TIRAMISU TORTE

Everyone loves tiramisu, but for a special occasion, a flat dish of the layered ladyfingers with their mascarpone cream can look underwhelming when presented at the table. This torte has all of the elements of classic tiramisu, but can be sliced like a cake.

Makes 1 9-inch (23cm) torte Serves 16 to 20

Syrup • 1/4 cup (60 mL) granulated sugar • ½ cup (125 mL) hot strongly brewed coffee • 2 tbsp (30 mL) brandy or Madeira

Cream • 2 cups (500 mL) whipping cream (35% cream) • 2 tbsp (30 mL) instant skim milk powder • 1 tbsp (12 g) granulated sugar • 1 tsp (5 mL) vanilla extract

Filling • 1 lb (450 g) mascarpone cheese • 5 large egg yolks • ½ cup (100 g) granulated sugar • 2 tbsp (30 mL) brandy or Madeira

Assembly • 1 Genoise sponge cake (recipe follows) • 16-24 lady finger biscuits • dark chocolate, for grating

1. For the syrup, stir the sugar and coffee together until the sugar has dissolved and stir in the Madeira or brandy. Cool until ready to use.

2. For the cream, whip the cream with the skim milk powder until the cream holds a soft peak when the beaters are lifted. Stir in the sugar and vanilla. Chill until ready to assemble.

3. For the filling, beat the mascarpone gently to soften and then fold inhalf of the whipped cream in two additions. It may take folding this quite vigorously, using a whisk (depending on the brand of the mascarpone and how firm or soft it is). Don’t worry if the cream deflates a little when folding – this is factored in. Set aside. TIRAMISU TORTE (cont’d)

4. Place a saucepot with an inch of water over medium heat until simmering. Whisk the egg yolks, sugar, ¼ cup (60 mL) of the coffee syrup and the Madeira or brandy in a metal bowl and place this over the pot of simmering water, whisking constantly until the mixture has more than doubled in volume and holds a “ribbon” on the surface when the whisk is lifted. Remove from the heat whisk in a third of the mascarpone mixture until smooth (again, if it deflates a little, that is alright) and then fold in the remaining two-thirds of the mascarpone cream. Set aside or chill until ready to assemble.

5. To assemble, slice the Genoise cake in half horizontally. Place a 9-inch (23-cm) springform pan ring on top of a platter or cake board and place one of the cake layers in the bottom (there will be a 1-inch/25mm gap between the cake and pan). Arrange the lady finger biscuits upright around the inside edge of the pan** (the cake layer will help secure them in place). Brush half of the syrup over the sponge cake and top with half of the filling, spreading evenly. Top this with the second cake layer, brush with the remaining syrup and top with the remaining filling, spreading. Top this with remaining whipped cream, spread evenly and top with a little grating of milk chocolate. Chill for at least 4 hours before serving.

To serve, unlatch and remove the springform ring from the cake, and cut into slices.

**If the lady fingers are taller than the height of the springform cake ring, you can trim a little from one end of each biscuit, making a flat end to place at the bottom when arranging. GENOISE SPONGE CAKE

Makes one 8-inch (20-cm) sponge cake

• 4 large eggs, at room temperature • 2/3 cup (130 g) granulated sugar • 2/3 cup (100 g) all-purpose flour • ¼ tsp (1 g) salt • 4 tsp (20 g) unsalted butter, melted • 1 tsp (5 mL) vanilla extract

1. Preheat the oven to 325°F (160°C). Line the bottom of a 9-inch (23 cm) springform pan with parchment paper, but do not grease the pan or line the sides with parchment.

2. Using beaters or a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, whip the eggs and sugar on high speed until they are almost white in colour, more than triple in volume and hold a ribbon when the beaters are lifted, about 5 minutes.

3. Sift the flour and salt and, still on medium speed, add the flour to the egg mixture. Spoon about a cup of the batter into a bowl, and stir in the melted butter and vanilla. Add this all back to the full batter and stir by hand until blended. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for about 40 minutes, until the centre of the cake springs back when gently pressed. Cool the cake completely in the pan.

4. To extract the cake from the pan, run a palette knife around the inside edge of the pan to loosen to cake, then unlatch the ring and peel away the parchment paper from the bottom.

Genoise sponge can be made a day ahead and wrapped in plastic wrap (do not refrigerate), or frozen and thawed when needed.