TIRAMISU CELEBRATION CAKE SERVES 10
300g unsalted butter, softened 4 eggs, lightly beaten 180g caster sugar, plus extra 25g 180g self-raising flour, sifted 2/3 cup (160ml) hot espresso 1/3 cup (80ml) Vin Santo (Italian dessert wine – substitute Marsala) 500g pure icing sugar, sifted 250g mascarpone 50g dark (70%) chocolate, coarsely grated, plus extra finely grated to serve Dark-chocolate-coated coffee
beans, to decorate
Preheat oven to 180°C. Grease 2 x 20cm springform cake pans and line the bases with baking paper.
Melt 50g butter and set aside. Place egg and caster sugar in a stand mixer fitted with whisk attachment and whisk for 7 minutes or until pale and tripled in volume. Using a large metal spoon, very gently fold flour into egg mixture. Pour melted butter down side of bowl and gently fold in until just combined. Divide mixture between prepared pans. Bake both cakes on the centre shelf of the oven for 25 minutes or until golden and starting to come away from the sides of pans. Cool in pans for 5 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack and cool completely.
When cool, use a serrated bread knife to trim the tops of the cakes to level, then slice each cake in half horizontally. Stir extra caster sugar into hot espresso until dissolved, then add wine. Brush tops of cakes with a little espresso mixture, reserving remaining mixture.
Place remaining 250g butter in a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and beat for 2 minutes or until thick and pale. Add icing sugar and beat for 5 minutes or until creamy. Spoon half the buttercream mixture into a separate bowl and add mascarpone. Using a wooden spoon, beat until smooth. Stir chocolate through mascarpone mixture and chill for 30 minutes or until slightly firm. Add 1 tbs reserved espresso mixture to remaining buttercream and beat until combined.
To assemble, place 1 cake on a serving plate and top with half the coffee buttercream. Top with second cake and spread with one-third mascarpone buttercream. Top with third cake and spread with remaining coffee buttercream. Top with final cake, then thinly cover cake with three-quarters remaining mascarpone buttercream.
Transfer remaining mascarpone buttercream to a piping bag fitted with a 1cm star nozzle. Pipe around top edge of cake and decorate with chocolatecoated coffee beans. Scatter with finely grated chocolate to serve.