TIRAMISU SPONGE CAKE RECIPES

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease three (3) 8-inch round cake pans. Set aside.
• Using a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, whisk eggs for 1 minute until frothy. If you don’t have a stand mixer, use a high powered electric hand mixer at the highest speed.
• Add granulated sugar and whisk on high for 10 minutes - the egg mixture will become thick and noticeably light in color. Set aside.
• In another mixing bowl, beat together softened butter and oil until well combined and smooth. Add in vanilla extract and almond extract and mix until combined.
• Working with the mixer on low speed, add milk to the butter mixture, a little at a time. Continue beating until smooth and fluffy.
• In a separate mixing bowl, whisk together flour, cornstarch, baking powder, and salt.
• Add one half of the flour mixture to the thick and fluffy egg mixture. Incorporate with a wooden spoon, stirring until barely combined. Add one half of the butter/milk mixture and stir briefly to combine. Add the remaining flour mixture and then the remaining butter mixture and stir until the batter is combined - do not overstir.
• Divide the cake batter between the 3 prepared pans.
• Bake for 22-25 minutes, or until the cakes pull away from the edges of the pan and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with just a few moist crumbs.
• Remove pans from the oven and cool cakes in the pan for 5-10 minutes, then transfer to a wire cooling rack to cool the rest of the way.
• Lightly beat the mascarpone until smooth.
• Mix in the powdered sugar just until combined.
• In a separate bowl (or the bowl of a standing mixer), whisk 2 cups of heavy cream until stiff peaks form.
• Fold the whipped cream into the mascarpone mixture until combined into a fluffy frosting. Set aside.
• Whisk together espresso syrup, rum, and sugar.
• Trim the cooled cakes to level the tops.
• Brush all three cake tops liberally with the espresso syrup until it is gone.
• Place the first cake layer on a serving platter or cake plate.
• Mound some of the frosting on top of the cake and spread to the sides to form a thick layer of filling.
• Stack the second cake layer on top of the frosting layer. I like to flip the cake top side down so that the top is nice and flat for the next layer of frosting.
• Continue layering frosting and cake layers to assemble the three layer cake.
• Press the cake top down to seal the layers together and spread any filling spilling out the sides smooth with an offset spatula.
• Mound the remaining frosting on top of the cake and spread it out and down the sides to completely frost the cake.
• Whip remaining 1 cup of heavy cream until stiff peaks form. Transfer whipped cream to a piping bag fit with your favorite open piping tip and pipe a decorative border around the top.
• Dust the cake with cocoa powder. Accent with espresso beans if desired.
• Serve.
• Store leftovers in a covered container in the refrigerator for 3-4 days, or in the freezer for up to 1 month.
• Adding cornstarch to the all-purpose flour in the cake batter recipe simulates cake flour and makes a lighter crumb cake. If using cake flour, omit the cornstarch.
• Whipping the eggs/sugar makes a light, fluffy sponge cake. The mixture will thicken substantially and is noticeably lighter in color. This takes 10-12 minutes to achieve using a standing mixer. If you do not have a stand mixer, beat the eggs and sugar as fluffy as you can get them. The cake will still turn out even if you cannot beat them to the full extent.
• I used both vanilla extract and almond extract in the cake batter to incorporate more of the flavors in a traditional tiramisu.
• Sift cocoa powder through a sieve so that you get a nice even fine coating on top of the tiramisu.
• When whipping the cup of heavy cream for decorating the top, you can add a tablespoon of powdered sugar to sweeten it if you like.