A recipe to transform everyone's favourite Italian dessert into cake form. This two layered chocolate and coffee tiramisu cake is filled and topped with a luscious cheesecake icing lightly flavoured with coffee. It's quite sophisticated in flavour and contains a little alcohol. Maybe keep it for grown up celebrations.
260gflour(I used half wholemeal and half plain (all purpose)
70gcocoa powder
½tspbaking powder
1tspbicarbonate of soda (baking soda)
220mlkefir, buttermilk, sour milk or watered down yoghurt(see note below*)
4tbspstrong black coffee
Coffee Cheesecake Icing
60gunsalted buttersoftened
250gicing sugar
100gfull fat cream cheesego for mascarpone if you can
1tbspmarsala wine
3tbspstrong black coffee
Instructions
Cake
Brew the coffee. You'll need seven tbsp for the cake and icing.
Preheat the oven to 180℃ (160℃ fan, 350℉, Gas 4)
Cream the butter with the sugars until light and fluffy. I do this by hand with a bowl and wooden spoon, but you could use an electric mixer if you prefer.
165 g unsalted butter, 250 g soft brown sugar, 70 g dark brown sugar
Beat in the eggs, one at a time.
3 large eggs
Sift in the flours, cocoa and bicarbonate of soda.
260 g flour, 70 g cocoa powder, ½ tsp baking powder, 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda (baking soda)
Stir this in gently, alternating with the sour milk.
220 ml kefir, buttermilk, sour milk or watered down yoghurt
Add the cooled coffee and stir until just incorporated.
4 tbsp strong black coffee
Divide the mixture between 2 x 20 cm silicone cake moulds or lined tins and bake for 30 minutes or until the cakes are well risen and an inserted skewer comes out more or less clean.
Leave to cool for ten minutes, then turn out onto wire racks to cool completely.
Coffee Cheesecake Icing
Whilst the cakes are cooling, cream the butter with a couple of large spoonfuls of icing sugar.
60 g unsalted butter
Beat in the cream cheese, then slowly add the rest of the icing sugar.
100 g full fat cream cheese, 250 g icing sugar
Add the marsala and coffee, then stir until all is smooth and you have a good spreading consistency. Be careful not to over beat at this stage or it might become too soft.
1 tbsp marsala wine, 3 tbsp strong black coffee
Spread one cake with half the mixture, place the other cake on top then spread over the remaining icing.
Sprinkle with grated or shaved chocolate.
Notes
*To make sour milk for this recipe add 1 tbsp of lemon juice or vinegar to a measuring jug. Top it up to 220ml with milk. Stir and leave at room temperature for 5 minutes. By then it should have curdled and thickened slightly, which is just what you want.Please note: calories and other nutritional information are per serving. They’re approximate and will depend on exact ingredients used.