Take this dessert to the next level – with lots of tiers.
Ingredients
"Tiramisu is one of the most iconic and classic desserts in the world, and my gosh, do I adore it! Typically it has a layer of coffee-soaked sponge fingers, with a whipped mascarpone topping. Oh my. However, translating that idea into a layered sponge cake is EVEN BETTER," promises food writer and blogger Jane Dunn.
"I make a moist and light sponge cake, soak it with a coffee sugar syrup, then decorate it with a sweetened coffee soft cheese frosting, and it is so tasty. This cake is 100% the cake I would bring to a party and maybe just sit and eat myself, as I wouldn’t want to share."
Tiramisu layer cake
Ingredients
(Serves 15+)
400g unsalted butter or baking spread, at room temperature
400g soft light brown sugar
400g self-raising flour
7 eggs
1tsp vanilla extract
For the syrup
100ml water
100g soft light brown sugar
2tbsp instant coffee
75ml Kahlúa
For the frosting
200g unsalted butter, at room temperature
200g icing sugar
1tsp vanilla extract
1tsp instant coffee, dissolved and cooled
400g full-fat soft cheese
1tsp cocoa powder
Method
1. Preheat the oven to 180ºC/160ºC fan and line three 20cm round cake tins with parchment paper.
2. In a large bowl, beat the butter and sugar until combined. Add the flour, eggs and vanilla extract to the bowl and beat again. Split the mixture between the three tins and bake for 30–35 minutes.
3. For the syrup: While the cakes bake, add the water, sugar, instant coffee and Kahlúa to a pan. Heat over a low heat until the sugar has dissolved. Soak into the baked cakes once they are out of the oven and leave them to cool fully in the tins.
4. For the frosting: Beat the butter in a large bowl on its own for a couple of minutes until smooth. Add the icing sugar, vanilla extract and cooled coffee and mix again until smooth. Add the soft cheese, and beat in fully. Layer the sponges with the frosting, until you reach the top layer – I like to pipe mine onto the top, but you can swirl it over and sprinkle it with cocoa powder.
Notes
- You can make this alcohol-free by leaving out the coffee liqueur and replacing it with more instant coffee dissolved in water, or just more water.
- You can make the sponges chocolatey by replacing 75g of self-raising flour with 75g of cocoa powder.
Jane's Patisserie: Classic by Jane Dunn is published in hardback by Ebury Press. Photography by Ellis Parrinder.
