TWD - Tiramisu Cake

This week's Tuesdays with Dorie recipe was chosen for us by Megan of My Baking Adventures. I love tiramisu and I love cake, but I wasn't visualizing what this cake would look/taste like. I was also feeling a little stress as our vacation is just days away and I'm at the crossroads of getting work done/prepping for an Audit Committee meeting/accounting for M.'s business so I can leave and not worry about things at home. I almost skipped this, rationalizing that it would be OK with our vacation days away.

As you can see, I didn't, and am I ever glad. First of all, Dorie made it easy to fit the making of this cake into all of the things I was working on. I got the layers in the oven in about 15 minutes. They cooled overnight, and I made the extract, the syrup and the frosting before work, and assembled the cake in time to start this post before I had to get in the shower to go to work. THAT'S a quick and easy dessert. Really!

I stopped at Trader Joe's on the way home from work to pick up the mascarpone and whipping cream. Once home, I ate dinner, caught up on my Google Reader, and then at 9:00, kicked myself for not starting it earlier and went to get the layers in the oven. I deliberately did not buy buttermilk at TJ's since I knew I could make sour milk as a substitution, and didn't want to buy a quart of buttermilk when I only needed 3/4 of a cup. When I checked the fridge, I had some whipping cream that was a few days past its expire date and was definitely smelling...tangy. I decided to use it instead of "making" sour milk. Big risk. The batter smelled funky to me, the baking layers smelled funky. The baked layers smelled funky. I went to bed not sure if I had screwed this one up or not.

The next morning, I woke up at the normal time (don't scream but I naturally wake up at about 5:20), had my coffee, checked the weather, and got to work on finishing the cake. One of the layers baked freakishly uneven, so I sawed off a goodly portion and tasted it.

It was fine, no funky taste, although it was sort of dry. I made the espresso extract and syrup (these components were part of my initial confusion about this cake--I just couldn't picture how they would fit in--maybe I should have read the recipe!)

I whipped the cream a little too long so it had that choppy look to it, so I beat it more cream to soften it up. You can see on the left it looks smooth while on the right it's just a few moments away from becoming butter.

Gently mix the whipped cream into the Mascarpone.

I didn't use alcohol in any of the components of the cake and truly, I don't think it made a bit of difference. I love the flavor of coffee, and it had an opportunity to shine in the frosting. After assembling the cake, I realized I forgot to put the chopped chocolate between the layers.

Problem solved.

I took this to work where it quickly disappeared. Tiramisu lovers found it to be tasty, and I did too. It was dry, so I think it may have overbaked (it was a little past done at 18 minutes). Next time, I'll check it earlier and that should help maintain the moisture. It's possible that leaving it out uncovered overnight also impacted the moisture of the layers. This one was delicious if you're a coffee lover, and I think it lends itself well to some fun experimentation. I think glazing this with a pourable ganache would look and taste amazing. Or maybe serving it in a puddle of caramel sauce.

The cake scraps, espresso syrup and frosting made a yummy breakfast. It has dairy and, umm, coffee!