Love tiramisu? This tiramisu cake brings all the flavor of the classic Italian dessert in a light, fluffy vanilla cake form. Soaked in rich coffee and filled with a creamy mascarpone frosting, it’s the perfect dessert for coffee lovers.
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This tiramisu cake is a layered version of the classic Italian dessert. It’s made with fluffy sponge cake, strong coffee, creamy mascarpone, and a dusting of cocoa—just like the original, but in cake form.
The base is a light vanilla genoise sponge, soaked in espresso coffee syrup and filled with a smooth mascarpone whipped cream made with heavy cream and powdered sugar. Each bite is soft, creamy, and full of flavor.
It’s perfect for birthdays, holidays, or any time you want a dessert that’s rich, airy, and full of coffee flavor. A must for tiramisu lovers!
Why you'll love this cake
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:
- Large Eggs – Used in the sponge cake for structure and volume. Make sure they’re at room temperature for better whipping.
- Granulated Sugar – Sweetens the sponge cake and coffee soak. Use standard white sugar.
- Vanilla Extract – Adds warmth and flavor to both the cake and mascarpone frosting.
- Cake Flour – Low-protein flour that makes the sponge cake soft and airy. Can be substituted with all-purpose flour if needed.
- Salt – Enhances flavor and balances the sweetness in the sponge cake.
- Mascarpone cream cheese – A creamy, rich Italian cheese essential for the whipped frosting. Use full-fat, cold mascarpone.
- Heavy whipping cream – Must be cold and full-fat (36%+) to whip properly and hold its shape in the mascarpone frosting.
- Powdered Sugar – Also called confectioners’ sugar. It sweetens and stabilizes the whipped mascarpone cream.
- Unsweetened Cocoa Powder – For dusting between layers and on top of the cake. Adds a classic tiramisu finish.
- Espresso or Strong Coffee – Use freshly brewed espresso, strong black coffee, or even instant espresso powder for the soak. Moka pot coffee or machine espresso works best.
- Sugar (for coffee soak) – A small amount to lightly sweeten the espresso soak.
- Optional: Marsala Wine or Coffee Liqueur – Can be added to the coffee soak for an authentic tiramisu flavor twist.
Want to see my tools? Here’s what I use for all my cakes.
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!
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.
Add the dry ingredients to the egg mixture, cake flour and salt and mix with a rubber spatula until incorporated and smooth.
Pour the cake batter into the 3 prepared pans, lined with baking paper.
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.
Turn out the sponge cakes from the cake pans and leave to cool on a wire rack, then cover with plastic wrap and chill in the fridge for 2 hours. (like me, you can remove the crust from the sponge cakes).
Place all ingredients in a large bowl: cold mascarpone, full-fat heavy cream, powdered sugar and vanilla.
Using an electric mixer, beat on medium speed until smooth and thick.
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.
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.
Tips for this recipe
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
More Layer Cakes
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
- Total Time: 2 hours
- Yield: 8 slices
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 frosting
- 350 g (12.3 oz) Mascarpone cheese - cold
- 380 ml (1 ½ cups) Heavy cream - cold
- 150 g (1 ¼ cups) Powdered Sugar
- 2 tsp Vanilla extract
- Unsweetened cocoa powder
Coffee syrup
- 400 ml (13,5 oz) Expresso coffee
- 1 tbsp Sugar
Instructions
Vanilla sponge cakes
- 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.
- 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.
- Sift the flour and salt together and gently fold them into the mixture using a spatula until you have a smooth and homogeneous batter.
- 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.
- 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).
- Cover the sponge cakes with plastic wrap and refrigerate them for at least 1 hour before assembling.
Mascarpone frosting
- 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
- Slice the sponge cakes using a cake leveler or a large serrated knife to have even layers.
- Place the first layer of sponge cake on a rotating cake stand (on a cake board) and soak it with the cooled mixture of espresso coffee and sugar.
- Top the sponge cake layer with a layer of mascarpone whipped cream, then sprinkle a layer of unsweetened cocoa powder on top.
- Cover with the second layer of sponge cake and repeat the previous step until you reach the final layer of sponge cake.
- 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.
- Decorate the top of the cake with unsweetened cocoa powder and refrigerate the cake for at least 1 hour before serving.
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
- Cuisine: American
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
Made this for a birthday and everyone loved it! The mascarpone frosting was so light and creamy. Thanks for the recipe, Fadela
So happy to hear that everyone loved it! I'm really glad you enjoyed the mascarpone frosting — thank you so much for your kind feedback!