Cooking with Toti
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Tiramisu Layer Cake (My Homemade Version)
Light sponge layers brushed with espresso-amaretto and mascarpone cream, dusted with cocoa.
Serves
10–12
Time
1 hr + 4 hr chill
A homemade tiramisu in cake form — fluffy sponge layers brushed with espresso and amaretto, layered with cold mascarpone cream, finished with a generous cocoa dusting.
Instructions
- 1
Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C). Line the bottoms of two round cake pans.
- 2
Over a gentle water bath, whisk eggs + sugar until sugar dissolves and the mix is warm (not hot).
- 3
Transfer the bowl to a stand mixer; whip on high 5–7 min until pale, thick, fluffy. Mix in vanilla.
- 4
Sift flour, baking powder and salt; fold gently into the egg mixture.
- 5
Divide between pans; bake 20–25 min until lightly golden and a toothpick comes out clean. Cool completely.
- 6
Slice each cake horizontally into 4 thin layers total.
- 7
Whip cold cream with powdered sugar and vanilla to soft peaks. Smooth mascarpone separately, then fold cream into mascarpone until light and creamy.
- 8
Mix cooled espresso with amaretto.
- 9
Stack: cake → soak (brushed lightly) → cream → repeat. Frost top (and sides if desired).
- 10
Dust generously with cocoa and refrigerate at least 4 hours (overnight best) before slicing.
Toti’s Tips
- ✓Whisking the eggs and sugar over a gentle water bath first, then finishing in the mixer, warms the eggs so they whip up fluffier and hold more air than if you started with cold eggs straight in the mixer.
- ✓Sift the flour before folding it in, and fold gently rather than stirring. Sifting removes lumps and aerates the flour, while gentle folding keeps you from knocking out the air you just whipped in, which is what keeps the sponge light instead of dense.
- ✓Use the same bowl for heating and whipping the eggs — it saves a wash and keeps the warm eggs moving straight into whipping while they're still at the right temperature to fluff up well.
- ✓Let the cake layers cool completely before slicing them horizontally. Warm cake is soft and crumbly, so cutting it too soon makes uneven, torn layers instead of clean ones.
- ✓Brush the espresso-amaretto soak on lightly rather than pouring it. Sponge cake absorbs liquid quickly, and too much will turn the layers soggy and make the whole cake unstable.
- ✓Chill the assembled cake for at least 4 hours before slicing. This firms up the mascarpone cream so your slices come out clean instead of squishing out the sides.
Storage
- •Refrigerator up to 3 days, covered.
More photos
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