My husband celebrated his birthday this past weekend. Originally I had all kinds of big plans, but it turned out that it was the same day as our daughter’s first communion and the same weekend we had three guests bunking with us. Let me tell you – seven people and one full bath is not my favourite thing!
Unfortunately for him, his birthday was reduced to a smoked fish and bagel lunch and this cake. A cake that’s been floating in my mind for quite some time. I seem to be drawn to making layer cakes out of things that normally aren’t – like this banana bread layer cake. And if you are a long-time reader, you’ll know why I chose to make a tiramisu cake – just as I tweaked a classic tiramisu a couple of years back into a tropical version.
So here it is – the non-boozy version of a tiramisu cake – fit for a birthday. I used this yellow cake recipe, but reduced the cooking time to 22 minutes because of the 3 layers. Then I assembled the pieces as described in the recipe below.
Feel free to add some booze to the ladyfingers for a little something extra and if you want it to taste more of coffee, drizzle the yellow cake layers with coffee as well!
Oh and I think he still had a great day, despite it not being all about him.
Bake yellow cake layers (3) and let cool completely. Add first layer of cake to cake stand or plate. Frost with mascarpone frosting, layer with soaked ladyfingers, add some more frosting. Add second layer of cake and repeat frosting and ladyfinger layer. Top with final layer of cake. Add a thin layer of frosting all over the cake. Put in fridge for 30 minutes so frosting can stiffen. Once cold, add more frosting all over the cake and smooth as best as you can. Cool a little more while you make the chocolate ganache. Take the cake out of the fridge, pour ganache on centre of cake and let it gently drip over the edges. Let ganache get solid before serving cake. *Drizzle cake layers with extra coffee if you want a stronger flavour.
Ingredients
- 1 tub of mascarpone
- 1 cup of powdered sugar
- 2 cups of whipping cream
- 1 1/2 packs of ladyfingers
- 1 cup of espresso (or more if you want to drizzle some on the cake layers)
- 1 100g bar of good quality chocolate, broken into pieces
- 2/3 cup of whipping cream
Instructions
- For frosting:
- Combine mascarpone and sugar with a mixer until smooth and creamy. Add whipping cream and whip at medium-high speed until the cream turns to a whipped cream consistency. Don't over-whip the mixture. Adjust sweetness to your liking.
- For Ladyfinger layer:
- Soak each ladyfinger in espresso before adding it to frosted cake layer
- Chocolate Ganache:
- Heat cream in small saucepan until piping hot but not boiling. Take off heat and stir in chocolate pieces. Stir until fully melted. Wait until slightly thickened for perfect pouring texture.
