Let Her Eat Cake: Tiramisu Cake

Ahh, tiramisu. A favourite dessert here at DSHQ, purely for combining coffee, booze, cream and boozy cream. What's not to love? We've come to the conclusion that the only problem with tiramisu is that it's not very portable. Can't really whip it out mid-morning at your desk, eat it surreptitiously on the bus, or on the back of a vespa driven by a hunky Italian...

*Drum roll* We give you the answer! Tiramisu CAKE. Morning, noon and night, there is now no excuse.

Tiramisu Cake

You'll need:

For the cake:

• 175g self-raising flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 175g butter, very soft (but not melted)
• 175g golden caster sugar
• 3 free-range eggs, beaten
• 1 vanilla pod, seeds scraped out or 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 3 tbsp strong coffee

For the filling and topping:

• 2 tbsp strong coffee
• 5 tbsp brandy (or amaretto, if you prefer)
• 250g mascarpone
• 1 heaped tbsp icing sugar
• A couple of squares of good quality dark chocolate
• 1 tbsp cocoa powder (to decorate)

Make it!

The cake:

1. Preheat your oven to 170°C/325°F/Gas Mark 3.
2. Grease and line the bottoms of two 20cm cake tins. 
3. Place the flour and baking powder in a sieve and sift together into a large mixing bowl, holding it high up to get lots of air in. 
4. Add the remaining ingredients and either whisk with an electric whisk for around 1 minute, or beat together until completely combined and the mixture falls off the spoon when tapped against the bowl. Add a little more coffee / water if it's too stiff. 
5. Spoon into the cake tins and bake for 30-35 minutes, until risen and golden and the sponge springs back when pressed. 
6. Leave to cool in the tins for a minute or two, then turn out onto a wire rack to cool. 

The filling:

1. Whilst the cakes are still just warm, turn them over and drizzle the undersides alternately with the coffee and 4 tbsp of the brandy. 
2. Place the mascarpone in a bowl, along with the icing sugar and remaining 1 tbsp brandy and beat together. 
3. When the cakes are cool, smooth half the mascarpone over the bottom cake. 
4. Finely grate the dark chocolate over the mascarpone, then sandwich the other cake on top.
5. Smooth mascarpone over the top layer. 
6. When you're ready to serve the cake, dust the top liberally with cocoa powder and stand back, to survey your masterpiece.