Tiramisu lovers - this one's for you! Taking inspiration from the original dessert, this is a doctored vanilla cake topped with an expresso mixture, mascarpone buttercream, and thin layers of cocoa powder. It's a coffee lover's dream! For a girl who loves her morning coffee - I might just have to give it up for a morning piece of tiramisu cake instead. 😉✨
Dry Ingredients
White Cake Mix (Sifted): Sifting the cake mix is so important for the overall texture of your finished cake. By sifting, you are breaking down the clumps and transitioning the mix into a fine, loose powder. This allows for ingredients to mix evenly which will give you a better crumb as a result. No need to specifically use a flour sifter either - go ahead and use a fine mesh strainer instead if that's what you have on hand (which is what I often use myself!). For the cake mix itself, I recommend going with your favorite as each brand will vary slightly in taste and texture. My personal preference for cake mixes is often Duncan Hines which is the brand I used to make the cake you see pictured.
Wet Ingredients
Egg Whites: Before use, you should allow the eggs to come to room temperature. For this recipe, it's important that only the egg whites are present as any trace of egg yolk will affect the color of the batter.
Vegetable Oil: Keep it simple with this by using the vegetable oil you have on hand.
Buttermilk: For cakes, full-fat options for your ingredients will certainly make a positive difference in taste. With that being said, if you can find a whole buttermilk to use in your cake - great! If not, I often utilize a low-fat cultured buttermilk (which is what I'm generally able to find at the store in my area) as a one-and-done for this ingredient and I still enjoy the taste. I actually utilized the low-fat cultured buttermilk in the cake pictured. If you would prefer to have whole buttermilk, there is a substitute option for this that will give you a comparable tangy taste in your cake. If you have whole milk (or your preferred go-to milk) and either white vinegar or lemon juice on hand, you can create your own buttermilk. To do this, pour 1 cup of milk then add 1 tablespoon of either vinegar or lemon juice. Stir this together and let the mixture sit for at least 5 minutes before use. You'll likely see some light curdling at the top of your mixture. For best results in your cake, please let your buttermilk come to room temperature before using in this recipe.
Sour Cream: I always use a full-fat option for my cakes. This is another ingredient that you'll want to come to room temperature before use for best results.
Vanilla Extract: As this is where the flavor comes in, I prefer higher quality vanilla products as it will definitely make a difference in the taste of your cake. My go-to is an organic Madagascar vanilla extract.
Dry Ingredients
Expresso Powder: As everyone has different coffee tastes, go ahead and go with whichever expresso powder is of interest to you.
Granulated Sugar: As such a small amount is needed, use whatever granulated sugar you have on hand.
Cocoa Powder: My recommendation would be an unsweetened cocoa powder for baking - whichever is your favorite.
Wet Ingredients
Hot water: Microwave or boil - whichever works for your expresso powder.
Dry Ingredients
Salt: Just a simple pinch of standard table salt will do the trick for this ingredient.
Powdered Sugar (Sifted): Sifting is going to be a very important step for the overall texture and taste of your buttercream. If you don't have a flour sifter then a fine mesh strainer will work as well. Remember to add your powdered sugar into the mixer a little (about 1/2 cup or so) at a time. This will reduce powdered sugar flying everywhere and ensure the correct amount gets into your buttercream.
Wet Ingredients
Unsalted Butter: As this is the base for your buttercream, make sure to choose either a high-quality butter or at least one that you like the taste of. Higher quality ingredients definitely make a difference but are not always cost effective. If you know you like the taste, then go for it! For best results, allow your butter to come to room temperature before using.
Mascarpone Cheese: Similar to the butter, this is the base of your buttercream so my go-to is to snag the highest quality one in store that day.
Vanilla Extract: As this is where the flavor comes in, I prefer higher quality vanilla products as it will definitely make a difference in the taste of your buttercream. My go-to is an organic Madagascar vanilla extract.
Heavy Cream: Adding in the heavy cream is important to the taste and texture of your buttercream. Go ahead and use your go-to brand for this. For best results, allow this ingredient to come to room temperature.
Cake Prep
First, make sure to set out the following ingredients: eggs, buttermilk, and sour cream. These ingredients will need to come to room temperature for best results with your cake. You will see a lot of mixed results on the internet about ingredients coming to room temperature. Some say to set out for only 20 -30 minutes. Personally, I think that is the minimum amount of time. If you're in a pinch, go ahead and use that time frame. However, if you have the time, it will likely take your cold ingredients about 1-2 hours to come fully to room temperature. Ultimately, this will give you the best results.
Next, you will want to prep your cake pans. This recipe will create enough batter for (3) 6-inch round pans or (2) 8-inch round pans. My personal go-to is the (3) 6-inch round pans. Prepping your cake pans properly will help you know when your cakes are finished as well as allow for easy removal. My personal favorite method is a grease and flour method. For the grease, I typically utilize shortening. It's definitely a cost saver in comparison to butter. I spread shortening around the pan by using a pastry brush; however, feel free to do this in whichever way works best for you. Next, scoop a small amount of flour into the pan, swirl it around to cover the entire pan, then tap on the outside of the pan to loosen the excess flour which you will want to pour out. For thorough instructions on the grease and flour method, please see the Prepping Cake Pans blog post for detailed steps and photos.
Cake Instructions
Preheat your oven to 325° F.
In a medium mixing bowl, put in the following ingredients: egg whites, vegetable oil, buttermilk, sour cream, and vanilla extract. Give it a quick stir to help the ingredients blend together.
Next, either sift the cake mix directly into the mixture or pour your pre-sifted cake mix into the mixture if you sifted prior to starting. Stir to combine all ingredients. Make sure to stir only until all ingredients become one. It's important not to overmix as this will negatively affect the texture of your cake.
Pour the batter equally into your prepped pans. As a good rule of thumb, only fill standard pans about 2/3 full. If your pans are on the shallower side, you can stick to about 1/2 full.
Bake your cakes for 27-30 minutes or until the edges are golden and pulling away from the outer rim of the pan. As location and oven type can affect the way your oven bakes, always start on the lower end of time when in doubt and periodically check on your cakes by utilizing the oven light if you have one. Try not to open the oven to check on your cakes as this will let out heat and affect the baking process. When everything looks to be done, go ahead and open the oven to check the centers for a clean knife to ensure everything is baked properly.
After taking your cakes out of the oven, allow them to cool for a few minutes inside the pan (anywhere from 5-7 minutes should be enough).
Lastly, flip each cake pan upside down over the top of a wire rack to allow the cake to drop out on the rack. From here, cakes can finish cooling to room temperature. If you are planning on storing your cakes before decorating, please see the Cake Layer Storage blog for detailed steps on doing so.
Filling Instructions
Utilize a 1:2 expresso to hot water ratio by weight or follow the instructions as specified on your specific expresso powder. You'll need to make just one expresso shot.
Stir in granulated sugar.
Using a pastry brush, cover the top of each vanilla cake layer with a generous amount of the expresso mixture.
When assembling, add a layer of buttercream on top of the cake layer then finish with a thin layer of cocoa powder.
Buttercream Prep
Make sure to set out the following ingredients to come to room temperature: butter, mascarpone cheese, and heavy cream. This will ensure the best taste and texture for your buttercream. Once again, you will see a lot of mixed results on the internet about ingredients coming to room temperature. Some say to set out for only 20 -30 minutes. Personally, I think that is the minimum amount of time. If you're in a pinch, go ahead and use that time frame. However, if you have the time, it will likely take your cold ingredients about 1-2 hours to come fully to room temperature. For the butter specifically, you'll at least want it soft enough to where - if you press a finger into it - it will leave an indent where your finger was. However, once the butter has a greasy sheen all over and you can basically just squish it - that's going to be too warm, so you'll want to keep an eye on it the longer it sets out. Ultimately, this will give you the best results for your buttercream.
Buttercream Instructions
First, add your butter and mascarpone cheese into the stand mixer you'll be using. You'll want to whip the butter and mascarpone cheese on its own on a high speed until it becomes light and fluffy. Then, go ahead and add a pinch of salt.
Once the butter is whipped up, go ahead and add the following ingredients: vanilla extract and heavy cream. Using the stir setting on the mixer, combine these ingredients.
Keeping the stir setting on, you're going to add in your powdered sugar slowly. Typically, about 1/2 cup at a time is a good pace.
Once all of your powdered sugar is in the mixer, you'll combine everything together on high for 30 seconds.
If you are adding in food coloring, go ahead and do so now as desired. The best choice for food coloring is gel. Please note that vanilla buttercream will often look more ivory than white due to the coloring from butter and the extracts. If you would like a white buttercream, you can adjust the color by adding a tiny amount of eggplant gel food coloring into the bowl. EMPHASIS on TINY. Start with a small portion of a drop and work your way up from there if needed. Keep mixing your food coloring in on a low setting until the desired color is achieved.
Mix your buttercream on the highest setting for two minutes which will give your buttercream a nice whipped, silky texture. Finally, lower the mixer back to the stir setting and keep that on for a minute or so to help work out any air bubbles. If you are planning on storing your buttercream before use, go ahead and saran wrap it twice and place it in the refrigerator.
Keep in mind that it is significantly easier to frost a cold cake versus a warm cake. When you see my photos or decorating videos, I am typically freezing the cake layers overnight before decorating. If you're curious about storing cake layers, my Cake Layer Storage blog will provide more thorough details on this. I'll often make the buttercream fresh on the day-of decorating, but you can definitely store buttercream in the refrigerator beforehand too. If storing your buttercream, give it about 20-30 minutes to thaw on the counter before whipping it up in the mixer to get it ready. Following the last step of the buttercream instructions again: mix your buttercream on the highest setting for two minutes which will give your buttercream a nice whipped, silky texture. Finally, lower the mixer back to the stir setting and keep that on for a minute or so to help work out any air bubbles.
To help hold your cake in place during the decorating process, spread a thin layer of buttercream on the cardboard round (or whatever you are using to place the cake on) to act as a glue between the base and the first layer of cake.
For the integrity of the cake, it's crucial to stack the layers evenly to keep everything intact and prevent any problems that could arise with decorating. If you're starting your home baking journey and you don't have all of the supplies you need for decorating - don't sweat it! There are ways you can work around things. For example, although I have piping bags and use that as a way to evenly pipe on buttercream, you can simply just do the same number of scoops on each layer for measurement.
If you're looking to get your buttercream smooth on the outside of your cake, you'll likely need to complete two coats. The first is called a crumb coat so you'll still see some of the cake when you are finished with this layer. Get that first layer of buttercream on and stick the cake in the freezer for a couple minutes to set it. After that, you shouldn't have a problem applying another layer of buttercream that hides the entire cake.
Have fun! Baking at home does not require perfection of any sort and you'll gain confidence as you go. Plus, regardless of how it looks when you're finished, you're still going to have a delicious cake to eat (yum!) and have learned more about making your own cakes at home.
✨Cut, Serve, Enjoy!✨
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