Tiramisu Celebration Cake
A big, tiramisu-inspired layer cake, perfect for a celebration! 6 layers of vanilla cake, each soaked with a coffee-marsala syrup, sandwiched with a mascarpone cream and sprinkled with dark chocolate flakes. The cake is decorated with a piped border, a dusting of cocoa powder and a simple, stencilled design.
Servings 30
Equipment
- 13 x 9 x 2-inch cake tin (see Note 1).
Ingredients
For the vanilla cakes:
- 600 g Stork, plus extra for greasing (see Note 1).
- 600 g caster sugar
- 12 eggs
- Vanilla extract
- 600 g self-raising flour
- 4 tsp baking powder
- Fine sea salt
For the coffee soak:
- 600 ml espresso, still hot (see Note 2).
- 3 tbsp instant coffee granules
- 200 g caster sugar
- Fine sea salt
- 2 tbsp marsala (see Note 3).
For the mascarpone icing:
- 1500 g mascarpone
- 750 ml double cream
- 450 g icing sugar, sifted.
- Fine sea salt
To assemble:
- Dark chocolate flakes (See Note 4).
- Cocoa powder
Instructions
Make the vanilla cakes:
- You will need to make two 13 x 9-inch vanilla cakes for this recipe. I like to make them separately, one after the other, because I only have one tin. The quantities listed in the 'Ingredients' section are for both cakes combined, so I've listed the amounts for one cake in the method here. Just remember to do it all twice, so you end up with two cakes!
- Preheat the oven to 160°C (conventional, not fan). Grease a 13 x 9 x 2 inch tin with Stork (or softened, unsalted butter) and line with baking paper. Set aside.
- Place the Stork (300g) and caster sugar (300g) in the bowl of a stand mixer, fitted with the paddle attachment. Beat on medium-high speed until well-combined, pale and fluffy.
- In a large jug, whisk together the eggs (6) and vanilla extract (1 small splash).
- Turn the mixer to medium-low and gradually pour the egg mixture into the butter mixture. Don't worry if it splits a little towards the end, it will come back together once you add the dry ingredients.
- Sift in the self-raising flour (300g), the baking powder (2 tsp) and the salt (1 pinch). Mix on low speed until just combined, then scrape down the base and sides of the bowl with a spatula to make sure everything is well-combined.
- Tip the batter into the prepared tin and smooth it out. Bake in the preheated oven for 40-45 minutes, until the cake just springs back when pressed lightly, a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean and it is beginning to pull away from the edges slightly.
- Allow the cake to cool in the tin for 30-45 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack and leave to cool completely.
- Repeat this process to make a second cake.
Make the coffee soak:
- Dissolve the instant coffee granules in the warm espresso. Add the sugar and salt and stir until dissolved. Allow to cool slightly, then stir in the marsala.
Make the mascarpone icing:
- This icing will thicken up and become hard to work with over time, so I recommend making it in 3 separate batches: 1 batch for filling layers 1-3, 1 batch for filling layers 4-5 and crumb coating the cake and 1 batch for the final coat and piped border. The amounts listed in the 'Ingredients' section above are the total of all 3 batches. I will list the quantity for 1 batch in parentheses here in the method.
- Place the mascarpone (500g), double cream (250ml), sifted icing sugar (150g) and salt (1 pinch) in a large bowl. Whip with a hand whisk until the mixture is just holding its shape— be careful not to over-whip it, or it will become hard to spread and look split.
Assemble the cake:
- Level both vanilla cakes, then split each into 3 layers horizontally, leaving you with 6 layers of cake.
- Spread a small amount of mascarpone icing on the serving board, then place the first layer of cake on top. Brush the cake evenly with coffee soak, then spread on a layer of mascarpone icing. Sprinkle with chocolate flakes, then place the next cake layer on top.
- Repeat this process, stacking up the cake layers with the soak, icing and chocolate flakes, until you come to the final cake layer. Brush the final layer with soak and spread on a thin layer of the icing (you will add more in the next step), but do not add chocolate flakes. Apply a thin crumb coat on the sides of the cake, then chill for 20-30 minutes.
- Apply a final coat of icing, making sure the top is as smooth as possible. Transfer the remaining icing to a piping bag and pipe dollops around the perimeter of the cake, to form a border. Chill the cake for a further 15-20 minutes.
- If you are using a stencil, position it on the cake now, making sure it is flat and level. Dust the cake with an even layer of cocoa powder, then use a pair of tweezers to remove the stencil and reveal your design.
- The cake must be stored in the fridge. It will keep for 2-3 days.
Notes
- I used this one, from Silverwood.
- I like to use Stork instead of butter in cakes like this, because I think it makes them lighter and fluffier. Feel free to replace it with an equal amount of softened, unsalted butter, if you prefer.
- I make espresso using Nespresso Ristretto Decaffeinato capsules (because they're the strongest ones I tend to have on hand!). 1 capsule makes about 100ml of espresso, so you'll need approximately 6 capsules for this. Alternatively, you can just use really strong coffee.
- Marsala is traditional, but you can use whatever alcohol you like (I often use amaretto!). Alternatively, omit the alcohol entirely and increase the instant coffee slightly to amp up the flavour.
- I made these chocolate flakes using a 72% dark chocolate. To make them yourself, follow my Easy Chocolate Curls tutorial, then tip the curls into a sealed container and shake them hard to turn them into small flakes. Alternatively, you can buy chocolate flakes ready-made.