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    Home / Desserts / Cakes

    Tiramisu Cake

    Last update: Mar 25, 2025 Published: Jan 31, 2024 by Fadela This post may contain affiliate links

    Jump to Recipe·Print Recipe·Leave a Review

    Try this delicious Tiramisu cake recipe, a cake with the flavors of the traditional Italian dessert, featuring an ultra light and fluffy vanilla sponge soaked in coffee and a creamy mascarpone filling.

    tiramisu cake on a table
    Jump to:
    • Why you'll love this cake
    • Ingredients Notes
    • How to Make Tiramisu Cake
    • Serving Suggestions
    • Tips for this recipe
    • Storage
    • Variations & Substitutions
    • More Layer Cakes
    • Tiramisu Cake

    This Tiramisu cake reinvents the classic tiramisu recipe into a delightful cake form. Picture layers of soft vanilla genoise sponge, each soaked in rich coffee, combined with a creamy mascarpone frosting and topped with cocoa.

    This cake is pure joy for all tiramisu lovers. It's easy to make, featuring a light and airy sponge that resembles lady fingers, and a filling as smooth and creamy as the authentic dessert and perfect for any occasion.

    Why you'll love this cake


    • Easy Recipe: Just 2 simple steps in this beginner-friendly baking recipe, complete with all my tips for success.
    • Vanilla & coffee flavor: The unique blend of coffee, mascarpone, and cocoa is irresistible just like in the traditional tiramisu.
    • Indulgent: A layer cake style with its elegant layers, making it a perfect choice for special occasions.

    Craving for more coffee desserts? Give these a try, Tiramisu coffee latte, Cappuccino muffins, espresso chocolate chip cookies, tiramisu cupcakes and Iced mocha latte.

    Ingredients Notes

    You need these ingredients to make this tiramisu layer cake:

    • Vanilla Sponge: An ultra-soft and light sponge cake made with eggs, granulated sugar, and cake flour, a pinch of salt, and vanilla for flavoring.
    • Mascarpone Whipped Cream: Cold mascarpone cheese (Italian cream cheese), heavy cream or heavy whipping cream, powdered sugar, and vanilla flavoring.
    • Coffee syrup: A mixture of strong, slightly sweetened espresso coffee.
    bowls with ingredients

    How to Make Tiramisu Cake

    Here are some quick visual instructions. Don't forget that full instructions with exact ingredients can be found in the main recipe card below!

    Cake batter

    Step 1: Whip the eggs with the granulated sugar and vanilla extract in the large mixing bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment at high speed for about 10 minutes, until light and fluffy and tripled in volume.

    Step 2: Add the dry ingredients to the egg mixture, cake flour and salt and mix with a spatula until incorporated and smooth.

    miwing bowl with eggs and sugar
    mixing bowl with whipped eggs and flour

    Step 3: Pour the mixture into the 3 prepared pans, lined with baking paper.

    Step 4: And bake the sponge cakes in the preheated oven at 350°C/ 180°C for about 30 minutes, until golden brown on top and well baked in the center.

    Leave to cool: Turn out the sponge cakes from the cake pans and leave to cool on a wire rack, then cover with plastic wrap and place in the fridge for 2 hours. (like me, you can remove the crust from the sponge cakes).

    3 cake pans
    3 layers of sponge

    Mascarpone filling

    Step 1: Place all ingredients in a large bowl: cold mascarpone, full-fat heavy cream, powdered sugar and vanilla.

    Step 2: Using an electric mixer, beat on medium speed until smooth and thick.

    large mixing bowl with ingredients
    large mixing bowl with creamy mascarpone

    Assemble the cake

    • Trim the tops of the sponge layers with a cake leveler to have 3 evenly leveled layers.
    • Place the first cake layer on a cake board on a rotating cake stand, soak it with cooled black coffee mixture and a pastry brush, apply a layer of mascarpone cream with an offset spatula, and sprinkle with cocoa powder.
    • Repeat for the second cake layer and finish by placing the last cake layer.
    • Cover the entire cake with mascarpone frosting, smooth quickly, and decorate the top using a piping bag with a round nozzle and the remaining frosting.
    • Dust the top of the cake with unsweetened cocoa powder and refrigerate the cake for at least 1 hour before serving.
    one layer of vanilla cake soaded with coffee with mascarpone cream
    layered cake with cocoa powder dusted on top

    Serving Suggestions

    • Cocoa powder: Simply sprinkle a little unsweetened cocoa powder directly onto the cake.
    • Chocolate ganache sauce: A chocolate sauce prepared with melted chocolate and heavy cream for a chocolaty touch.
    • Fruit coulis: A raspberry, strawberry or red berry sauce.
    • Salted butter caramel: Serve a slice of cake with a drizzle of homemade salted butter caramel.
    • Chocolate shavings: Follow my recipe to make homemade chocolate shavings.
    tiramisu cake on a board

    Tips for this recipe

    • Use room temperature ingredients: for the sponge cake, you'll have a more homogenous batter.
    • Whip the eggs well: As the sponge cake has no baking powder, it's the whipped eggs that give it that fluffy texture.
    • Leave to cool completely: the sponge cakes must be cold, and the coffee too, otherwise the cream won't hold inside the cake.
    • Use a serrated knife: Sponge cake is easier to cut with a serrated knife than a sharp one.

    Storage

    In the fridge: Tiramisu cakes can only be stored in the fridge, in an airtight container or wrapped in plastic wrap, for 3-4 days.

    Freezing: You can freeze the cake in a storage box for up to 3 months. Let it recover in the fridge.

    Variations & Substitutions

    • Chocolate Tiramisu Cake: Incorporate melted dark or milk chocolate into the mascarpone filling for a chocolatey twist like this chocolate mascarpone frosting.
    • Tiramisu cupcakes: With my vanilla cupcakes recipe, you get an individual version of the Italian dessert.
    • Nutella Tiramisu cake: Like a Nutella tiramisu, add a drizzle of Nutella between each layer of sponge cake.
    • Biscoff tiramisu layer cake: Like biscoff tiramisu, add broken biscoff cookies and cookie butter spread.
    • Nutty Tiramisu Cake: Sprinkle chopped hazelnuts, almonds, or walnuts between layers for a crunchy texture.
    • Fruit-Infused Tiramisu: Add layers of sliced strawberries, raspberries, or peaches between the cake layers for a fruity flavor.
    • Buttercream frosting: For a more stable frosting, divide the quantity of mascarpone chantilly and make a buttercream recipe, like this Swiss meringue buttercream, whipped vanilla buttercream or this Russian buttercream to smooth the cake.
    • Mocha Tiramisu Cake: Mix some chocolate powder into the coffee used for soaking the sponge layers to create a mocha effect.
    • Amaretto flavor: Like the traditional recipe, add amaretto to the coffee for a more authentic flavor.
    • Baileys Tiramisu Cake: Add a splash of Baileys Irish Cream to the coffee for soaking and the mascarpone cream for an Irish twist, or another coffee liqueur or dark rum.

    More Layer Cakes

    • Biscoff Cookie Butter Cake
    • Chocolate Cake with Vanilla Ganache Frosting
    • Vanilla Raspberry Cake
    • Chocolate Raspberry Ganache Cake
    sliced tiramisu cake on a plate

    I hope you love this fluffy coffee mascarpone tiramisu cake recipe. If you make it, be sure to leave a comment and a rating so I know how you liked it. Happy Baking!

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    Tiramisu Cake


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    • Author: Fadela
    • Total Time: 2 hours
    • Yield: 8 slices
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    Description

    Tiramisu-style cake with black coffee-soaked vanilla sponge cake and mascarpone cream filling (8 - 10 servings)


    Ingredients

    Vanilla génoise 

    • 9 Eggs - room temperature
    • 270 g (1 ½ cups) Sugar - granulated
    • 270 g (2 ¼ cups) Cake Flour
    • 2 tsp of Vanilla extract
    • ¼ tsp of Salt

    Mascarpone filling

    • 350 g ( 12.3 oz) Mascarpone cheese
    • 380 ml (1 ⅔ cups/13 oz) Heavy cream - full-fat and cold
    • 150 g (1 ¼ cups) Powdered Sugar
    • 2 tsp Vanilla extract
    • Unsweetened cocoa powder

    Soaking 

    • 400 ml (13,5 oz) Expresso coffee
    • 1 tbsp Sugar

    Instructions

    Vanilla sponge cakes 

    1. Preheat the oven to 350°F/180°C and prepare three 6inch/15 cm diameter cake pans by lining them with parchment paper on the bottom and sides.
    2. Place the eggs, granulated sugar, and vanilla in the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and beat on high speed for 10 minutes until the mixture triples in volume.
    3. Sift the flour and salt together and gently fold them into the mixture using a spatula until you have a smooth and homogeneous batter.
    4. Pour the batter into the prepared 3 pans and bake in the oven for approximately 30 minutes (without opening the oven door) or until they are golden on top. Check the doneness by inserting a toothpick into the center of a cake; it should come out clean.
    5. Let the sponge cakes cool for a few minutes in their pans before gently removing them by running a knife along the edges. Allow the sponge cakes to cool completely on a cake rack (you can gently trim the crusts with a knife if you want them to be completely white).
    6. Cover the sponge cakes with plastic wrap and refrigerate them for at least 1 hour before assembling.

    Mascarpone filling

    • Place all ingredients in a large bowl: cold mascarpone, powdered sugar, full-fat heavy cream and vanilla extract.
    • Whip with an electric mixer on speed 1 for about 2 minutes, until the mascarpone whipped cream is smooth and firm.

    Assembling the layer cake 

    1. Slice the sponge cakes using a cake leveler or a large serrated knife to have even layers.
    2. Place the first layer of sponge cake on a rotating cake stand (on a cake board) and soak it with the cooled mixture of black coffee and sugar.
    3. Top the sponge cake layer with a layer of mascarpone whipped cream, then sprinkle a layer of unsweetened cocoa powder on top.
    4. Cover with the second layer of sponge cake and repeat the previous step until you reach the final layer of sponge cake.
    5. Cover the entire cake with mascarpone whipped cream, decorate the top with the remaining whipped cream using a piping bag fitted with a round tip.
    6. Decorate the top of the cake with unsweetened cocoa powder and refrigerate the cake for at least 1 hour before serving.

    Equipment

    cake pan

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    Hand mixer

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    Notes

    Storage: Up to 4 days in an airtight container in the fridge, up to 3 months in the freezer.

    Cut the tiramisu layer cake with a serrated knife for easier cutting.

    • Prep Time: 30 minutes
    • Rest time: 1 hour
    • Cook Time: 30 minutes

    Nutrition

    • Serving Size: 1 slice
    • Calories: 718
    • Sugar: 55.1 g
    • Sodium: 188.7 mg
    • Fat: 36.1 g
    • Carbohydrates: 88.7 g
    • Protein: 15.6 g
    • Cholesterol: 292.7 mg

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