Tiramisu
I suggest you read through the recipe before starting, which will help with the timing. You'll need a half batch of pastry cream for the filling.
Ingredients
- 1/2 recipe Pastry Cream* prepare for mascarpone filling below
Espresso Sponge Cake
- 1/2 cup (55g) cake flour
- 1 1/2 tsp espresso powder
- 4 eggs separated, at room temperature
- 1/3 cup (65g) superfine sugar
- 1 pinch kosher salt
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
Coffee Soaking Syrup
- 1/3 cup (80ml) hot coffee
- 3 Tbsp granulated sugar
- 1/3 cup (80ml) cognac, brandy, or Amaretto
Mascarpone Filling
- 2 cups (480ml) heavy whipping cream
- 2 Tbsp confectioners’ sugar
- 1 cup (240g) mascarpone cheese
Toppings
- 1 Tbsp cocoa powder divided, plus more for dusting
- Milk chocolate for shaving
Instructions
Espresso Sponge Cake
- Preheat the oven to 375°F / 190°C. Line the bottom of an 8 by 3-inch / 20 by 8cm round cake pan with ungreased parchment and leave the sides of the pan untouched. The cake needs to cling to the ungreased pan to rise properly.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour and espresso powder and then sift back into the bowl. Set aside.
- In a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, whip the egg yolks on high speed. Once the yolks are well combined, turn the speed to medium-low and slowly sprinkle in half the sugar. Turn the speed to high and let it whip for about 5 minutes; it should be light in color and texture and about doubled in volume. When you lift the whisk out of the mixture, the batter should form a ribbon that sits on top of the egg foam for several seconds.
- In a clean mixer bowl with a clean whisk attachment, combine the egg whites and salt and beat on low-medium speed until foamy. Slowly sprinkle in the remaining sugar to create a French meringue and, once it is all added, turn the speed to high and beat until stiff, glossy peaks form, 1 to 2 minutes more.
- Fold the meringue into the egg yolk foam and then gently stir in the vanilla. Sift one-third of the flour mixture over the egg foam and gently fold it in. Repeat with the next one-third flour and then the final one-third flour.
- Immediately pour the batter into the prepared pan and gently smooth the top with a small offset spatula.
- Bake until a tester comes out clean, about 20 minutes. Let the cake cool completely in the pan. Run a knife around the edge before turning out.
Coffee Soaking Syrup
- In a liquid measuring cup, stir together the coffee and sugar until the sugar dissolves, then stir in the cognac. Set aside.
Mascarpone Filling
- In a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, combine the heavy cream, confectioners’ sugar, and mascarpone and beat on medium speed until medium-soft peaks form, about 1 minute.
- In a large bowl, combine 1 ⁄ 2 cup / 60ml of the soaking syrup with the prepared and chilled pastry cream and whisk until smooth. Stir one-third of the whipped mascarpone into the pastry cream, then gently fold in another one-third mascarpone. Set aside the last one-third mascarpone for decorating the top of the tiramisu.
Assemble the Tiramisu
- Cut the cake into two equal layers (See my YouTube Video on splitting cakes). Place one of the layers in the bottom of an 8-inch / 20cm soufflé dish, and brush with half of the remaining soaking syrup. Dust the soaked cake with 1 1 ⁄ 2 tsp of the cocoa powder and use a fine-rasp grater to top with 1 oz / 30g of chocolate shavings. Layer with half the mascarpone cream. Repeat with a second layer of cake, soak, cocoa powder, chocolate shavings, and mascarpone cream.
- Decorate the top as desired by piping with the remaining one-third mascarpone. (I used a Wilton tip #125.) Chill for several hours or up to overnight.
- Dust the tiramisu with cocoa powder just before serving.
Notes
Baker's note:
The pastry cream can be made the day before and kept covered and chilled until ready to use. It will be quite thick, so use a rubber spatula to stir it smooth before using in the recipe above.