Incredible tiramisu torte or tiramisu cake with ladyfingers and creamy mascarpone, this cake is one of the best I've ever had!!!

You will not believe how good this tiramisu torte is!!! Absolutely amazing, I cannot imagine it tasting better! Or being creamier! I loved every single bite of it! Lots of exclamation marks here, but this is really how I feel about it! Only in superlatives and exclamation marks!
I made this torte for my mother-in-law's birthday on Sunday. It was one of 5 large cakes and the only one which was completely gone. Not only that there were no leftovers, but the whole thing was gone like in about 10 minutes.
I was glad I had managed to get a piece right at the beginning and was only sorry that I was too slow (or too polite) to grab a second piece while I still had the chance.
I might be biased here after all, tiramisu is probably my favorite dessert, but still, I feel I have to convince anyone to give this tiramisu torte a chance. Or try these Tiramisu Cups.
Why is this torte so good and perfect for any celebration?
Taste:
- It is just amazing! Mascarpone, coffee, a little amaretto (if you like), sweet ladyfingers – this is an irresistible combination. Decadent, comforting, sweet yet not overly so, all you can wish for in a cake.
Consistency:
- Soft and creamy. Not only the mascarpone filling is creamy, but the whole cake is like that.
- You will soak the base and the ladyfingers with coffee (and alcohol, optional) and leave the cake overnight.
- Everything will become moist and soft and every bite of the mascarpone cake will be a delight.
Easy to make:
- It might look fancy with all the layers, but it is a beginner's cake, anyone could make it.
- Shortcut: use a good quality chocolate/cocoa cake base. I would never recommend it otherwise, but in this case, it should be OK, you will soak the base with coffee and amaretto anyway and that will help with the dryness of a bought base.
Looks:
- The tiramisu torte looks so pretty, it is perfect to make it for guests.
- They will be impressed and think you are such an accomplished baker, when in fact you have spent very little time and need very little skill to make this.
Rather cheap:
- Mascarpone is not the cheapest kind of cheese, but it is not that expensive either.
- And except for that, all the other ingredients are super cheap.
Time:
- It can and should be made in advance.
- This will help you with the organization and with having less to do on the day of the actual celebration.
- All you have to do before serving is to thickly sprinkle it with some pure cocoa powder.
No raw eggs:
- To set things straight, the best tiramisu is the one made with raw eggs. I make it like that most of the time.
- However, when making tiramisu torte, I prefer the no-egg version, especially if I am making the cake for guests or making it for somebody else. Not everybody is comfortable with eating raw eggs.
Ingredients
Ladyfingers:
- Ladyfingers are large, dry sponge biscuits shaped like a finger.
- They are actually pretty easy to make, so you can make them yourself if you wish.
- Otherwise, bought ladyfingers are perfectly fine, I use them all the time.
- You will have to cut the biscuits to fit the cake, the pieces used should be only slightly taller than the sides of the cake.
- That will leave you with lots of leftover ladyfingers pieces. Keep them in a well-sealed freezer bag and eat them as they are or use them for other desserts.
- You could try the strawberry tiramisu or the orange tiramisu, for instance, it will not matter that much if you use smaller or larger ladyfingers pieces.
Mascarpone:
- Mascarpone is a thick and creamy Italian cream cheese, the star in every tiramisu recipe. It has a high-fat content and that makes it rather heavy in taste and consistency.
- In Germany it is often combined with lighter quark to make a mascarpone cake, dessert, or tiramisu lighter in taste and easier on the waistline, but when it comes to a real tiramisu, I prefer the pure mascarpone (and egg yolk) version most of the times.
- However, if you would like to make this recipe lighter and have access to low-fat quark, you can replace about ⅓ – ½ of the mascarpone with quark.
- It will still taste great, yet I must say it again that I prefer the all mascarpone version.
Cocoa powder:
- Definitely pure unsweetened cocoa powder, not the sweet kind you would use for your children's cocoa milk.
Coffee:
- Brew some strong coffee, espresso if you have it.
- Otherwise, regular but very strong coffee will be fine.
Alcohol:
- The Amaretto is optional. I love it, but I often leave it out because of the children.
How to make?
Easy cake base:
- Beat the sugar, eggs and vanilla extract together until pale and fluffy.
- Mix together the flour, baking powder and cocoa and fold in.
- Bake for 15 minutes.
- Remove from the pan and let cool completely. It will not take long.
Easy filling:
- In a small bowl mix together the cornstarch and icing sugar, they will help stabilize the filling. If available, use one small packet of cream stabilizer instead.
- Beat the heavy cream shortly. Slowly start adding the cornstarch mixture and whisk the cream until stiffer. Set aside.
- In another bowl mix shortly the mascarpone and the icing sugar. The mixture should be creamy, but never over beat mascarpone, it might turn runny. Add 1 tablespoon Amaretto, if using. Fold in the whipped cream.
Assemble the cake:
- Place the base on a nice serving platter.
- Soak with 2 tablespoons Amaretto and 2 tablespoons coffee or with only 3-4 tablespoons coffee.
- Spread about ⅓ of the mascarpone filling on the base.
- Arrange a layer of ladyfingers on top. Cut them to make them fit on the cake.
- Soak with about ¼ cup lukewarm or cold coffee.
- Cover with the remaining filling making sure you cover the sides as well.
- Cut the remaining ladyfingers, so that they are only slightly taller than the sides. Stick them all around the cake.
- Place in the refrigerator overnight.
- Sprinkle thickly with pure unsweetened cocoa powder before serving.
- Decorate as desired. I only added some coffee beans on top, but you can decorate with cream rosettes or some small chocolate decoration.
More decadent cakes?
CAPPUCCINO WHISKEY CAKE - With a lot of whiskey, cappuccino, and coffee and filled with luscious cream cheese and whipped cream filling.
EGYPTIAN HAZELNUT CAKE - Hazelnuts, buttercream, and a caramel cream filling, can it get any better?
DOBOS TORTE - Best ever! Several layers of pastry and chocolate buttercream and a sinfully delicious caramel topping.
CHOCOLATE CAKE WITH CREAM CHEESE FILLING - Incredibly moist and topped with a luscious white chocolate cream cheese frosting, it can hardly get any better!
APPLE CARAMEL CAKE - The best upside-down apple cake oozing with caramel, this is a just amazing!
PIN IT FOR LATER!
Best Tiramisu Cake Recipe
Ingredients
- Cake base:
- 75 g/ 2.6 oz/ ¾ cup granulated sugar See note 1
- 2 eggs
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 75 g/ 2.6 oz/ scant ⅔ cup all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 20 g/ 0.7 oz/ scant ¼ cup pure unsweetened cocoa powder
- Filling:
- about 250 ml/ 8.5 fl.oz/ ½ cup brewed strong coffee See note 2
- 230 ml/ 7.8 fl.oz/ 1 cup heavy cream
- 1 ½ teaspoons cornstarch See note 3
- 1 ½ teaspoons icing sugar
- 500 g/ 1.1 lbs/ 2 cups mascarpone
- 75 g/ 2.6 oz/ ¾ cup icing sugar
- 3 tablespoons Amaretto Disaronno optional (See note 4)
- about 300 g/ 10.6 ladyfingers as needed
- more unsweetened cocoa powder for the topping
Instructions
Cake base:
- Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius/ 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Slightly grease and line the base of a springform (23-24 cm/ 9-9.5 inches) with parchment paper.
- Beat together the sugar, eggs and vanilla extract until light and fluffy, about 3-4 minutes. In another bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder, and cocoa powder. Fold into the egg mixture.
- Pour into the prepared form and bake for 15 minutes. Remove the cake from the tin and let cool completely on a wire rack.
Filling:
- Brew the coffee of espresso. Pour into a cup and let cool.
- In a small bowl, mix together the cornstarch and the icing sugar (or use cream stabilizer, if available). Shortly beat the heavy cream. Slowly start adding the cornstarch mixture and whip the heavy cream until stiffer. Set aside.
- In another bowl, shortly whisk together the mascarpone and the icing sugar. Don't overbeat. Add 1 tablespoon Amaretto, if using. Fold in the heavy cream.
Assemble the tiramisu cake:
- Place the cake base on a cake platter. Soak with 2 tablespoons Amaretto and 2 tablespoons coffee or with only 3-4 tablespoons coffee.
- Spread about ⅓ of the mascarpone filling on the cake base.
- Arrange a layer of ladyfingers on top. Cut them to make them fit the cake. Soak with about ¼ cup lukewarm or cold coffee.
- Cover with the remaining filling making sure you cover the sides of the cake as well.
- Cut the remaining ladyfingers, so that they are only slightly taller than the sides of the cake. Stick them all around the cake.
- Place the tiramisu cake in the refrigerator overnight.
- Sprinkle thickly with pure unsweetened cocoa powder before serving. Decorate as desired.
Notes
- Use a kitchen scale, cup measuring is too imprecise.
- Use espresso, if available. If not, brew a very strong coffee.
- If available, use 1 small packet of cream stabilizer (Sahnesteif).
- Not Amaretto syrup, but Amaretto liqueur (alcohol).
angiesrecipes says
That looks splendid! Anything with mascarpone has got to be DELICIOUS!
mjskitchen says
I love how you have taken what can be a very complicated dessert to make and made it relatively easy. This is perfect. Who wouldn't love this tiramisu? I know I'd love it.
Monika says
Hi Adina, can you please tell me what "smetana" is? I've read it in one of your recipes and not sure what this ingredient is ... thank you 🙂 ps. btw, what language is it in?
Adina says
Smetana is the Eastern European (also German) version of sour cream. It is thicker and creamier, tastes very much like creme fraiche but it is stiffer than creme fraiche. Creme fraiche would be the first substitute for smetana, but sour cream would be fine most of the times. Smetana is the English word for it, it is called smantana in Romanian or Schmand in German.
grace says
as beautiful as it is delicious!!