This may be the weightiest cake I’ve ever made. It all started with a birthday cake request – always the best ones because it usually means something unique – since we all want something special for our special days – not a plain white or chocolate cake, no simple layers of simple buttercream, no repeat flavors or styles. That’s why I LOVE birthday cakes. This one was no exception. The one flavor note I got for the order was tiramisu, but of course we wanted to go in the classic layer cake direction so those perfect Italian flavors were spun into a four-layer, 9-inch cake with the most frostings, fillings, and toppings I’ve ever made for one cake. Let me just take you on a tour of this tour-de-force: alternating layers of vanilla and chocolate sponge cakes, each with a liberal wash of coffee + coffee liqueur, filled with whipped chocolate ganache (which, lo and behold, is one of the BEST frostings you can make, let me tell you, will be using that one more often), coffee buttercream, vanilla buttercream, and mascarpone whipped cream, enrobed in more whipped chocolate ganache, a final layer of coffee buttercream, and topped with a casual chocolate ganache drip and dollops of vanilla buttercream, dusted with cocoa powder.
So, there you have it – a birthday cake monstrosity that turned into an absolute glorious tower of the most incredible flavors out there. Happy birthday, Sean! And thanks for starting this whole thing, Neil, with the order! Creativity in baking is what really keeps it fun – making the same few recipes over and over again doesn’t quite do it anymore. Thanks in part to the ample time I now have at home working from our kitchen table, I now spend hours a day dreaming up new flavor combos, cupcake ideas, cake designs, cookie tweaks, and then learning techniques for brand new bakes that I’d always been too terrified to try. There’s a whole world in the pages of recipe books, especially when they’re your own!
If you’re looking for other unique birthday cake ideas, check out our other epic layer cakes like this strawberry lemonade cake, or this chocolate hazelnut cake, or this raspberry vanilla bean cake, or this chocolate mousse cake, or this floofy pineapple cake, or this strawberry cake with cream cheese buttercream, or this coffee chocolate walnut cake, or this pistachio raspberry rose cake, OR go in a whole new direction with a birthday pavlova with jasmine pastry cream and raspberry whipped cream (my personal choice)!
Gluten Free Tiramisu Layer Cake
Equipment
- Four 9-inch round cake pans
- Electric mixer
- Cake scraper
- Piping bags and tips
Ingredients
For the vanilla cake layers:
- 3 large eggs
- 3/4 Cup sour cream
- 3/4 Cup canola oil
- 3 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 Cup white sugar
- 1 1/4 Cup gluten free 1-1 flour mix with xanthan gum added (if it doesn't have xanthan gum, add 1 teaspoon xanthan gum)
- 1/2 Cup arrowroot starch
- 3/4 Cup sweet rice flour
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 Cup milk
For the chocolate cake layers:
- 3 large eggs
- 3/4 Cup sour cream
- 3/4 Cup canola oil
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 3/4 Cup white sugar
- 1 Cup gluten free 1-1 flour mix with xanthan gum added (if it doesn't have xanthan gum, add 1 teaspoon xanthan gum)
- 1/2 Cup sweet rice flour
- 1/2 Cup arrowroot starch
- 3/4 Cup dutched cocoa powder
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 3/4 tsp salt
- 3/4 Cup hot coffee
- 2 oz semi-sweet chocolate chips
For the whipped ganache:
- 24 oz mix of good quality milk and dark chocolate
- 2 Cups heavy cream
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/2 Cup powdered sugar
For the mascarpone whipped cream:
- 2 1/2 Cups heavy cream
- 16 oz mascarpone
- 1-2 Tbsp powdered sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
For the coffee buttercream:
- 3 Cups salted butter room temperature
- 4-6 Cups powdered sugar
- 1/4 Cup heavy cream
- 1/4 Cup instant coffee granules
- pinch salt
For the vanilla buttercream:
- 2 Cups salted butter
- 3-4 Cups powdered sugar
- 3 tsp vanilla extract
For the construction:
- 1/2 Cup heavy cream
- 1 Cup semi sweet chocolate chips
- 1 Cup hot coffee
- 1/2 Cup coffee liqueur (not Kahlua)
- Extra dutched cocoa powder
Instructions
To make the cakes:
- First, preheat the oven to 350° Fahrenheit and line your four 9-inch round cake pans with a circle of parchment paper and cooking spray, then set aside. Make the vanilla cake layers first. Whisk the eggs, sour cream, oil, vanilla, and sugar until smooth and thicker. Add the flours, starches, baking powder and soda, salt, and milk and whisk until smooth, then pour the batter into two of the prepared pans.
- Then make the chocolate cake layers. Add the chocolate chips into the hot coffee and stir until melted/combined. In the same empty bowl, whisk the eggs, sour cream, oil, vanilla, and sugar until smooth. Add in the flour, starches, cocoa powder, baking powder and soda, and salt and whisk to combine. Finally, add in the coffee + chocolate mixture and stir until fully mixed. Pour the batter into the two remaining cake pans and then bake all four cakes for 25-35 minutes or until a knife or skewer inserted into the center of the cakes comes out clean. Let cakes cool completely before turning out.
Make the fillings and frostings:
- First, make the whipped ganache. Heat the two cups of cream in the microwave for 1-2 minutes or until very hot, remove, and pour over the 24 oz of chocolate in a medium mixing bowl and let sit for 2-3 minutes, then whisk until all chocolate has melted. Refrigerate until cool (about 40 minutes), stirring every 10 minutes. Once cool, start beating the ganache with an electric mixer until smooth, and add in the powdered sugar and salt and beat until thick and fluffy. It should be spreadable. Set aside (do not refrigerate) until using. Scoop into a piping bag and cut a 1/2 in tip.
- Then make the coffee wash (in the construction section). Stir together the 1 cup of coffee with 1/2 cup of coffee liqueur and set aside.
- Then make the mascarpone whipped cream. Using an electric mixer, beat the mascarpone until smoother, then add in the cream slowly, beating in between additions until the mascarpone has liquified and then the whole mixture forms soft peaks. Add in the powdered sugar and vanilla and beat until stiff peaks form. Store in the fridge until using.
- Then make the coffee and vanilla buttercreams. For each flavor, beat the butter in a medium bowl until fluffy, then add 1-2 cups of powdered sugar and beat until smooth. For the vanilla, add in the vanilla and the remaining powdered sugar and beat until smooth. Add a tablelspoon or two of cream if the frosting is too thick/not spreadable. For the coffee buttercream, dissolve the instant coffee granules in the cream and then add to the butter + powdered sugar and beat until smooth and spreadable.
Construct the cake:
- Slice off the top bump of the cake layers so each layer is flat, then apply the coffee + coffee liqueur wash to each cake layer generously. Then place one vanilla cake layer on your cake board, Pipe a rim of the whipped ganache around the edge of the cake, fill with coffee buttercream and mascarpone whipped cream, then add the chocolate cake layer and repeat until the entire cake is stacked. Add the remaining whipped ganache as the crumb coat, and then freeze for 30-45 minutes until set. Remove and apply the remaining coffee buttercream as the final frosting layer, and freeze again.
- Make the chocolate ganache for the drip. Heat the 1/2 cup of cream for one minute in the microwave, then add the chocolate chips and stir until melted, then pour ganache into a piping bag and chill in the fridge for 10 minutes or until room temp (not until firm).
- Remove the cake from the freezer and apply the chocolate drip to the top edge of the cake and the remaining ganache on top of the cake. Finally, add the remaining vanilla buttercream in piped dollops to the top of the cake and dust with cocoa powder. Freeze entire cake to set and then let thaw to room temp before serving!
Tag @sisterssansgluten on Instagram if you snap a photo of your cake!
Food photography and styling by Amelia Farber
