This cake is Dorie Greenspan’s take on tiramisu, but, as the title alludes, in cake form. When I first baked this dessert, back in 2009, it was also the first time that I’d worked with mascarpone. I instantly fell in love. It’s so light and smooth and reminds me clotted cream (a rather unhealthy indulgence of mine )

Like all of Dorie’s recipes, that I’ve tried to date, assembly was a cinch. Don’t be daunted by the various components and stages. They look much more elaborate on paper! The first stage is making 2 vanilla layer cakes. Then soaking them with a rich liqueur-laced espresso sauce. Don’t worry if the sauce seems very bitter and intense. It mellows out considerably once absorbed by the cake. A mixture of liqueur, whipped cream and mascarpone cheese forms the basis of the filling, and Dorie veers a tad from convention by including chopped chocolate. I was a little worried that the chocolate would be too crunchy, as I love tiramisu for its creamy smoothiness, but this wasn’t the case at all To finish things off the cake is ‘iced’ with leftover espresso sauce, liqueur, whipped cream and mascarpone cheese and the top finished with a dusting of cocoa. I really recommend that you chill the ‘icing’ a bit so that it holds to the cake

And voila! There it is Let it sit for at least 3 hours, preferably overnight, for all the flavours to meld and serve! This cake is best served at room temperature. So slice it and let it sit for about 15 minutes before letting others dig in. Bon Appetit!

Since making this recipe I have been asked by others to make it for them on request. They’ve even offered to pay! I’ve taken their enthusiasm to be one of the greatest testimonials to the sheer dreaminess of this recipe and encourage you to give it a try as well.

For this Tiramisu Cake Recipe turn to pages 266-268 of Dorie Greenspan’s Baking: From My Home to Yours or visit Megan of My Baking Adventures

This post was originally published May 5, 2009. It has been updated once since then.

About Sarina

Passionate foodie, founder of Trinigourmet and Caribbean Lifestyle Maven. Author of "Glam By Request: 30+ Easy Caribbean Recipes"