I love coffee. Seriously, it smells like freshly ground heaven! I pretty much have expanded the coffee horizon to a whole new level, from drinking the plain black dark roast to putting it in savoury dishes… And of course, how could I resist trying every possible dessert recipes with coffee? 
Being a sweet lover I am, if I ever lay my hand on a piece of coffee-flavoured dessert, please do not expect me to share it with you. Well, I will, but I will be so sad 
. Did I even forget to mention that I have OCD (obsessive coffee disorder)? That’s why it’s not a surprise that Tiramisu, the flavor bomb that perfectly combines the creamy, delicious mascarpone cheese with the strong and bold coffee liqueur, is my ultimate king of desserts. Whoever invented Tiramisu really needs to be idolized 
.
Tiramisu is not an easy desserts that can be done in one hour. The traditional Tiramisu can take up to 8 hours including chilling time in the fridge until it is ready to be served. Well, how about I give you a quick version Tiramisu that can be ready in 2 and a half hours with beautiful presentation and can be shared with your group of friends? Now that’s something! Give this recipe a try, get going, get creative, and last piece of advice: If you run out of ideas, Coffee is always a good idea 
“BABY” TIRAMISU CAKE RECIPE
TOOLS:
- One 25 x 38 cm (10 x 15 in) rectangular baking tray. Using smaller tray will give you a thicker cake base. If your tray is 20 x 30 cm and you still prefer a thin sheet cake, reduce to ¾ of what the cake recipe (3 eggs) and the mascarpone cream recipe call for.
- Parchment paper
INGREDIENTS
A. MOCHA SPONGE CAKE
- 4 egg yolks (18 – 20 gram/yolk)
- 25 gram (2 tbsp) caster sugar
- 60 ml (1/4 cup) milk – room temperature
- 25 gram (2 tbsp) oil
- 50 gram (1/3 cup + 1 tbsp) AP flour (or substitute it with cake flour of same amount)
- 15 gram (2 tbsp) corn starch
- 15 gram (2 tbsp) cocoa powder
- 2 gram instant coffee powder (optional)
- 4 egg whites (30 – 33 gram/white) – room temperature
- Pinch of salt
- 1 gram (1/4 tsp) cream of tartar (or substitute it with lime juice or vinegar of same amount)
- 60 gram (5 tbsp) sugar
B. MASCARPONE CREAM
- 200 gram (7 oz) mascarpone cheese – soften at room temperature
- 10 ml (2 tsp) rum
- 5 ml (1 tsp) vanilla extract
- 25 gram (2 tbsp) caster sugar
- 120 ml (1/2 cup) whipping cream (30 – 35% fat) – cold
C. COFFEE LIQUEUR SYRUP
- 2 gram instant coffee
- 45 ml (3 tbsp) hot water
- 10 ml (2 tsp) rum
* Notes:
– Rum can be substituted with Brandy, Baileys, or Marsala. Even though liqueur is optional, I really recommend it because it does play a big part in the traditional tiramisu flavour.
INSTRUCTIONS
A detailed recipe with all the specific notes is available on Savoury Days’ YouTube Channel (subscribe to get all the newly uploaded recipes) in both English and Vietnamese. Check it out at this link or the video right below. Don’t forget to turn on HD setting for best quality.
Printable Recipes:
A. CAKE BASE:
1. Brush a thin layer of butter onto the baking tray, line tray with parchment paper. Preheat the oven at 170˚C (338˚F), top and bottom heat.
2. In a bowl, put in egg yolks and 25 gram sugar, beat until mixture becomes pale, soft and fluffy.
3. Add in milk and oil, mix well to blend.
4. In another bowl, sift in AP flour, corn starch, cocoa powder and instant coffee (instant coffee is optional), mix well. Add this into the bowl of liquid above, mix until everything is well-incorporated.
5. Beat egg whites with salt and cream of tartar (or lime juice, or vinegar) at low speed until small bubbles form. Slowly add in 60 gram of sugar, little at a time while beating at low speed for 30 sec before adding more. When all the sugar has been added, increase to the highest speed setting and beat until soft peaks form (peaks will hold but tips fold back on themselves). Then, lower the speed down to medium, continue beating until stiff peaks form (peaks point straight up without collapsing). The meringue now should be shiny, smooth and thick.
*Note: In order to make good meringue, the egg whites, bowl and whisks have to be very clean and free of fatty residues such as egg yolks, oil, butter, etc.
6. Add 1/3 of this meringue into the egg yolk/flour mixture, gently fold with a balloon whisk until well-combined. Add in another 1/3 of the meringue, this time gently fold with a spatula until well-combined. Add in the remaining meringue and fold until the mixture becomes homogeneous, soft and fluffy with little to no big air bubbles.
If the egg white was over-beaten, when folding into the egg yolk mixture, they will clump into big chunks and are difficult to mix. In order to fix this, you can fold it with a balloon whisk before switching back to the spatula and again, follow the same folding technique as seen in the Strawberry cake video.
7. Pour the batter into the baking tray, bake at 165 – 170˚C in 25 – 30 minutes until the surface appears dry and spring back when pressing your finger against it. Remove cake from pan, remove parchment paper and let cool on the cooling rack.
B. MASCARPONE CREAM:
1. In a bowl, whip mascarpone cheese (softened at room temperature) with rum, vanilla extract and sugar for 1 – 2 minutes (low speed) until mascarpone cheese becomes smooth.
2. Add in whipping cream and beat until the cream is thickened and stiff. Place the cream in the fridge until use.
C. COFFEE LIQUEUR SYRUP:
– Dissolve instant coffee in hot water. Add in rum. Keep warm.
D. ASSEMBLY:
1. Cut the cake in halves, or 3 pieces if you prefer more layers.
2. Place 1 cake layer on a hard surface (eg. Cutting board) that is lined with parchment paper. Brush it with coffee liqueur syrup. Fold ½ of mascarpone cream on top. Then, place the second cake layer on top of the cream, repeat the above steps of coffee liqueur syrup and mascarpone cream. Place the cake in the fridge for about 2 hours for the cream to firm up.
3. Using a serrated knife or a very sharp knife, cut and remove the edges of the cake, then cut the cake into small pieces. Clean the knife after each cut. Store in fridge and use in 2 days. Before serving, dust some cocoa powder on top and decorate as desired.
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