Tiramisu Tart

My husband and I devoured this Tiramisu Tart in record-breaking time. The nutty, crisp pastry combined with the coffee-soaked, chocolate sponge, and the indulgent mascarpone cream is simply irresistible! If you’re a classic tiramisu fan, you are going to love this Tiramisu Tart recipe!

This Tiramisu Tart is just what I needed. Not only to tame my tiramisu cravings but to snap me out of a creative rut. As we enter out 20,000^th day of confinement here in Paris (kidding, it’s only been 44 days), I’m finding it more and more difficult to create and to remain productive. I never really realized how much inspiration came from my day to day life in Paris, during peaceful strolls or even passing time on the subway. So, when I came across this recipe in this month’s Delicious Australia magazine, it filled me with inspiration and I knew I had to make it.

I made a few adjustments to the original recipe as I encountered some problems. I changed the cream recipe completely and used a recipe that is 100% delicious and virtually foolproof. It’s from a cookbook I can’t recommend enough called, La Cucina Di Big Mamma.

I’m so glad I came across this recipe, not just because it’s insanely delicious but because it reignited my love for baking, which had slowly been fading away during the last couple of weeks of confinement. Hopefully you love it as much as I do!

TIP: Managing your time can often be a little stressful when making a more complicated dessert, such as this one. For stress-free cooking, I recommend preparing the tart base and the sponge cake the night before. Like that, they can slowly cool and be ready to assemble the next day. Just make sure that you wrap the sponge cakes in plastic film so they don’t dry out.

Print Recipe

Tiramisu Tart

Servings: 8 people

Ingredients

The tart base

• 75 g of salted mixed nuts
• 190 g of plain flour
• 30 g of sugar
• 150 g of cold butter
• 20 ml of icy cold water

The chocolate sponge cake

• 10 g of butter
• 90 g of egg white
• 80 g of caster sugar
• 60 g of egg yolk
• 1 vanilla bean seeds scrapped
• 35 g of flour
• ¼ tsp of baking powder
• 30 g of cocoa powder

The coffee syrup

• 60 ml of strong coffee or espresso
• 2 tsp of sugar
• A splash of marsala optional

The cream

• 250 ml of whipping cream crème 35%
• 4 egg yolks
• 70 g of caster sugar
• 400 g of mascarpone
• 2 tbsp of marsala optional

To assemble

• 1 tbsp of cacao powder
• 100 g of dark chocolate

Instructions

For the tart base

• Preheat the oven 180°C and grease a 28cm pie dish.
• Blend the mixed nuts until they resemble coarse breadcrumbs.
• Chop the butter into small cubes and place in a large bowl with the blended nuts, flour and sugar.
• Using the tips of your fingers rub the butter into the dry ingredients until it becomes a sandy texture. Add a couple of tablespoons of the cold water and knead the dough for approximately 5 minutes or until a smooth, firm dough has formed.
• Flatten into a disk, cover in plastic film and place in the fridge for at least an hour.
• Remove the dough from the fridge and roll it out between two sheets of baking paper so that it is roughly 4mm in thickness. Place the dough into the prepared pie dish and trim any overhanging pastry. Don’t worry if the dough tears or if there are holes, simply use the off cuts to patch it up. Place in the freezer for half an hour, then blind bake for 30 minutes. Remove the weights and baking paper used for blind baking, reduce oven temperature to 160°C and bake for a further 15 minutes.
• Allow to cool.

The chocolate sponge cake

• Preheat the oven to 170°C and grease and line a cake tin slightly smaller than your pie dish.
• Melt the butter in the microwave and set aside to cool slightly.
• Using an electric mixer, beat the egg whites. Once they begin to foam, add the sugar a little at a time. Continue to beat until stiff peaks form. Add the egg yolks and vanilla and beat on high speed for 5 seconds.
• Sift in the flour, baking powder, and cocoa powder into the egg mixture, then use a spatula to gently fold them in until just incorporated (it’s important not to over mix).
• Mix a couple of tablespoons of the cake mix with the melted butter until homogenous then fold back into the cake mix.
• Pour into prepared cake tin and bake for 20 minutes.
• Allow to cool completely, then unmould it and slice it horizontally so you have two cake layers.

The coffee syrup

• Brew your coffee and while it’s still hot, add the sugar and marsala. Set aside for later.

The cream

• Start by whipping the cream until still peaks form. Set aside.
• In another bowl, beat the egg yolks and sugar until pale and creamy. Add the mascarpone and whisk until smooth.
• Using a spatula, gently fold in the whipped cream, followed by the marsala (if using).

To assemble

• Cover the base of the tart in a thick layer of cream (a little less than 1/3 of your mixture).
• Add a layer of sponge cake, then using a spoon drizzle over half of the coffee syrup.
• Cover with half of the remaining cream. Add the other layer of cake and drizzle with the remaining coffee syrup. Cover the cake with the remaining cream.
• Blend the chocolate for a second or two so you have ‘chocolate rubble’, then sprinkle it over the tart followed by a little sifted cacao powder. Place in the fridge for an hour to set before serving.