Coffee, chocolate, and cream ... possibly the 3 best ingredients in the world?

It seems that I am now to pay for my sleepless holiday. My health has decided to have its say in the whole matter, first taking hold of the little energy that I have left, and sending me onward, "to bed," it demands, which is now a place I yearn for almost all the time. The hideous virus finds its way into my throat, clawing from the inside out. I can feel its progression, as it rests at the back of my tongue, and sneakily creeps its way down and down, and down, until... AHA! It's got me! I'm in its grasp! I am sick with the flu. A terrible, terrible thing. Apparently I become quite dramatic as I talk about the issue.


So moving on to happy and yummy things... that is, cream, coffee and chocolate. These 3 ingredients come together and form bliss, in cake form. Truly, I tell you, this cake is delicious. Smitten Kitchen dubs it "Tiramisu" cake, but when I think of tiramisu, I imagine store bought ladyfingers, cool whip and Folgers, not that there's anything wrong with such things, it's just, this recipe is slightly more complex and time consuming. But again, I tell you, it's delicious and well worth the time. Be sure to clear at least 4 1/2 hours of your day if you've decided this cake is the one. It also makes a great birthday cake!

Tiramisu cake
Smittenkitchen.com

For cake layers:
2 cups flour
2 tsp baking power
1/8 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 1/4 sticks butter, at room temperature
1 cup sugar
3 large eggs
1 large egg yolk
1/ 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
3/4 cup buttermilk

For espresso extract:
2 tbsp ground espresso
2 tbsp boiling water

For espresso syrup:
1/2 cup water
1/3 cup sugar
1 tbsp brandy

For filling and frosting:
1 8 oz container mascarpone (or cream cheese)
1/2 cup confectioners sugar, sifted
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 tbsp brandy
1 cup heavy cream
2 1/2 oz bittersweet/semisweet chocolate, finely chopped

1. First off, preheat the oven to 350F. Butter two 9x2 inch round cake pans, and dust the insides with flour to prevent from sticking. Line the bottom of both pans with parchment/wax paper and place on baking sheet.

2. In a large bowl, sift the flour, b. power, b. soda, and salt together. In a second bowl, beat the butter until creamy with a hand beater on medium speed. Add sugar and beat for another 3 minutes. Add eggs one by one, and then the yolk, beating for 1 minute between each addition. Beat in vanilla. Reduce the mixer to low and add the dry ingredients alternately with buttermilk.

3. Divide the batter evenly between the two pans and smooth the tops. Bake for 28-30 minutes, rotating the pans at the halfway mark. Leave to cool.

4. For espresso extract: stir the ground espresso with boiling water until blended.

5. For espresso syrup: bring the water and sugar to a boil in a small saucepan. Pour the syrup into a small bowl and add 1 tbsp of espresso extract and the brandy.

6. For filling/frosting: Whisk together the mascarpone, sugar, vanilla and brandy in a large bowl until smooth.

7. In a separate bowl, whip the heavy cream until it holds firm peaks. Stir about 1/4 of the whipped cream into the mascarpone mixture. Then fold in the rest of W.C with a gentle motion.

8. Place one layer of cake on wax paper. With a pastry brush, soak the top of layer with 1/3 of espresso syrup. Smooth approx. 1 1/4 cups of mascarpone over the layer. Gently press the chopped chocolate into the mascarpone.

9. Soak the second cake layer with half of the remaining espresso syrup. Soaked side down, position over the filling of the first cake layer. Soak the top of the cake with remaining syrup.

10. For the frosting: whisk 1 1/2 tbsp of the remaining espresso extract into mascarpone mixture. Add more if you desire. Smooth the frosting around the sides of the cake and over the top.

11. Refrigerate for at least 3 hours before serving.