meantime, get started on the mascarpone filling and the coffee syrup.
  • For the syrup, combine the sugar, water and coffee in a small saucepan and heat over medium heat until the sugar has dissolved. Remove from the heat and set aside.
  • For the mascarpone frosting, beat the mascarpone and powdered sugar together until thick. Whip the cream to stiff peak stage then fold into the mascarpone.
  • When the cakes are cool, brush with the coffee syrup until most of it has been absorbed.
  • Layer the cakes with the frosting and finish with a generous dusting of cocoa powder then serve.

Nutrition

Calories: 640kcal | Carbohydrates: 79g | Protein: 10g | Fat: 33g | Saturated Fat: 13g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 5g | Monounsaturated Fat: 12g | Trans Fat: 0.01g | Cholesterol: 101mg | Sodium: 578mg | Potassium: 327mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 58g | Vitamin A: 1407IU | Vitamin C: 0.2mg | Calcium: 154mg | Iron: 1mg