Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it’s investigating the financials of Elon Musk’s pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, ‘The A Word’, which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Read more
“Tiramisu is one of the most iconic and classic desserts in the world, and my gosh, do I adore it! Typically it has a layer of coffee-soaked sponge fingers, with a whipped mascarpone topping. Oh my. However, translating that idea into a layered sponge cake is EVEN BETTER,” promises food writer and blogger Jane Dunn.
“I make a moist and light sponge cake, soak it with a coffee sugar syrup, then decorate it with a sweetened coffee soft cheese frosting, and it is so tasty. This cake is 100 per cent the cake I would bring to a party and maybe just sit and eat myself, as I wouldn’t want to share.”
Tiramisu layer cake
Serves: 15+
Ingredients:
400g unsalted butter or baking spread, at room temperature
400g soft light brown sugar
400g self-raising flour
7 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
For the syrup:
100ml water
100g soft light brown sugar
2 tbsp instant coffee
75ml Kahlúa
For the frosting:
200g unsalted butter, at room temperature
200g icing sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp instant coffee, dissolved and cooled
400g full-fat soft cheese
1 tsp cocoa powder
Method:
open image in gallery
‘Jane’s Patisserie: Classic’ is packed with nostalgic bakes, twists and treats (Ebury Press)
1. Preheat the oven to 180C/160C fan and line three 20cm round cake tins with parchment paper.
2. In a large bowl, beat the butter and sugar until combined. Add the flour, eggs and vanilla extract to the bowl and beat again. Split the mixture between the three tins and bake for 30-35 minutes.
3. For the syrup: While the cakes bake, add the water, sugar, instant coffee and Kahlúa to a pan. Heat over a low heat until the sugar has dissolved. Soak into the baked cakes once they are out of the oven and leave them to cool fully in the tins.
4. For the frosting: Beat the butter in a large bowl on its own for a couple of minutes until smooth. Add the icing sugar, vanilla extract and cooled coffee and mix again until smooth. Add the soft cheese, and beat in fully. Layer the sponges with the frosting, until you reach the top layer – I like to pipe mine onto the top, but you can swirl it over and sprinkle it with cocoa powder.
Notes:
You can make this alcohol-free by leaving out the coffee liqueur and replacing it with more instant coffee dissolved in water, or just more water.You can make the sponges chocolatey by replacing 75g of self-raising flour with 75g of cocoa powder.
Recipe from ‘Jane’s Patisserie: Classic’ by Jane Dunn (Ebury Press, £25).
Dining and Cooking