Tiramisu My Little Pony Birthday Cake ***



Earlier this week I baked a practice birthday cake for my 10 year-old's birthday.  She decided on a tiramisu cake for her birthday cake.  I decorated the cake with purple ribbons and My Little Pony figures.  It was a big hit!

I searched online for a tiramisu cake recipe and decided on this one from GrabandgoRecipes.com  I've included the recipe, with my variations, in this post but you can also visit the website for step-by-step instructions with pictures.  The cake had a great tiramisu flavor and the birthday girl loved it.  And really that is all that matters :)

Ingredients:
Cake Layers
8 eggs
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
2 Tbsp. cornstarch
1 tsp. vanilla extract

Syrup
2 Tbsp. sugar
3/4 cup strong brewed coffee (I used 3/4 cup water and instant espresso.)
2 Tbsp. Heavy Cream

Filling
(I doubled this amount so I had enough to decorate the cake.)
2 (8 ounce) container mascarpone cheese
2 cups powder sugar
1 Tbsp. vanilla extract
3 cups heavy cream
             
Topping
3 Tbsp. cocoa powder for dusting


Directions:
Cake layers
1.  Preheat oven to 350F. Grease, flour and line with parchment 2 (9 inch) pans.
2.  In a mixer whip eggs and 1 1/2 cups sugar until thick and pale in color.
3.  In separate bowl combine flour and cornstarch; sift into the separate bowl.
4.  Gently using rubber spatula fold in flour mixture. Divide batter between 2 pans.
5.  Bake in the preheated oven for 20 to 25 minutes. Let cool completely.

Filling
Combine mascarpone, powder sugar and vanilla in a large bowl. With electric mixer whisk together until completely smooth, scraping the bottom of the bowl to remove any lumps. Slowly whisk in the heavy cream. Whip until soft peaks form. (I did this is 2 batches with 1/2 the ingredients in each batch.  I also made double the amount (so 4 batches) as I knew I needed it for frosting and decorating.)

Syrup
Stir together sugar, heavy cream, coffee and coffee liqueur until sugar is dissolved. Set aside.

Assembling the cake
1.  Slice each cake in half so you have a total of 4 layers.  Place one cake layer on a serving plate. Spray with coffee mixture over cake until it’s well soaked, and then spread 1 1/2 cups of the filling mixture over the cake layer and dust with 1 tablespoon of cocoa powder, top with the next cake layer.  Repeat with the next 2 layers.  On the final layer, spray the cake layer with the coffee mixture.  When you place the layer on the cake, do so upside down so the top of the cake is not the side you sprayed with the coffee mixture.  

2.  Lightly spread the sides of cake with filling.  Try to make sure the filling is evenly spread over the top and sides of the cake.  Using about 1/2 of the extra batch of filling, even out and make sure the cake has a nice coating of frosting.

3.  Color the remaining filling a light purple color and fill a piping bag.  Add more purple coloring to make a medium purple color and fill a pipping bag.  Add more purple coloring to make a deep purple color and fill a pipping bag.

4.  Using a petal tip, pipe 2-3 ribbons of the lightest purple 2/3 up the sides of the cake.  Repeat with the medium purple color and then the deep purple color.

5.  Refrigerate for a few hours or overnight.

6.  Enjoy!!!



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