▢Preheat oven to 350°F or 180°C and line two 8 inch cake pans
Beat the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy
2 sticks Butter, 2 cups Sugar
Add the eggs one at a time and beat in
2 Eggs
Sieve the flour, baking powder and salt into a bowl
3 cups All-purpose Flour, 1 teaspoon Baking Powder, ½ teaspoon Salt
Add ⅓ of the flour mixture to the batter, followed by ½ the milk, another ⅓ of flour, remaining milk and then remaining flour - being sure to mix in well in between each addition
1 cup Milk
Add vanilla and mix in
1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
Pour evenly into cake pans and bake for 30-35 minutes, or until a skewer inserted comes out clean
Make the Mascarpone Cream
Whisk the egg yolks and sugar together until light and thick
4 Egg Yolks, ¼ cup Sugar
Beat the mascarpone with 4 tablespoon amaretto (or whatever alcohol you prefer)
2 cups Mascarpone, 4 tablespoon Amaretto
Combine egg yolk mixture and mascarpone mixture and mix together
Whip the cream together with the vanilla until stiff peaks form
2 cups Whipping Cream, 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
Fold the whipped cream into the egg/mascarpone mixture, being careful not to squish out the air
Refrigerate until you are ready to use
Assemble the Tiramisu Cake
Once the cakes have completely cooled, cut the domes off the top so they are nice and flat, then cut each cake in half, so you have four thin layers
Mix together 4 shots of espresso with ⅓ cup amaretto (or other alcohol)
Place your first layer of cake onto your cake plate or board and brush the espresso/amaretto mixture onto the cake. The coffee with soak into the sponge, the more you use the stronger the coffee flavour will be, so soak according to taste
Once the entire cake layer has coffee on top, apply a dollop of mascarpone cream and spread evenly, dust with a layer of cocoa powder
Add the next layer on top and repeat the process to every layer. Do not apply cocoa powder on the very top layer yet
Cover the top and sides of the cake in mascarpone cream and smooth out. Reserve some of the mascarpone cream for decoration
Put in the fridge overnight to let all the flavours soak in and develop. If you don't want to leave overnight, make sure it chills for at least 4 hours before serving
When you are ready to serve, dust the top of the cake entirely in cocoa powder
Use the reserved mascarpone cream to pipe decoration on top, as desired
Notes
The egg yolks in this recipe are raw, it is a personal choice whether you are okay with this. If you are using pasteurized eggs, they will be perfectly safe to eat, however, unpasteurized eggs carry a small risk of containing Salmonella or E.coli, so I advise using pasteurized eggs or carton egg yolks (which are always pasteurized) for anyone who is elderly, under 3, pregnant or immuno-compromised.If you are concerned about the raw egg and can't find pasteurized eggs, you can still make this recipe, just put the egg yolks and sugar in a heatproof bowl over a pan of simmering water and bring them to 70°C / 160°F before removing from the heat and continuing to whisk as normal. This cooks the eggs and removes any potential risk.