Chocolate Coffee Tiramisu Cake — Layered Espresso Dessert

This mouthwatering classic Italian dessert has been transformed into cake form. This Tiramisu Cake combines layers of vanilla and chocolate-coffee sponge with a light, fluffy cream cheese buttercream, finished with grated chocolate and chocolate coffee beans.

This indulgent Tiramisu Cake is perfect when you want to impress — it tastes decadent, looks stunning and is surprisingly achievable at home.

The recipe below guides you through each step so you get a reliably delicious result. It’s an excellent choice for celebrations or a grown-up coffee-and-cake gathering.

Why you’ll love this Tiramisu Cake recipe

⭐️ Light sponge with rich coffee and chocolate flavour

⭐️ Impressively layered and beautiful

⭐️ Manageable to make at home

How we came up with this recipe

My love of tiramisu started years ago and the flavours naturally evolved into a layered cake. I took a familiar tiramisu filling and paired it with alternating vanilla and coffee-chocolate sponges to create a dramatic layered dessert that still captures the airy creaminess of the original.

Tiramisu Cake Ingredients

• Unsalted butter
• Soft light brown sugar
• Caster sugar
• Eggs – medium, free range
• Self-raising flour
• Cocoa powder
• Instant coffee granules
• Boiling water

For the icing:

• Unsalted butter
• Coffee-flavoured icing sugar — or plain icing sugar with instant coffee mixed in (see notes)
• Full-fat cream cheese
• Vanilla extract

To decorate:

• Dark chocolate, grated
• Chocolate coffee beans, to garnish

How to make Tiramisu Cake

1. Grease two 7″ round deep cake tins and preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F).
2. Cream the room-temperature butter with the brown sugar and caster sugar until pale and fluffy.
3. Beat in the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition. If the mixture looks slightly curdled, continue — it will come together.
4. Fold in the self-raising flour by hand to keep the sponge light.
5. Weigh or divide the batter in half. Place half into one prepared tin.
6. In a mug, dissolve the cocoa and instant coffee in the boiling water, then stir this mixture into the remaining batter. Pour into the second tin.
7. Level the batter in both tins and make a slight dip in the centre to allow for rising.
8. Bake for 30–35 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean. Oven times can vary, so adjust by a few minutes if needed.
9. While the cakes bake, make the icing: beat the butter until pale and fluffy, then gradually beat in the coffee-flavoured icing sugar for about 10 minutes until light. Beat in the cream cheese and vanilla until smooth.
10. When the cakes are completely cool, level the tops with a carving knife and trim off the crust to ensure even layers.
11. Carefully slice each cake horizontally to create four even layers.
12. Assemble the cake by sandwiching the layers with buttercream, alternating the vanilla and chocolate-coffee sponges, and spread a layer on top.
13. Cover the sides with buttercream and press the grated dark chocolate onto the sides to coat.
14. Finish the top with more buttercream, pipe swirls if desired, and decorate with chocolate coffee beans.

Top tips

Butter

Use butter at room temperature for easy creaming. If it’s too cold, soften briefly in the microwave until just workable.

Coffee-flavoured icing

If you don’t have coffee-flavoured icing sugar, mix 2 tbsp instant coffee with 1 tbsp boiling water and add this to plain icing sugar to taste.

FAQs