Tiramisu Cake Recipe (2024)

This Tiramisu Cake is made of genoise cake layers brushed with espresso and filled with irresistibly creamy coffee mascarpone cream. There are no raw eggs in the frosting making it safe to eat. All you need are just 10 ingredients! By the way, have you tried my tiramisu recipe?

Why You Will Love This Tiramisu Cake Recipe

• Same Flavor as Tiramisu: But in cake form! It's creamy and so good with the perfect balance of creamy frosting and espresso-infused cake layers.
• Full Tutorial and Lots of Photos: I'm sharing all my tips and tricks for making sure your cake comes out with the best results.
• Elegant All-Occasion Cake: I love serving this cake for birthdays but it's really suitable for all types of events and celebrations.

Love these flavors? If so then you've got to try this Chocolate Coffee Cake next!

Ingredients

• Eggs: Use large eggs and make sure they are at room temperature. Be careful making substitutions for eggs as they play a crucial role in the cake.
• White sugar: Granulated sugar does more than just sweeten the cake, it also increases the tenderness of the crumb. You will also need powdered sugar for the icing. Substituting the sugar may cause different results.
• All-purpose flour: For best results make sure to spoon the flour into the measuring cup and level it off with a knife. Be sure to sift it after measuring to remove any lumps.
• Cornstarch: Mixed with the flour to add lightness to the cake layers.
• Baking powder: Aids the cake in rising for a fluffier texture.
• Coffee: A strong-brewed coffee is ideal but espresso preferred. We use this for brushing onto the cake layers and to flavor the mascarpone frosting. I usually pick up espresso at my favorite coffee shop as I can't replicate the taste of a professional coffee machine at home. You can use either de-caffeinated coffee or hot cocoa instead, especially if making the cake for kids.
• Mascarpone: Use full-fat mascarpone that's thick and firm for the best results. Do not use a low-light mascarpone or substitute with ricotta cheese or another option. They won't work. I buy mascarpone imported from Italy (Galbani) that has 42 grams of fat in 100g of cheese and is made from only cream and citric acid. BelGioioso brand mascarpone works just as well.
• Heavy whipping cream: This high-fat cream makes a rich and creamy frosting. Do not substitute with half and half.
• Garnish: Use unsweetened cocoa powder and whipped cream to decorate your tiramisu cake.

Step by Step Tutorial

How to Make Tiramisu Cake

Making the Cake Batter

PRO TIP:Use a stand mixer (if you have one) because it is so much easier and also faster. The cake batter needs to be mixed for about 10 minutes but if you use a hand mixer, plan on 3-5 minutes longer to get the required consistency.

Step 1: Mix the eggs just until combined. Then add the sugar and mix for 10-15 minutes on medium-high speed. In the following pictures, you can see how the egg and sugar mixture transforms while mixing it.

Mixing progress after 1 minute:

Mixing progress after 5 minutes:

Mixing progress after 8 minutes:

After about 10 minutes mixing the batter with a stand mixer or 15 minutes with a hand mixer:

The egg mixture is pale white, fluffy, and tripled in size because the long whipping time has incorporated air into the batter.

PRO TIP: How to test your batter for the right consistency. Allow the batter to drip from the mixing attachment to the top of the mixed batter. The drop should be visible for 10 seconds. If it sinks into the batter before the 10 seconds are over, you need to mix longer.

Step 2: Use a wooden spoon to carefully fold in the flour, cornstarch, and baking powder. Do not overwork the batter or work too fast as you will destroy all the air pockets created during mixing. These are necessary to create light and airy cake layers and keep the layers from falling flat.

Preparing for the Oven

Step 1: Line the bottom and the sides of three 8" baking pans with parchment paper. This makes removing the cake from the pan after baking much easier. Cut out a circle for the bottom and stripes for the sides. I always spray a little bit of non-stick spray under the paper so that it sticks to the pan.

Step 2: Divide the batter into the three baking pans equally.

Step 3: Bake all three pans at the same time as soon as you pour the batter into the pans. When the batter stands too long before baking, it loses too much air, and the genoise cake gets flat and eggy.

Step 4: Remove baked cakes from the oven and let them stand for 5 minutes. Remove the cakes from the pans and the paper immediately but use caution as the pan may still be hot. Let the cakes cool on a wire rack. The cake needs to be completely cooled before filling.

Make the Mascarpone Frosting

Step 1: Mix the mascarpone on medium speed just until it is creamy for about 1-2 minutes.

Step 2: Sift in the powdered sugar and mix on medium speed until creamy and combined about 1-2 minutes.

Step 3: Add the strong coffee and don't stop mixing until it is completely combined and creamy.

PRO TIP: The coffee needs to be cold and chilled. You can see in the two photos below how it looks when you add the coffee and when it is completely combined. You see that it looks curdled in the beginning, but this is normal. Keep mixing until it comes together (it will). Mix on medium speed for about 2-3 minutes.

Step 4: Add the heavy cream (straight out of the fridge). It must be cold. In the beginning, when you add the heavy cream, the mixture will appear runny which is normal. Just keep mixing on medium speed until it is creamy and stiff peaks form for about 2-3 minutes.

Right after adding the cream:

After 1 minute it starts to get creamy:

Completely mixed:

Assemble the Tiramisu Layer Cake

Step 1: Cut off the top of the cake layers to create a flat surface if needed. Then place the first layer on a cake turner or plate. If you have a cake turner, use it. It's easier to frost cakes with a cake turner. Lightly brush the cake with strong coffee.

Step 2: Add about a third of the mascarpone cream on top of the cake and spread evenly. Make sure that you spread every layer of the mascarpone frosting evenly to ensure the cake is straight. Add the next cake layer and repeat.

Step 3: Add the final cake layer and use the last third of mascarpone frosting for the top and sides of the cake. I use most of the remaining frosting for the top to level the cake. I just lightly frost the sides of the cake because I love naked cakes. If you don't want to make a naked cake, you might want to reserve more frosting for the sides. Use an offset spatula to level the frosting on the top and sides of the cake

PRO TIP: The mascarpone frosting should stick out between the cake layers. It makes it easier to frost the sides of the cake more evenly.

Step 4: Chill the cake for at least 4 hours in the fridge or overnight. Decorate the cake with whipped cream, cocoa powder, or whatever you desire.

Expert Tips

• Beating the Mascarpone. Make its cold and straight out of the fridge. It's also important to make sure all frosting ingredients are cold when adding them to the mascarpone.
• Bowl for Frosting: Use a large mixing bowl so you have enough space to mix the mascarpone.
• Don't Over-Mix the Frosting. Mix the frosting on medium speed and just long enough until smooth and combined.
• Before Staring: Read through the directions carefully and watch the video and photo tutorial to learn how long to mix at each step and what the frosting should look like. Be sure to follow the instructions as written as you are making the cake.
• Don't Under-Mix the Cake. For a light and fluffy cake, it's important that you don't shorten the mixing time. Check above for my tip on how to know when your cake batter is ready!

Storing

Refrigerator: Tiramisu Cake needs to be refrigerated in an airtight container. The cake will lose its shape if you store it at room temperature. Don't store it open in the refrigerator because the mascarpone frosting would taste like everything you store in your fridge. Leftovers are best eaten within 2 days but will stay fresh for up to 3 days. The longer it sits, the cake layers start to get wetter and wetter because they soak up the moisture of the frosting.

Freezing the assembled cake: After chilling for 4 hours, place the Tiramisu Cake or single slices in the freezer until firm, for about 1-2 hours. Remove the cake from the freezer and tightly wrap it in plastic foil twice. Make sure that everything is covered. Then wrap two layers of tin foil around until completely covered. It freezes well for up to 2 months.Unwrap the cake and thaw it in the fridge overnight. Then decorate with whipping cream and cocoa before serving. Eat within 2 days.

Freezing the cake layers: After baking the cake layers, remove the paper and let them cool completely. Then tightly wrap each cake layer in plastic foil twice. Place in freezer bags and remove as much air as possible. Freeze the layers for up to 1 month.For thawing, unwrap the cake layers and let sit on the counter for about 1-2 hours. Once it is room temperature, make the frosting and assemble the cake.

Recipe FAQs

More Birthday Cakes to Try

If you love show-stopping birthday cakes like this one, you will love the following recipes as well:

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