Shhh, come closer. I have a secret to share...

I don't like (hangs head)... coffee. Java lovers everywhere may swarm to swat me with stirrers, or grind me into gourmet grounds, but I can't help it. I just don't like coffee.

Believe me, coming from a household where my father's brew method included one scoop for every two cups and one more for the Corps (Marine Corps, that is) coffee has been in my life for a long time.  My folks still polish off about 3 pots a day.

I started in my teens trying to drink coffee. Everyone said to start with milk, add a little coffee and work your way up to more coffee and less milk, maybe a little sugar. No matter how much milk I used and how little coffee, I just couldn't enjoy the flavor. Feeling like I was missing some rite of passage, I gave up trying for several years.

I tried again when I moved in with my husband, who is not fit to live with until he has had his first cup of joe in the morning. More milk, more sugar, no dice. Secretly, I still felt like I had failed some kind of grown-up test.

Fast forward to the present. I still don't drink coffee and I rarely use PJ's beloved espresso powder in my baked goods. The world of mocha baked goods just doesn't send me.

So, imagine my joy when I tried this Tiramisu Layer Cake which has coffee syrup soaked cake layers, and I loved it. I mean I LOVED it! I'm a sucker for cake and cream and this take on classic Italian dessert just hits the spot. The coffee enhances and tempers the sweetness of the cream and the hint of marsala makes me feel like I really am a grown-up after all!

So imagine, if a non-coffee drinkin' gal like myself enjoys this cake that much, you folks who thrive on espresso and cappuccino are going to beat feet to the kitchen for this one.

For the Tiramisu Layer Cake you will need a single 9” round cake layer, chocolate or vanilla, split in half horizontally.  I used our Golden Vanilla Cake mix, it's a real favorite of mine. Just freeze the second layer for another day or double the filling and give one to someone who needs a pick-me-up.

To make the coffee syrup, add to a  small saucepan:

1/2 cup (113g) water
2 teaspoons espresso powder
1/4 cup (50g) sugar

Stir over medium heat until the sugar is fully dissolved.

Bring to a full rolling boil, remove from the heat and add in 1/4 cup (57g) Kahlua or amaretto liqueur. Set aside to cool to lukewarm.

For the filling, you'll need: 

1 cup (227g) mascarpone cheese
1 cup (227g) heavy cream
1 tablespoon (14g) vanilla extract
1/3 cup (35g) confectioners' sugar
2 teaspoons Instant ClearJel

Combine the mascarpone and heavy cream in a large bowl and whisk at low speed until the mixture is smooth. Mix in the vanilla extract. Whisk together the confectioners' sugar and ClearJel, and slowly add to the mixture. Increase speed to medium-high and whisk until medium peaks form.

Now for the assembly. Remove the top browned layer of your cake to expose the soft absorbent cake inside. I'm sure someone will nibble up those crumbs, eh?

Place half of the cake in a parchment lined 9” springform pan.

Sprinkle 3 tablespoons of the coffee syrup evenly over the cake, then spread 2 cups of the tiramisu cream filling over this layer of cake.

Top with the second half of your cake.

See that big split? Dinna fash yourself, (Gaelic for don't worry about it) it's all going to be covered in cream soon.

Sprinkle the cake with another 2 tablespoons of the syrup, let it soak in for a few minutes, then top with the remaining tiramisu cream.

Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for several hours or overnight.

When you're ready to serve, remove the plastic wrap and run a thin, flexible spatula around the edge of the cake.

Unlatch and remove the springform ring. The cream should be well set and stand tall all on its own.

If you'd like, sift a fine layer of cocoa over the top of the cake.

All that's left is to slice, serve and enjoy. I must say I've had tiramisu in the past that overwhelmed you with strong coffee flavor, never letting you taste the other flavors involved.

This cake does have the coffee flavor, but in a much more subtle way. You know there is coffee, but you also taste the sweetness of the cream, the vanilla in the cake, even the hint of marsala-like essence in the filling. Truly, a dessert to lift you up at any time of day.

Please bake, rate and review our recipe for Tiramisu Layer Cake.

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Mary Jane Robbins
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About MaryJane Robbins

MaryJane, affectionately known as MJ here at King Arthur Baking Company, grew up in Massachusetts before moving to Vermont in 1990. Prior to this she taught pre-school and kindergarten in the Upper Valley area for 15 years. Drawing on those skills, MJ joined our Baker’s Hotline and teaching staff at...
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Comments

Peggy

June 27, 2021 at 1:07pm

Love Tiramisu - never had a home-made one. Whoever said "don't speak until I've had at least one cup of coffee " - the kind that you can stand your spoon in and it won't fall over ... my Irish Grandfather liked his tea that way - strong.
But, the question .. never heard of Clearjel before. Can anything else be subbed?
Thanks for your help.

Peggy

Morgan at King Arthur

June 27, 2021 at 4:35pm

Hi Peggy! Our Instant ClearJel is a cold-process thickener, this means it doesn't need to be heated to activate its thickening and stabilizing powers the way cornstarch or flour need to. This also makes it tricky to replace. In this case, if you don't have any on hand you could leave it out just keep in mind that the filling won't be as stable. Happy baking! 

roultm

April 7, 2015 at 9:42pm

I was hoping for tips on slicing the layer in two without shredding it. I assume I let it cool first, but then what? We don't have a cake knife on hand; would a bread knife do? I don't want to start on this (I DO want to try it!) until I'm reasonably certain I can slice that layer and have it survive intact.
deb1223

May 14, 2011 at 1:12pm

I made this cake for a party last night - it was fabulous!! I used your chocolate cake recipe and took another poster's thoughts about using a spray bottle for the coffee syrup - YUM. The chocolate cake was amazing - but did not rise as high as I expected, so I just used both layers. Delicious!!
twombly3

May 7, 2011 at 9:37am

I have a question about substituting the vanilla pudding mix with the tiramisu filling mix. Do you make the vanilla pudding by cooking it as directed on the package but with 1 cup of milk and the marsala or do you mix it all together cold and then fold it in with the whipped cream? I believe that it is supposed to be a package of instant pudding which would not need cooking and cooling. I will check in to make sure this is specified in the recipe. Thank you for bringing this to our attention. ~Amy Thanks for checking Amy. Yes, it's instant pudding and I've updated the blog to say "instant". Thanks Twombly! ~ MaryJane
"Linda S"

May 4, 2011 at 9:24pm

For those who've commented on subject of KAF products: Please don't misunderstand my/our comments about KAF products featured in their recipes. I am NOT ungrateful that they use them, and totally understand the need to promote them. I only want to know that if I don't have a particular item or choose not to get it, the recipe is still perfectly usable with other ingredients, and having that included in the recipe is just a help. I've learned about a lot of ingredients I'd never heard of before thanks to KAF, and have gotten quite a few of them. But I don't always have the chance to get everything I'd like. Money's tight these days wherever you are, so I try and get just those things I will use more often. I can't afford to spend money on one or two ingredients that I may only use for that one recipe, so there will be times when I need to substitute if I still want to try and make it. I'd much rather use an alternate ingredient than stash a good recipe away and never use it. I also know that the finished product may not be as good as it would be with the originally listed ingredients. But, I'm sure anyone who bakes knows, you don't always have what's needed, so you use what you have and find a way to make it work. Sometimes it works just as well; sometimes it doesn't...and sometimes it turns out even better! You just get what you're dealt when you have no choice and hope for the best. :-) So, for those who feel some of us are complaining, all I'm asking is to know what can work in place of those particular ingredients that can't be obtained except at KAF or a specialty store. Often the blogs DO give that information when someone asks, but it's not always included in the recipe, so if you only print the recipe, you won't know about it. I'm VERY grateful that the folks at KAF are so dedicated to putting out quality products, and that they listen to their customers and are willing to always help whenever there's a question. I've never known a place where you could e-mail with a question and get a response the next day. They could easily take the attitude that their recipes are only to promote their goods, but they don't. They are always open to comments and feedback, and never get defensive about what they do. So...PLEASE continue promoting your products! Just let us know in the recipe if there's something we can use in case we don't have one of them. That way if we don't have something, we won't have to go crazy waiting until we get it to try a recipe. I know I'm not the only one who wants things yesterday!! Thanks again!
gaitedgirl

May 4, 2011 at 10:27am

@ HMB - Thanks for the fresh berry tiramisu link! The husband and I may have to try it (after all, I have 8 quarts of strawberries sitting at my house, just begging to get used!)! @ Irene - Thanks ;) But for every blessing, it can sometimes be a curse. I can really, really want to like something but the minute that coffee flavor hits my tongue, that's it - I'm done and will pout for the rest of the day lol @ Marcin - I have to agree with you. Sometimes it can be a bit frustrating having all the KAF products listed in a blog/recipe but when you have sooooo many products, as KAF does, it's nice to know that they have MULTIPLE uses for a product. They have so many different flours that it made my head spin the first time I looked at them all. But I pushed through and bought my first batch of Kamut flour to try and it was good to know that even though I didn't use all the flour on the first try, there are many, many ways of using the remainder of it. Without the helpful assistance of all the KAF bloggers and service people (y'all are the best, honestly!), many people would end up having products wasting away on our shelves because you felt like you could only use it for one thing and one thing only. Are there usually substitutions? Sure. But this is a business after all - not a personal blog. Part of their job is to sell their products so they have every single right to "product place" their products. At least they are helpful in saying, "Yes, you can use this instead" rather than "Nope, sorry. You're out of luck." Every is entitled to their own opinions (that's what makes life interesting) but I don't mind all the product placement simply because this is the King Arthur Flour blog so of course they're going to use KAF products. It's almost expected, in my opinion. No one says that you have to run out and purchase everything that is listed on the blog. That's what the comments are for - to find out where you can change things or where other people have substituted. If you don't like the product placement, disregard them and just enjoy the helpful hints and tips that come out of this blog (not to mention the mishaps!).
marcin

May 3, 2011 at 1:56pm

To the people who are concerned about the number of products (and not all of them are KAF products, by they way) talked about in this blog: I'm amazed that people are concerned about this and not grateful for it. I've been cooking a long time. How would I have learned anything without this kind of information? I'd be walking into a store and not seeing anything at all. (Like listening to a symphony and not being able to pick out the cellos.) Let's go back in time and see how we learned about everything we know and how much richer our lives are for the knowledge. I like to dabble in gardening too, and I listen each week to Paul Parent's radio show. I learn every single week from his show, and my life is so much better than it would be without his patient explaining. Gardening is his life's work, but it isn't mine. He, like the KAF blog writers, tunes in so sensitively to those of us with great interest but not much experience or skill or knowledge. Paul Parent is often chided for his mentioning products on his show. But how would I know about these products and the tremendous advances some of these companies have made in gardening without his talking about them? When I walk into a grocery store or garden center, I'm looking at 300,000 products. I have no clue which ones work and which ones don't or how to achieve the results I'm seeking. This blog, like Paul Parent's radio show, has changed my life. Suddenly lots of things seem doable that never seemed that way before. It has refreshed my desire to bake and cook, and it is truly the highlight of my day. I mean that with all my heart. I love the banter, the jokes, the pictures--I feel like I have a baking family. When you think about it, all of us are baking to give to other people. So this entire blog, in fact, the entire KAF company, is all about--wait for it: Love. I'm so grateful for its presence in my life. And I really mean that. Thank you so much for your kind words. Please believe me, we are listening to everyone's comments about recipes, products, and substitutions. We WANT you all to love reading the blog and we WANT you to love baking as much as we do. Above all we DON'T want you to be frustrated and upset over a recipe you can't make. The blog team is hard at work reviewing upcoming blogs and recipes and making changes that hopefully will help keep the love alive. Thanks again for your touching post. ~ MaryJane
Carol

January 22, 2022 at 2:50pm

Well, the need for folks to comment about KAF products used in a KAF recipe from a KAF baking blog as if there is anything inappropriate about it have really given me a lot of pleasure: because now I can't wait to support the good people from KAF even more and order up some of that KAF clear gell and give it a try in the tiramisu cake and see what happens!!!!!! A little present to myself, a fun adventure to try out, an experiment that will be fun no matter how it turns out or what I think. It will make me happy to give it a try, to share with a friend or my family to make them smile, - we will laugh if I cook up a flop the first time, and they will eat it with spoons and extra whipped cream if need be - my point is " THANK YOU, KAF and KAF folks. You enhance my world, my baking pleasure, my connectedness to things we can all share and hope for, and we need more of that in this world today" Bring on the KAF gell, the KAF products, the KAF camaraderie -- I want you to survive and thrive and I am HONORED to support your business and your products and be part of this little community and I will enjoy doing so even more going forward. have a good day out there if you can, Folks. I hope you can bake some love into your, and someone else's day, and if things are difficult for you right now, I hope they are better for you and all of us soon. thank you! best, aunt carol, santa rosa

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