When I was little, I often ponder upon the idea of being an only child. Being the youngest and only girl in the family, teasing and frustrations were routine. Back then, I could never seem to grasp the logic on why my brothers love to tease me. This resulted to a lot of crying and doing stupid things to get back at them, those were the days when I never knew how to see pass things.

I remember waking up staring at a newly bought tea set toy right in front of me on my birthday, later knowing that the same people who would make me cry for a living were the masterminds behind the surprise. Today, teasing and frustrations still occur but I guess I know better now. This post is dedicated to one of my two awesome brother whose birthday falls on the 28Th of January. Since he loves tiramisu, and I have been DYING to make up an excuse to make Dory Greenspan’s Tiramisu cake, what could be more perfect?:)

Happy Birthday dear brother!

We actually surprised him at 12:30am.Unfortunately he suspected something already because of my lack of attention to details(I had to think of a clever way to get him to come down, let's just say I overlooked a tiny detail that blew off the surprise...)

I now have this epiphany that I may be the worst person to come up with a luring excuse. I always tend to screw it up! every single time. Overall it was a great and intimate celebration :)

Adding Chocolate chunks in the filling was genius!

Ingredients: From my home to yours by Dorie Greenspan
For the Cake

• 2 cups cake flour
• 3 tsp. baking powder
• 1/8 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1+1/4 sticks unsalted butter at room temp.
• 1 cup sugar
• 3 large eggs
• 1 large egg yolk
• 1+1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 3/4 cup buttermilk

For the Espresso Extract

• 2 T instant espresso powder
• 2 T boiling water

For Espresso Syrup

• 1/2 cup water
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1 T amaretto, Kahlua or brandy

For the Filling and Frosting

• 1 8 ounce container mascarpone
• 1/2 cup confectioner's sugar, sifted
• 1+1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 1 T amaretto, Kahlua or brandy
• 1 cup cold heavy cream
• 2+1/2 ounces bittersweet/semi sweet chocolate finely chopped(I made sure mine had chunks)
• Chocolate covered espresso beans(optional)
• Cocoa powder for dusting

Procedure:

Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter two 9x2 inch round cake pans. Dust inside with flour, tap out excess and line bottom of the pans with parchment paper. Place it in a baking sheet

Cake

Sift together, cake flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Using a Stand mixer(paddle attachment) or hand mixer in a large bowl, beat butter on medium speed until soft and creamy. Add sugar and beat for another 3 mins. Add eggs one by one, and then the yolk. Beating for 1 minute after each addition. Beat in vanilla(don't be concerned if the mixture looks curdled)  Reduce speed to low and add the dry ingredients in 3 additions and the milk in 2(begin and end with dry ingredients). Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed and mix only until the ingredients disappear into the batter. Divide batter evenly between cake pans and smooth tops.

Bake for 28-30 minutes rotating the pans midway point. The cakes will be golden and springy to touch and a thin knife inserted into the centers will come out clean. Transfer the cakes to a rack and cool for about 5 mins, then run a knife around the sides of the cakes, unmold them and peel off the paper liners. Invert and cool to room temperature right side up.

Extract

Stir espresso powder and boiling water together in a small cup until blended. Set aside
 

Syrup

Stir water sugar together in a small saucepan and bring just to a boil. Pour syrup into a small heatproof bowl and stir in 1 T of the espresso extract and the liqueur or brandy; set aside

Filling and Frosting

Whisk mascarpone, sugar, vanilla and liqueur in a large bowl until blended and smooth
Whip heavy cream until it holds firm peaks. Switch to a rubber spatula and stir 1/4 of the whipped cream into the mascarpone mixture. Fold in the rest of the whipped cream

Assembling

If the tops of the cake have crowned use a long serrated knife and a gentle sawing motion to even them. Place one layer right side up on a cardboard round or cake plate. Using a pastry brush or small spoon, soak the layer with about 1/3 of the syrup(don't hesitate to use it all). Smooth some mascarpone cream over the layer(about 1+1/4cups) and gently press the chopped chocolate into the filling. Put the 2nd layer on the counter and soak the top of it with half the remaining espresso syrup, then turn the layer over and position it, soaked upside down over the filling. Soak the top with the remaining syrup.

For the frosting, whisk 1-1+1/2 T of remaining espresso extract into the remaining mascarpone filling. Taste the frosting as you go to decide how much extract you want to add. If the frosting looks as if it might be a little too soft to spread over the cake, press a piece of plastic wrap against its surface and refrigerate it for 15 mins or so. Refrigerate the cake also.

With a long serrated knife, smooth the frosting around the sides of the cake and over the top. If you want t decorate the cake with chocolate covered espresso beans, press them into the frosting, making concentric circles of beans or just putting dome beans in the center of the cake.

Refrigerate the cake for at least 3 hours or for up to 1 day.

Just before serving dust the top of the cake with cocoa.

Happy eating