Chocolate tiramisu cake

Tiramisu, meet chocolate cake. 

Photograph by Gunther Schubert of Vorsprung Studio

Why it's taken me this long to introduce these two decadent desserts to each other is beyond me because they are sweet soul mates. Meant to be. BFF's. You get the point.

The secret to making ANY cake special (and I'll even go out on a limb and include box cake mix here) is to soak the cake in a simple syrup - even the driest sponge can be magically transformed with a slathering of flavoured (and liquored) syrup. And of course, tiramisu has sponge soaked in espresso syrup - coincidence? I think not. All that's missing is the light and fluffy mascarpone which I transformed into a not-too-sweet frosting and a generous dusting of cocoa powder and it's like the two were destined to live happily ever after...   

Photograph by Gunther Schubert of Vorsprung Studio

Chocolate tiramisu cake

Serves 10-12

3 large eggs

3/4 cup (180ml) melted butter or oil

3/4 cup water

1 tsp vanilla

375ml (1 1/2 cups) cake flour

180ml (3/4 cup) cocoa powder

7,5ml (3/4 tsp) bicarbonate of soda

pinch of salt

410ml (1 2/3 cups) brown sugar

Espresso syrup

250ml sugar

250ml water

125ml espresso coffee, cooled

80ml coffee liqueur (optional)

Mascarpone frosting

250ml cream

1 tub (240g) mascarpone cheese

½ cup icing sugar, sifted

1 tsp vanilla extract

Cocoa powder, for dusting

Preheat oven to 180°C. Grease and line 2 x 22cm springform cake tins.

Beat the eggs and oil for 3 minutes on high speed. Add the water and beat for 1 minute on high speed. 

Sift the flour, cocoa, bicarbonate of soda and salt together. Add the sugar and mix into the wet ingredients. 

Divide the batter between the tins and bake for 55 minutes or until cake is cooked when tested with a skewer. If the skewer comes out clean, the cake is cooked.

Remove from the oven and leave to cool in the tin for 10 minutes.

Remove from the tin and place on cooling rack, cool completely before cutting each cake in half horizontally with a sharp knife.

To make the syrup, gently heat the sugar and water together and stir until melted then bring to the boil and simmer for 2-3 minutes. Remove from the heat and cool slightly before adding the coffee and liqueur. Allow to cool completely.

To make the frosting, whip the cream and mascarpone together until stiff peaks then whisk in the icing sugar and vanilla. Place in a piping bag with a fluted nozzle.

To assemble the cake, place a cake layer on a serving plate or cake stand, soak the cake in the espresso syrup then pipe frosting on top. Repeat the layers with the cake, syrup and frosting finishing with a layer of frosting on top. Pipe dollops on top of the cake to decorate and dust with a little cocoa powder.

Tiramisu chocolate éclairs

Photography and styling by Katelyn Williams

Baking captured my heart from a very young age and I can remember sitting on the floor in front of the oven watching the cupcakes steadily rise. It fascinated me and you'll still sometimes find me sitting and peering through my oven door! There is something just so enchanting about combining a few ingredients and then watching the sticky batter magically rise into a perfectly fluffy cake. 

Choux pastry is the most miraculous of all; with no baking powder or yeast, a gooey, tacky dough miraculously inflates to form a pastry so light and airy that it threatens to float right off your fork. It's hard to believe that choux pastry uses nothing but steam to rise to the occasion! 

I've given my good ol' chocolate éclair recipe a modern touch here and filled the little puffs with a tiramisu filling; lashings of whipped cream, rich mascarpone, a shot of espresso and a hint of vanilla. Tiramisu seems like such an appropriate match to these chocolate éclairs - and not just because the word means 'pick-me-up'!

Oh and if you would like a little more detail on the exact steps involved, see my previous post on choux pastry.

Photography and styling by Katelyn Williams

Tiramisu chocolate éclairs

Makes 24

1 cup cake flour

pinch salt

80g Stork Bake margarine, cut into small blocks

1 cup water

4 eggs, lightly beaten

For chocolate éclairs

200g dark chocolate, melted

½ cup cream, whipped

½ cup mascarpone cheese, softened

1 shot espresso coffee

½ tsp vanilla essence

1 tbsp castor sugar

Cocoa powder, for dusting

Sift the flour and salt together. Heat the butter and water until just melted then bring to a rolling boil.
Immediately remove from the heat and add all the flour at once. Mix until a smooth dough forms, place back on the heat and cook for about 1 minute or until the pastry pulls away from the sides of the pot. Allow to cool completely.
Beat the eggs into the pastry a little at a time until smooth, shiny and of a piping consistency. 
Place the pastry in a piping bag fitted with a large fluted nozzle. It is now ready to be used as desired.For éclairs, pipe long tubes of dough about 10 cm long. Bake at 200˚C for about 15 - 20 minutes or until puffed up and golden. Turn off oven, remove the puffs, pierce each with a skewer to allow steam to escape and immediately return to the oven to dry out for 15 minutes. 
To assemble chocolate éclairs, dip the tops in melted chocolate and allow to set. Whip the cream until stiff before folding in the mascarpone, espresso, vanilla and sugar. Place in a piping bag and fill the éclairs. Dust with cocoa powder, if desired.

TIPS

*  it is very important to beat the egg in a little at a time into the completely cooled dough

*  sprinkle a little extra water on the tray before baking – the extra steam helps the pastry rise even more, making it lighter.

*  don’t be tempted to open the oven and take a peak or your pastries may run out of puff!

STORAGE

*  unfilled choux pastries can be stored in an airtight container for no more than 2 days – just pop them into the oven for a few minutes to crisp them up again.

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