Tiramisu Cake

For the longest time, Husband has loved having an ice cream cake for his birthday. He grew up with the Carvel cakes, and in recent years always celebrated with an ice cream cake from Cold Stone Creamery. This year, though, I decided I needed to make his birthday cake. Perhaps because he was turning 30 and I felt this year needed to be special, or perhaps because I was sick of paying $25 for an ice cream cake that I didn't even like very much.  And I'm sorry, if a cake is coming into my house, darn it, I better like it!

Tiramisu is Husband's favorite dessert, by a mile. Nothing else really compares, except maybe peanut butter pie. When I started to brainstorm about what to make for his birthday, tiramisu was the one thing I kept coming back to, except for the fact that it intimidated the heck out of me for some reason. Then I stumbled upon Dorie Greenspan's tiramisu cake recipe on various blogs. I really was going to go that route. Until I found a copycat recipe that's even easier - it starts with a cake mix!

This cake definitely was a crowd pleaser, though it was mildly time-consuming to assemble. It was definitely NOT difficult, though, I would recommend it for any fans of tiramisu. It wasn't  much different than assembling your average layer cake. Best of all, even I liked the darn thing. And I'm not a fan of tiramisu, so that was definitely a pleasant surprise.  It combines the traditional flavors of tiramisu with some different textures that work really nicely together.  Definitely yum!

This cake got an official 9.5 Husband stars. He fully wants to start rating my cooking now, so we'll start here, I suppose. I will definitely make this cake again.

Tiramisu Cake the Easy Way
Printer-friendly recipe

CAKE:
1 (18.25 ounce) package moist white cake mix
1 teaspoon instant coffee powder
1 cup coffee
4 tbsp coffee flavored liqueur

FILLING:
1 (8 ounce) container mascarpone cheese
1/2 cup confectioners' sugar
2 tablespoons coffee flavored liqueur

FROSTING:
2 cups heavy cream
1/4 cup confectioners' sugar
2 tablespoons coffee flavored liqueur

GARNISH:
2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1 (1 ounce) square semisweet chocolate

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour 3 (9 inch) pans
2. Prepare the cake mix according to package directions. Divide two thirds of batter between 2 pans. Stir instant coffee into remaining batter; pour into remaining pan
3. Bake in the preheated oven for 20 to 25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Let cool in pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack and cool completely. In a measuring cup, combine brewed coffee and 1 tablespoon coffee liqueur; set aside
4. To make the filling: In a small bowl, using an electric mixer set on low speed, combine mascarpone, 1/2 cup confectioners' sugar and 2 tablespoons coffee liqueur; beat just until smooth. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate.
5. To make the frosting: In a medium bowl, using an electric mixer set on medium-high speed, beat the cream, 1/4 cup confectioners' sugar and 2 tablespoons coffee liqueur until stiff. Fold 1/2 cup of cream mixture into filling mixture.
6. To assemble the cake: Place one plain cake layer on a serving plate. Using a thin skewer, poke holes in cake, about 1 inch apart. Pour one third of reserved coffee mixture over cake, then spread with half of the filling mixture. Top with coffee-flavored cake layer; poke holes in cake. Pour another third of the coffee mixture over the second layer and spread with the remaining filling. Top with remaining cake layer; poke holes in cake. Pour remaining coffee mixture on top. Spread sides and top of cake with frosting. Place cocoa in a sieve and lightly dust top of cake. Garnish with chocolate curls. Refrigerate at least 30 minutes before serving.
7. To make the chocolate curls, use a vegetable peeler and run it down the edge of the chocolate bar.