Tuesdays with Dorie—Tiramisu Cake

What makes tirami-su?
Tiramisu usually contains lady finger biscuits, mascarpone cheese, a coffee-flavored liqueur, and is dusted with cocoa. My version doesn't contain any of these ingredients. Dorie's riff on tiramisu uses a sponge cake instead of lady finger biscuits. I was forced to do a couple of riffs myself. Since I didn't have mascarpone, I used some long-neglected cream cheese that was soon going to expire. As well, I didn't have the recommended Kahlúa or brandy so I used crème de cacao. Finally, I forgot to put the chopped chocolate in between the layers so I sprinkled it on top which meant my cake wasn't dusted with cocoa.

(n) tiramisu (an Italian dessert consisting of layers of sponge cake soaked with coffee and brandy or liqueur layered with mascarpone cheese and topped with grated chocolate) — Link

Whatever you call it, it's a treat in the middle of the afternoon guaranteed to pick you up and get you to the 5 o'clock whistle.

Recipe

Makes 10 servings (I halved the recipe.)

For the Cake:
2 cups cake flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/8 teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon salt
1¼ sticks (10 tablespoons) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup sugar
3 large eggs
1 large egg yolk
1½ teaspoons pure vanilla extract
¾ cup buttermilk

For the Espresso Extract:
2 tablespoons instant espresso powder
2 tablespoons boiling water

For the Espresso Syrup:
½ cup water
1/3 cup sugar
1 tablespoon amaretto, Kahlúa, or brandy (Deb note: I used brandy)

For the Filling and Frosting:
1 8-ounce container mascarpone
½ cup confectioners’ sugar, sifted
1½ teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 tablespoon amaretto, Kahlúa, or brandy (Deb note: I used brandy)
1 cup cold heavy cream
2½ ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, finely chopped, or about 1/2 cup store-bought mini chocolate chips

Chocolate-covered espresso beans, for decoration (optional)
Cocoa powder, for dusting
You can find the recipe for Tiramisu Cake in the book Baking: From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan or here. To see how the rest of the TWD group fared with this week's recipe, click here and then click on each blogger! Thanks to Megan of My Baking Adventures who chose the recipe for this week.

Tulip Festival, Ottawa & My Favorite Espresso Cup
Tasting Notes
After sitting in the refrigerator overnight, I pulled out a piece to nibble on while writing this post. I found the cake moist, with a slight coffee flavor, followed by the stronger taste of cream cheese with a touch of chocolate. Overall, it had a subtle mocha taste that was perfect with an espresso. To get more coffee flavor, next time I would soak more espresso extract in the sponge cake and use Kahlúa. I'd also try making it with mascarpone and compare it with the cream cheese. But I liked my tiramisu-inspired cake.

Sam Baldwin: What is "tiramisu"?
Jay: You'll find out.
Sam Baldwin: Well, what is it?
Jay: You'll see!
Sam Baldwin: Some woman is gonna want me to do it to her and I'm not gonna know what it is!
— Sleepless in Seattle

Links to Other Posts and Articles on Tiramisu
• Smitten Kitchen: Tiramisu Cake
• The Washington Post: The Trail of Tiramisu

Recipe for Next Week (May 12)
Babette of Babette Feasts has chosen Tartest Lemon Tart on page 336.