Tiramisu Layer Cake

Soft layers of espresso-soaked genoise sponge cake in between layers of whipped mascarpone cream frosting

📝 Ingredients

• 6 large eggs (room temperature)
• 200 g granulated sugar
• 130 g cake flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 2 teaspoon espresso powder
• 150 ml hot water
• 30 ml coffee liqueur (e.g. Kahlua)
• 500 g mascarpone cheese (softened)
• 250 g whipping cream
• 150 g powdered sugar
• cocoa powder (for dusting)

👨‍🍳 Instructions

1. 1--- Genoise Sponge Cake ---
2. 2Preheat oven to 350°F and line the bottoms of three 6” cake pans with a round of parchment paper. Set aside.
3. 3In a large mixing bowl, use an electric mixer to beat eggs on medium speed for 1 minute. Slowly pour in the sugar while mixing. Once all the sugar has been added, beat for at least 10 minutes until the mixture has tripled in volume and become a pale yellow colour.
4. 4In a small bowl, stir together the cake flour and baking powder. Using a fine mesh sieve, sift these dry ingredients into the egg mixture 1/3 at a time. Use a silicone spatula to fold the flour in to combine. Don’t overmix otherwise you will deflate too much air from the batter.
5. 5Divide the cake batter evenly into your cake pans (I portioned out approximately 200g into each of my 6” cake pans). Bake cakes for 23-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.
6. 6Let cakes cool in the pans for 10-15 minutes until cool enough to handle. Run a knife or offset spatula around the edges of the cake to release from the pan and turn the cake out upside down onto a cooling rack, peel off the parchment paper, and let cool completely before frosting.
7. 7In a small bowl, stir together espresso powder, hot water, and coffee liqueur and set aside for when you’re ready to assemble the cake.
8. 8--- Mascarpone Frosting ---
9. 9In a mixing bowl, use an electric mixer to beat the mascarpone cheese until creamy. Mix in the whipping cream and then the powdered sugar and beat until smooth.
10. 10--- To assemble the cake ---
11. 11Place your first cake layer down on a turntable. Drizzle 4-5 spoonfuls of espresso mixture across the surface of the cake until the top is saturated.
12. 12Add a generous amount of mascarpone frosting on top of the cake layer and use an offset spatula to smooth evenly.
13. 13Repeat with your remaining cake layers, espresso mixture, and frosting.
14. 14For a “naked” style cake, spread a thin layer of frosting on the sides of the cake and use a bench scraper to smooth and remove excess frosting until the cake can be seen through the frosting.
15. 15Transfer the remaining frosting into a piping bag fitted with a large piping tip of your choice and piping a design on the top of your cake. Dust the top generously with cocoa powder.