Poor husband. His birthday was this past Monday, and he celebrated #33 by doing laundry and eating dinner at a dining hall on a military base. That's almost as sad as the year my entire family forgot my birthday. Almost.
I asked him to let me know in advance what kind of birthday cake he would like, and I promised him that we would celebrate when he returned. He had a variety of options to choose from, but he ultimately decided on a tiramisu cake. It's a great birthday cake, a romantic cake for Valentine's Day, and a perfect cake for any time you need a little pick-me-up.
Tiramisu is not a dessert I eat very often. It is an Italian dessert consisting of ladyfingers soaked in coffee, layered with a mascarpone cheese fluff, and dusted with chocolate. It is delicious, and it's a perfect dessert for the coffee enthusiast. Unfortunately, I am not a coffee enthusiast. I enjoy the taste of coffee greatly, but I rarely drink it due to a medical dietary restriction. It leaves me in severe pain afterward, so I tend to leave it alone on a day-to-day basis and only indulge when life calls for a real treat. Although, God knows, if anyone has ever needed coffee on a daily basis, it is this girl.
Anyhow, I occasionally indulge in tiramisu with my mama at a good Italian restaurant, and I do know that it is amazing. I find it a fun challenge to experiment in the kitchen and attempt to create other desserts into cake form. This one wasn't too difficult to imagine. In place of the ladyfingers in traditional tiramisu, I used a yellow cake recipe from Better Homes & Gardens. You could also hack a butter yellow cake mix if you are in a hurry. Honestly, since you soak the cake layers in Kahlua and then add a filling and frosting, the cake layers itself aren't taking center stage. They're merely a cog in the machine of awesomeness. Once you have the cake layers baked and cooled, you brush them with Kahlua. So this cake will not only give you a caffeine buzz, but it'll also give you a booze buzz. It's the confectionary version of an RBV.
The Kahlua-soaked cake layers are filled with an espresso-chocolate-cream-cheese filling (true tiramisu contains mascarpone cheese instead of cream cheese, but I could not find any in any of the 4 major grocery stores I have at my disposal). Then the cake is frosted with an espresso buttercream. I decorated it with dark chocolate shavings, fresh raspberries, and chocolate covered coffee beans. Because if you're gonna do it, do it right.
Now I'm really not supposed to have coffee (or anything caffeinated...seriously, how do I live?), but I have to tell you:
this cake is the bomb.
I have made it before and ate a piece in the name of quality control testing. Seriously, never trust a baker who won't taste her own cake. It's unnatural. And though I paid for it afterward, I can promise that this cake is yum-o. It tastes like traditional tiramisu, but I think it's better, because you still get the "cake" element to it. It's slightly more dense than traditional tiramisu, but it's still pretty light. And oh, the flavor. Let's just say if you dig coffee, you're gonna dig the shit out of this one. It's got coffee, cake, cream cheese, chocolate..what more can you want? Unfortunately, I will probably abstain this go-round. It's kind of sad that I made a cake I can't eat.
Maybe that's a new dieting strategy. Hmm..
As is the case with most cakes, I feel that it is best on day 2, because that gives it plenty of time to settle and for all the flavors to gel together properly. This is great, as Alex is returning home to us on Saturday..which also happens to be Valentine's Day. Perfect timing! I love killing two birds with one stone!
I wish I could've shown y'all a picture of the inside, but I feel it may be rude to cut a person's birthday cake before he even sees it. Yes? No? Maybe so?
Tiramisu Layer Cake
Ingredients
Yellow Cake
via Better Homes & Gardens
3/4 cup butter, softened
3 eggs
2-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2-1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1-3/4 cups sugar
1-1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
1-1/4 cups milk
+Kahlua, for soaking
Chocolate Espresso Cream Cheese Filling
1-1/2 cups dark chocolate chips
1/3 cup heavy whipping cream
1 (8oz) block cream cheese, softened
1-1/2 cups powder sugar
1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
1-1/2 tsp instant espresso powder
Espresso Buttercream Frosting
1-1/4 cups butter (2.5 sticks), softened
4 cups powder sugar
3 tbsp heavy whipping cream
1 tbsp Kahlua
1 tsp instant espresso granules
Directions
Cake
Oh yeah, and HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!
xoxo,
Annette
Anyhow, I occasionally indulge in tiramisu with my mama at a good Italian restaurant, and I do know that it is amazing. I find it a fun challenge to experiment in the kitchen and attempt to create other desserts into cake form. This one wasn't too difficult to imagine. In place of the ladyfingers in traditional tiramisu, I used a yellow cake recipe from Better Homes & Gardens. You could also hack a butter yellow cake mix if you are in a hurry. Honestly, since you soak the cake layers in Kahlua and then add a filling and frosting, the cake layers itself aren't taking center stage. They're merely a cog in the machine of awesomeness. Once you have the cake layers baked and cooled, you brush them with Kahlua. So this cake will not only give you a caffeine buzz, but it'll also give you a booze buzz. It's the confectionary version of an RBV.
Now I'm really not supposed to have coffee (or anything caffeinated...seriously, how do I live?), but I have to tell you:
this cake is the bomb.
I have made it before and ate a piece in the name of quality control testing. Seriously, never trust a baker who won't taste her own cake. It's unnatural. And though I paid for it afterward, I can promise that this cake is yum-o. It tastes like traditional tiramisu, but I think it's better, because you still get the "cake" element to it. It's slightly more dense than traditional tiramisu, but it's still pretty light. And oh, the flavor. Let's just say if you dig coffee, you're gonna dig the shit out of this one. It's got coffee, cake, cream cheese, chocolate..what more can you want? Unfortunately, I will probably abstain this go-round. It's kind of sad that I made a cake I can't eat.
Maybe that's a new dieting strategy. Hmm..
Tiramisu Layer Cake
Ingredients
Yellow Cake
via Better Homes & Gardens
3/4 cup butter, softened
3 eggs
2-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2-1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1-3/4 cups sugar
1-1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
1-1/4 cups milk
+Kahlua, for soaking
Chocolate Espresso Cream Cheese Filling
1-1/2 cups dark chocolate chips
1/3 cup heavy whipping cream
1 (8oz) block cream cheese, softened
1-1/2 cups powder sugar
1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
1-1/2 tsp instant espresso powder
Espresso Buttercream Frosting
1-1/4 cups butter (2.5 sticks), softened
4 cups powder sugar
3 tbsp heavy whipping cream
1 tbsp Kahlua
1 tsp instant espresso granules
Directions
Cake
*Allow butter and eggs to stand at room temperature for 30 minutes. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Meanwhile, spray three 8-inch pans with Baker's Joy; set pans aside. In medium bowl combine flour, baking powder, and salt; set aside.
*In a large mixing bowl, beat butter with an electric mixer on medium-high speed for 30 seconds. Gradually add sugar, about 1/4 cup at a time, beating on medium speed until well combined and scraping sides of bowl. Beat on medium speed for 2 minutes more. Add eggs, one at a time, beating after each addition (about 1 minute total). Beat in vanilla. Add flour mixture and milk alternately to beaten mixture, beating on low speed after each addition just until combined. Spread batter into the prepared pans.
*Bake in a 375 degree F oven 30-35 minutes, or until a wooden toothpick comes out clean. Cool layers in pans on wire racks for 10 minutes. Remove the cakes from pans. Cool thoroughly on racks.
*Brush tops of cakes with Kahlua.
Filling
*Heat cream in microwave until boiling. Stir into a bowl of chocolate chips. Continue stirring until all chocolate is melted and lumps are gone. If you need to, put mixture into the microwave for a few seconds to heat further. Set aside to cool.
*Beat softened cream cheese on medium speed for 30 seconds. Slowly add in powder sugar. Add in vanilla extract and espresso powder.
*Once the chocolate ganache has cooled to room temperature, pour into the cream cheese mixture. Beat for a few seconds to mix.
Frosting
*Sift powder sugar and set aside.
*Beat softened butter on medium speed for about 30 seconds. Add in powder sugar slowly, adding in cream and Kahlua alternately to loosen the frosting up. Beat until smooth.
Assembly
*Place one layer of cake, Kahlua-side up on a cake platter. Pipe a ring of frosting around the edge of the cake, creating a dam for the filling. Spoon roughly 1/3 of the filling in the center of the dam, and spread outward with a spatula.
*Place the second layer of cake, Kahlua-side up on top of the filling.
Pipe a ring of frosting around the edge of the cake, creating a dam for the filling. Spoon roughly 1/3 of the filling in the center of the dam, and spread outward with a spatula.
Pipe a ring of frosting around the edge of the cake, creating a dam for the filling. Spoon roughly 1/3 of the filling in the center of the dam, and spread outward with a spatula.
*Place the final layer of cake, Kahlua-side down on top of the filling.
*Frost with a thin crumb coat and place in the fridge for 20 minutes so that the frosting firms up. Remove from fridge and frost with remaining frosting. Decorate as desired.
*(I used the remaining 1/3 of the filling as a drizzle on top of the cake. Then I decorated it with dark chocolate shavings, chocolate covered coffee beans, and fresh raspberries).
*Enjoy!
Oh yeah, and HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!
Annette
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