Tuesday, July 26, 2011

Tiramisu Cake ... now that's Indulgence!

A friend of mine recently ordered a Tiramisu Cake from me and as I didn't have enough time to take pictures of it, I decided to make another one! I have made Tiramisu desserts before in the past but had used sponge fingers in the recipe. A cake version was totally new to me.

Come to think of it I had actually made the cake for an order without even tasting it for quality control checks. Wow! Anyway I did hear from my friend that the cake was scrumptious and everyone had second helpings ... in fact the 9" cake was not enough for the 8 persons it had been catered for.

tiramisu cake 2


tiramisu cake 3


Tiramisu Cake
Recipe from "My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan"

Ingredients for the Cake:

2 cups cake flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/8 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 sticks (10 tablespoons) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup sugar
3 large eggs
1 large egg yolk
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
3/4 cup buttermilk

For the espresso extract:
2 tablespoons instant espresso powder
2 tablespoons boiling water

For the Espresso Syrup:
1/2 cup water
1/3 cup sugar
1 tablespoon amaretto, Kahlua, or brandy

For the filling and frosting:
1 8-ounce container mascarpone
1/2 cup confectioners’ sugar, sifted
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 tablespoon amaretto, Kahlua, or brandy
1 cup cold heavy cream
2 1/2 ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, grated
Cocoa powder, for dusting

Method:

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.

To make the Cake:

1) Sift together the cake flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.

2) 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.

3) 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 the extract:

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

To make the 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 the Filling and Frosting:

1) Put the mascarpone, sugar, vanilla, and liqueur in a large bowl and whisk just until blended and smooth.

2) 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 the Cake:

1) 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 – user about 1 1/4 cups – and gently press the grated chocolate into the filling. 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.

2) For the frosting, whisk 1 to 1 1/2 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. If the frosting looks as if it might be a little too soft to spread over the cake, press a piece of plastic wrap against its surface and refrigerate it for 15 minutes or so. Refrigerate the cake too.

3) With a long metal icing spatula, smooth the frosting around the sides of the cake and over the top. If you want to decorate the cake with chocolate-covered espresso beans, press them into the filling, making concentric circles of beans or just putting some beans in the center of the cake.

4) Refrigerate the cake for at least 3 hours (or for up to 1 day) before serving – the elements need time to meld.

5) Just before serving, dust the top of the cake with cocoa.

tiramisu cake 1


tiramisu cake 4


tiramisu cake 5

29 comments:

Zoe said...

Gorgeous! I like the way you present this cake.

Sonia ~ Nasi Lemak Lover said...

Beautiful pictures as usual!

tigerfish said...

Tiramisu is definitely one of my favorites. Light, spongy and I can eat lots of it without realizing. ;p

ann low said...

Mmm...my favorite cake! Your Tiramisu Cake looks so inviting and I wish I can have a big piece of it.

Anh said...

The cake looks AMAZING!

Honey Bee Sweets said...

Love love how the cake look...so inviting! Tiramisu has got to be one of my top favorites...copy copy recipe. :D

Angie's Recipes said...

oh yes...that's pure indulgence!

Apple said...

i would love to try and bake this recipe! thanks!

Sashquatch said...

Ive been DYING to try this recipe for a while now, seen it on a few blogs, but i think your gorgeous example has just convinced me to do it and get my bake-on :) gorgeous post, really lovely

myFudo said...

Tiramisu is one of my most treasured desserts, I can have it in anyway, cake, cupcake, as a pudding layer. This looks rightfully delicious.

pickyin @ LifeIsGreat said...

What a pretty rendition of this cake! I made it last year for a friend's birthday and almost wished I made one extra for myself. I like your thin three layers instead of the original two.

A Bitchin' Kitchen said...

Tiramisu is one of my favorites! I have never attempted making it at home though. Looks delicious, and I'm coveting that pretty floral napkin :)

- Maggie

Unknown said...

I love Tiramisu and haven't had it in years. The photo is beautiful and jumped out at me from FG!

lwbookeater said...

If that doesn't look like perfect Tiramisu, I don't know what does. I think you provoked a craving...

Maggie @MaggieCooks said...

your pictures are gorgeous!!! :)
and i bet the tiramisu is pure heaven! haha :)

Edith said...

You eating this all by yourself? hehehehehe... hint hint hint.

Ramya said...

That looks incredible..you hav presented it beautifully:-) Make me droooool

Unknown said...

Now that sure looks amazing! Saw this on food gawker and just had to check it out :D thanks for sharing the recipe :)

www.thecreativemuslimah.blogspot.com

Allie said...

Gorgeous cake! Great job!

Kris Ngoei said...

Simply delicious and the layering is so neat and professionally done!

Stephanie said...

I've been looking for an alternative way to do tiramisu, and when I saw this on foodgawker I knew that I had found it! Definitely one that will go in my recipe box :) Thanks a bunch!

Wen said...

My all times fav! You have presented it so nicely! Yum!

Jo said...

Thanks all for dropping by. I hope some of you do try out the recipe. I like this cake variation as somehow it feels lighter than the tiramisu desserts that uses ladies fingers. Hmmm ... maybe I am just consoling myself.

Anonymous said...

are you open to orders for the tiramisu??

Bunnie said...

Hi there! Your pictures are beautiful! It seems to me your instructions only have two cake layers, but the picture has three? I might just be seeing things or misreading something but I am profoundly confused >______<" :(

Anonymous said...

Hello
Your Tiramisu cake looks so good..I plan on making it for my family Xmas party. I just wanted to know how far ahead i can make this cake? Also if you have any other tips/trick on making it, it would help me out a ton.

molly mu said...

Has anyone tried to make this cake? Everyone (except Bunnie) talks about how beautiful the cake is. First, there are 3 layers in the photo and the photo shows a square cake. The instructions say to use round cake pans which use less than square ones. Additionally, there is really not enough frosting for 3 layers--maybe 2. I don't believe that the quantify of sugar syrup was used for the layers in the photo. I did make the cake and noted all the problems before hand so it turned out okay, but really, the recipe doesn't even get the number of layers to match, what does that say?

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