This tiramisu layer cake is the best one I’ve ever had and is every coffee lover’s dream. It has melt in your mouth tender and light sponge cake layers are soaked with intense espresso and filled with fluffy eggless tiramisu cream. The light and airy sponge cake layers are sturdy enough to soak up all the espresso and make an ideal base for this layer cake. This tiramisu layer cake is a dreamy dessert for any occasion. It is incredibly light and delicate, and is a perfect make-ahead cake that only gets better as time goes!
Ingredients you’ll need:
- Eggs: Use large eggs and bring them to room temperature before mixing in. Eggs strengthen the binding of your cake and also add moisture. Having your eggs at room temperature makes it easier to incorporate them and allow them to mix thoroughly in your cake batter. A good way of doing this is by letting them sit in a bowl filled with room temperature water for around 10 minutes or until they come down to room temperature.
- Sugar: Fine granulated sugar or caster sugar is ideal for this recipe, as they dissolve quicker.
- All-purpose flour: I highly recommend weighing all your ingredients using a kitchen scale for accurate recipe results. If you’re using cups, don’t scoop your cup into the flour. Spoon the flour into your cup and level it off with the back of a knife.
- Leavener: You will need baking powder to help the cake rise and turn out light and fluffy.
- Espresso: I use an instant espresso powder, because it’s so convenient and easy to use. In a pinch, you can substitute a strong coffee.
- Amaretto: This sweet and nutty liqueur adds the signature tiramisu flavor. My go-to brand of quality amaretto is Disaronno.
- Heavy whipping cream: Using cold whipping cream makes it easier to whip up peaks. You want to whip it until you achieve stiff peaks.
- Sweetened Condensed Milk: We use sweetened condensed milk to sweeten the cream.
- Mascarpone cheese: It’s a soft Italian cheese that has a unique and subtle flavor. Although I highly recommend using mascarpone cheese, you can use cream cheese instead, but keep in mind the flavor will be slightly different.
- Cocoa Powder: A good quality dutch processed, natural and unsweetened cocoa powder is the best (I use Van Houten and I love it). This can make a huge difference in the taste of your baked goods. I highly recommend you use a cocoa powder which is natural and unsweetened.
FAQ
Whether you’re making a layer cake or a single layer cake, flat tops are always desirable. The reason why cakes dome that your cake pan heats up much faster than the rest of the cake causing the edges to set before the cake has risen fully, and as the rest of the cake cooks the centre rises and creates a dome. To avoid this from happening you want to protect the edges of your cake pan. To do this, you can wrap cake strips, foil, or a damp cloth around the edges of your cake pan. Be careful with the damp cloth as it might start burning after it completely dries out. This trick will ensure you get flat tops always!
In order to evenly frost your cake, use a cookie scoop to add the prepared frosting on top. Start by adding around 1 large scoop or ½ cup of frosting on top of the first layer. Using an offset spatula, spread the frosting evenly on top of the cake. Repeat with the other two cake layers. Add around another or ½ cup of frosting around the cake using an offset spatula. This will be the crumb coat of the cake. Make sure not to put too much pressure and remove crumbs from the cake. Refrigerate for around 30 minutes to allow the crumb coat to set on your cake. Add around another ½ to 1 cup of frosting around the cake using an offset spatula to form a thick layer along the edges of the cake. You can use a bench scraper or an icing scraper to smooth out the walls of the cake. Smooth the top and edges using an offset spatula to form sharp corners. Chill the cake in the refrigerator for another 20 minutes to let it set.
I don’t know everything but I’m pretty sure you’ll barely have a single crumb of this best ever tiramisu layer cake left over. If you do, store any extra cake tightly covered in the refrigerator to keep the tiramisu cream frosting cold. A cake dome or plastic cake carrier will keep it fresh for up to 6 days. To freeze individual slices, plate them and cover tightly with two layers of plastic wrap. When the craving strikes, simply defrost a slice at room temperature and grab a fork! You can also freeze the cake layers, individually wrapped, for up to 3 months. Remove the layers from the freezer and whip up a fresh batch of the tiramisu cream and frost the cake as you normally would. Good news! If the layers are frozen, you can skip the crumb coat.
Tips to make the best tiramisu layer cake:
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Use room temperature ingredients. You know the drill my friends. For a smooth, lump free batter be sure your eggs, milk and yogurt are all room temperature. For best results, take your ingredients out of the fridge the night before you bake the cake. Cold ingredients do not emulsify well and can lead to a lumpy, bumpy batter and a cake that bakes unevenly. By beating together room temperature eggs with the sugar, you’ll create a fluffy, moist cake that is still sturdy enough to hold plenty of frosting but also will be light and fluffy like a sponge. For best results, leave your ingredients out the night before you bake the cake.
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Do not over mix your batter. This cake comes together with just one bowl and four ingredients only. Don’t be tempted to over mix your batter once you’ve added in the dry ingredients into the wet or you will end up with a dense crumb. Once you have added the dry ingredients, gently fold them together using a rubber spatula until no streaks of flour remain.
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Use high quality cocoa. This classic tiramisu layer cake is pure heaven. Now is not the time to skimp on the good stuff so break out the high quality dutch process cocoa powder for maximum deliciousness.
- Prep your pans. A little prep goes a long way. For perfectly baked layers, line the bottom of each pan with a circle of parchment paper and then grease the sides of the pan with nonstick baking spray. I like to use a baker’s spray that has a touch of flour in it for clean cake edges and a quick, easy release.
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Weigh your cake layers. To ensure your cake bakes up into two even layers, weigh your cake pans with the batter inside and adjust accordingly so that each layer contains an equal amount of batter. For flat, perfectly even layers, use these cake strips around the outside of each cake pan. They work like a charm every time. Once bakes, divide them into two halves using a serrated knife.
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Do not over bake. No one likes a dry cake so keep an eye on your oven. Every oven runs differently but my cakes baked up in 20 minutes. The cake is done with the edges of the cake begin to pull away from the sides of the pan and a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out with just a few crumbs remaining. Cool the cakes completely on a wire rack before frosting.
How to get the best results from this recipe?
All of the recipes on the blog are thoroughly tested multiple times and carefully designed so that anyone can reproduce these delicious baked good in their own kitchen and enjoy them to the fullest. The only way to make this possible is when anyone can exactly replicate the measurements and temperatures.
- In order to standardise the way ingredients are measured, I highly recommend that you weigh them in grams. Volume measurements are nearly not as accurate and have a lot of scope for errors. To precisely be able to replicate the recipes, all you will need is a kitchen scale!
- Every oven heats up differently. Your oven might be over heating or under heating by around 50 degrees or more and you might not even know. In order to ensure that you are baking at the right temperatures, I highly recommend investing in an oven thermometer!
If you would still like to bake using volume measurements, I mentioned those below. However, I primarily test my recipes in grams and cannot promise the best results if you do so. Trust me, once you’ll start using these tools you’d never want to go back!
I hope you’ll enjoy this Tiramisu Layer Cake and don’t forget to bookmark this recipe for the holidays. These pretty & delicious layer cake would make the perfect delight to share with your friends & family!
Happy Baking! x
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Tiramisu Layer Cake
- Total Time: 4 hours
- Yield: 8–10 servings 1x
Description
This tiramisu layer cake is the best one I’ve ever had and is every coffee lover’s dream. It has melt in your mouth tender and light sponge cake layers are soaked with intense espresso and filled with fluffy eggless tiramisu cream.
Ingredients
Sponge Cake:
- 6 large eggs, at room temperature
- 200g (1 cup) granulated or caster sugar
- 125g (1 cup) all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Coffee Liqueur:
- 120ml (½ cup) hot water
- 2 teaspoons instant espresso powder
- 3 tablespoons amaretto liqueur
Tiramisu Cream:
- 120ml (½ cup) sweetened condensed milk
- 225g (8 oz) mascarpone cheese, softened
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 480ml (2 cups) heavy whipping cream, cold
- 1 tablespoon dutch processed unsweetened cocoa powder, for dusting
Instructions
Sponge Cake
- Preheat Oven to 350˚F. Line bottoms of two 8″ or 9″ cake pans with parchment paper.
- In the bowl of an electric stand mixer fitted with whisk attachment (this is the one I have), beat 6 large eggs for 1 minute on high speed. With the mixer on, gradually add 1 cup sugar and continue beating 8-10 minutes until thick and fluffy.
- Whisk together 1 cup flour and 1/2 tsp baking powder then sift this mixture into fluffy egg mixture one third at a time. Fold with a spatula with each addition just until incorporated. Scrape spatula from the bottom to catch any pockets of flour and stop mixing when no streaks of flour remain. Do not over-mix or you will deflate the batter.
- Divide evenly between prepared cake pans (it helps if you have a kitchen scale to weight the pans). Bake the cake for 25-30 minutes, or until inserted toothpick comes out clean. Don’t open the oven for at least the first 20 minutes.
- Let the cake cool for 5 minutes in the pan. Remove from pan by sliding a thin spatula around the edges then transfer to a wire rack and remove parchment backing. Then run a knife around the edges and invert onto a cooling rack. Cool completely. Once cooled, wrap with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours or preferably overnight. It’ll be easier to cut when the cake is thoroughly chilled.
To make coffee liqueur:
- Dissolve espresso powder in 1/2 cup of hot water. Then stir in amaretto liqueur.
To make tiramisu cream filling:
- In a mixing bowl with whisk attachment, beat mascarpone cheese, sweetened condensed milk and vanilla extract until combined.
- In a separate bowl, whip the heavy cream until hard peaks form.
- Gently fold in half of whipped cream into mascarpone cheese mixture. Then add the remaining whipped cream and mix until well combined. Refrigerate until ready to use.
To assemble the cake:
- Once the cake is completely cooled, slice each cake horizontally into 2 even layers.
- Put a dollop of filling on a cake board and place the first cake layer.
- Drizzle 1/4 of espresso mixture evenly all over the cake.
- Then spread a generous amount of filling (about 1 cup) over the cake layer.
- Place the next layer and repeat until all the layers are stacked.
- Cover the cake with half of the remaining filling to crumb coat the cake. Refrigerate it for at least 1 hour to firm up.
Notes
- I use an instant espresso powder, because it’s so convenient and easy to use. In a pinch, you can substitute 1/2 cup of strong coffee.
- Amaretto is a sweet and nutty liqueur adds that signature tiramisu flavor. My go-to brand of quality amaretto is Disaronno. You substitute Kahlua, if needed.
- Mascarpone is a soft Italian cheese that has a unique and subtle flavor. Although I highly recommend using mascarpone cheese, you can use cream cheese instead, but keep in mind the flavor will be slightly different.
- Prep Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Category: Cake, Dessert, Tiramisu
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Keywords: tiramisu sponge cake, tiramisu layer cake
Hey I don’t wanna sound stupid or anything but did you use full eggs or just egg whites or just egg yolks for the sponge cake thank you
Hi! Thank you for this lovely recipe. My cakes are in the oven now. I didn’t see in the directions when to add the vanilla, though. My guess is that it goes in with the eggs?? I made the batter as written and then a second after I stuck them in the oven I thought, “There’s no way the cake can have no vanilla!” I may have ruined it but I went ahead and added it to the batter. We shall see…
This cake was AMAZING !! such a gift at Christmas.
Hello! have you ever make this cake in advance? how much would you think it could remain “good”?
Hi Karina,
You can freeze the individual sponge layers for upto 3 months in an airtight packing, but I have not tested freezing along with the cream.The cake will last well in the refrigerator for upto a week (max 10 days) after frosting it.
Hi there! I just recently found your blog and I’m curious about one thing, would be nice if u can answer it for me
So first, can I know how many inch of cake pan did you use?
And for the second question, how many degrees for the oven?
Thankyou and have a nice day!
Hey Esmeralda!
1. I used a 8″ cake pan from USA Pan. However you can use a 9″ too.
2. So sorry for this, 350ºF (177ºC) in the oven, I have updated this in the recipe too, thanks for pointing out!
Hope you have a great day!
Shambhavi
Thankyou very much for the answer. Means a lot
Will try this recipe for my mother birthday, hopefully can make this as good as you!
Hey I don’t wanna sound stupid or anything but did you use full eggs or just egg whites or just egg yolks for the sponge cake thank you
Hi Evelyn
I used full eggs. It’s not stupid, however I usually specify if it’s whites or yolks otherwise. Happy Baking 🙂
Best
Shambhavi