Tiramisu Layer Cake

Literally meaning "pick me up" Tiramisu is my all time favorite dessert. Anytime I'm at an Italian restaurant I always order Tiramisu, no matter what. Although I have yet to find the perfect slice of fluffy lady fingers drunk with coffee and rum [yes, i prefer rum to marsala wine in my Tiramisu] layered between a smooth mascarpone cream and topped with cocoa powder at any restaurant, I personally have had great success with Tiramisu at home! Truth is, Tiramisu can be a time consuming project if it's your first time - if you want to simplify the process, you can always opt for store bought lady fingers and simply soak them with some fresh coffee...but trust me, its best to make it all from scratch!

Right now I'm on a cake kick! Trying to turn my favorite items into layered cakes that can be stacked and decorated [ S'mores Cake] So in this recipe, instead of soaking the cake all the way through, I made a liquid ganache with all the soaking effects and spread that on top of each layer of cake to keep it moist and add flavor! Also, it is important to note that I like my Tiramisu fairly strong on both the booze and the coffee flavor, so if its too much for you, just dial down the rum/kahlua/coffee.

Lady Fingers

Eggs Separated - 3 ea
Sugar - 1 C
Flour - 1 C
Vanilla - 1tsp

1. whip yolks and sugar
2. whip whites and sugar
3. fold those together  and fold in flour and vanilla

Coffee Ganache Soak

Rum - 3 Tbsp

Kahlua - 3 Tbsp

Coffee - 1/2 C

Dark Chocolate - 1/4 C

1. Boil coffee, rum, and kahlua and pour over chocolate to make ganache.

Mascarpone Cream 

Mascarpone Cheese - 10 oz

Egs separated - 4 ea

Sugar -1/4 C

Water - 1/4 C
Rum - 2 Tbsp

1. Cream your mascarpone cheese and rum until very soft and fluffy. set aside.
2. Combine half of your sugar and half of your water in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil.
3. While the sugar heats up, begin to slowly whip your yolks - make sure they are very thick and light, and stream in the sugar when it comes to a boil. whip until very thick and set aside.
4. Combine the rest of your sugar and water in a small saucepan and bring to a boil.
5. Whip up your egg whites [with clean beaters] while your sugar heats up. When it boils, stream in to your whites and whip until stiff peaks. set aside.
6. Mix together your yolks and mascarpone, then fold in your whites.

Now, assemble your cake and decorate in any way you wish! You're going to want to refrigerate and/or freeze your cake before you serve it it order to allow the filling to set up enough!