Chocolate Cake Tiramisu

Perfect recipe for using up leftover cakes

I recently made a wedding cake for a friend, and afterwards this left me with LOADS of spare chocolate cakes (You know, cakes dome up and you end up needing to cut off a lot of it. Ideally you would want to be able to make the cake rise flatly, which we can cover at another time).

In a bid to use them up, I’ve decided to try make tiramisu out of them. The results were great – the mascarpone cream really helped keep the cake soft and moist. For best results – it is best served 20-30 minutes after coming out of the fridge (cakes don’t usually taste as good cold, so better to have it closer to room temperature).

Make no mistake – although this is not a traditional tiramisu recipe, the mascarpone cream is properly authentic. It doesn’t take long to make but makes all the difference between an okay tiramisu and an excellent one. If you want a lighter version, you can use whipping cream rather than double cream. Some also use whipped egg white instead of cream – but personally think that it doesn’t give you as rich a taste as using cream.

I’ve decided not to put any coffee or alcohol into this but you can definitely do so as you see fit!

Chocolate Cake Tiramisu

Recipe (feeds 12)

Time: 30 minutes

Ingredients:

6 large egg yolk
200g caster sugar
280g mascarpone cheese
420g double cream
300-400g sponge cake (any flavours work)
unsweetened cocoa powder for dusting

22cm x 22cm tin

Method

Combine egg yolks and sugar. Put bowl over boiling water and whisk to mix. Reduce heat to low and cook for about 10 minutes, stirring constantly until sugar is melted (you know it is done when the mixture is no longer grainy when you rub it between your fingers). Remove from heat and allow to cool
Mix in the mascarpone until well combined. To avoid lumps, it is best to put the mascarpone first in a mixing bowl then mix in the egg mixture bits by bits
Whip the double cream in a separate bowl until stiff peak (you will know that it is ready if you turn over the mixing bowl and the cream doesn’t fall out. This step is very important – if you under-whip the cream the tiramisu might not set). Gently fold the cream into the egg & mascarpone mixture until well combined. This is your mascarpone cream done
Break up the spare cake and lay as an even layer onto the tin. For a more authentic taste, you can dip them first into a coffee and coffee liquor mixture (just dip for 1 seconds, don’t soak!)
Pour the mascarpone cream on top of the cake, then refrigerate until set (cira 3-4 hours)
Dust with cocoa powder before serving