A while ago I made tiramisu cupcakes. I WAS OBSESSED WITH THEM. Tiramisu + cake is absolutely something everyone needs to try in their life. The flavours together are so good!
Anyway, ever since I made those cupcakes I wanted to make a tiramisu in cake form instead. So here it is!

Preventing this cake from deflating:
Whenever making cakes that use whipped eggs, there is a risk of the cakes deflating after they come out the oven. The main reason for this is usually because the cakes have been underbaked.
The best way to prevent is to make sure not to open the oven door for 40 minutes. And then make sure the cakes are fully done.
You know they’re done when:
- A toothpick inserted into the centre comes out clean.
- The top of the cake are a golden brown colour.
- When you press the centre, the cake should spring back. If your finger leaves an indent, it probably needs a few more minutes.
Also side note, with this cake, you want to make sure not to grease your cake tins. Just add some baking paper to the bottom of the tins and your good to go!
Video Tutorial
The coffee:
To give this cake a coffee flavour, I brushed the cake layers with some coffee whiles they were still warm.
Every time I make a tiramisu inspired dessert, theres always a few people who tell me I didn’t add enough coffee. I personally prefer when the coffee flavour isn’t too strong, but you can definitely make it stronger if you like.
Just add some coffee into the cake batter too. I would to this by heating up the milk slightly, mixing the coffee into this then adding it into the cake batter!

Tiramisu Cake
Ingredients
- For the cake:
6 egg whites
75g granulated sugar
6 egg yolks
75g granulated sugar
50ml any flavourless oil (I use vegetable)
50ml milk
2 teaspoons lemon juice
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
120g plain flour
- For the coffee:
1.5 tablespoons instant coffee
120ml hot water
- For the mascarpone cream:
300g mascarpone
150g icing sugar
2 teaspoon vanilla extract
350ml double cream
plus some cocoa powder
Directions
- To make the cake:
- Pre-heat your oven to 180c/350f. Also line the bottom of three 6 inch cake tins with some baking paper. Make sure not to grease the tins.
- In a bowl, add the egg whites and whip these on high speed until they become foamy.
- Whiles still mixing, slowly pour in the first 75g of sugar. Now whip until you get stiff peaks. Leave this aside.
- In a separate bowl, add the egg yolks and the second 75g of sugar. Whisk these together just until they lighten in colour slighlty.
- Add the lemon juice, vanilla, oil and milk into this, mix it in, then mix in the flour.
- Add half of the egg whites into this bowl and gently fold them in. Then add the rest of the egg whites and fold these in too.
- Now pour this batter into your cake tins and bake them for 40-45 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.
- Once you take them out the oven, straight away run a knife around the sides of the tin to separate the cake. You don't need to take them out of the tin, just separate them from the sides.
- The coffee:
- Mix the coffee and hot water together, then whiles the cakes are still warm, brush this onto them. You might not need to use all of the coffee.
- Leave the cakes to cool completely.
- To make the mascarpone cream:
- Add the mascarpone, icing sugar and vanilla into a bowl and mix these together.
- Pour the double cream into this and whip until the mixture thickens slightly. The longer you whip this, the thicker the cream will be. You wanna stop whipping when you get a soft spreadable cream. If it's too thick it will be too hard to spread onto the cake. But if this does happen just add more double cream and mix it in to loosen the mixture.
- To assemble:
- Once the cakes have cooled, you can put everything together.
- Place a layer of cake down, spread some cream, then sieve some cocoa powder on top. Add the second layer, more cream and cocoa powder, then add the final layer.
- At this point it's up to you if you want to ice the outside, you don't have too. But I iced the whole cake with the mascarpone cream, then added some more cocoa powder on top.
- Leave this in the fridge for an hour before cutting into it then enjoy!