Hal loved the cake and so did my parents and niece. Noah was not impressed. He said and I quote: "it looks like barf". Oh well, he is only 5. I also sent two pieces of cake to my neighbors. The jury is still out but hopefully they will love it too. Here is the recipe if you decide to make one for yourself. Enjoy!
Tiramisu Cake recipe adapted from Dorie Greenspan's book Baking: From my Home to Yours.
For the cake:
2 cups cake flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/8 tsp baking soda
¼ tsp salt
1 ¼ sticks (10 tablespoons) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup sugar
3 large eggs
1 large egg yolk
1 ½ tsp pure vanilla extract
¾ cup buttermilk
For the espresso extract:
2 tbs. instant espresso powder
2 tbs. boiling water
For the espresso syrup:
½ cup water
1/3 cup sugar
1 tbs. amaretto, Kahlua, or brandy
For the filling and frosting:
1 8-oz. container mascarpone cheese
½ cup confectioners sugar, sifted
1 ½ tsp pure vanilla extract
1 tbs. amaretto, Kahlua, or brandy
1 cup cold heavy cream
2 ½ oz. bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, finely chopped
Cocoa powder, for dusting
Getting ready: Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter two 9 x 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.
To make the cake: Sift together the cake flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
Working with a stand mixer, beat the butter on medium speed until soft and creamy. Add the sugar and beat for another 3 minutes.
I was lucky to have a helper for this part - my 5 yr old son Noah. :)
Add the eggs one by one, and then the yolk, beating for 1 minute after each addition. Beat in the vanilla. Reduce the mixer speed to low and add the dry ingredients alternately with the buttermilk, 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. Bake for 28-30 minutes. 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 then 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 1 tablespoon of the espresso extract and the liqueur or brandy; set aside.
To make the filling and frosting: Put the mascarpone, sugar, vanilla and liqueur in a large bowl and whisk just until blended and smooth. Working with the stand mixer with the whisk attachment, 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.
To assemble the cake: Place one layer right side up on a cake plate protected with strips of wax 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 – use about 1 ¼ cups – and gently press the chopped chocolate into the filling.
Put the second cake layer on the counter and soak the top of it with half the remaining espresso syrup.
For the frosting, whisk 1 to ½ tbs. of the remaining espresso extract into the remaining mascarpone filling. Smooth the frosting around the sides of the cake and over the top. Refrigerate the cake for at least 3 hours (or up to 1 day) before serving.Just before serving, dust the top of the cake with cocoa.
