Tiramisu Roulade, Reshaped!

This was supposed to be a roulade, or more commonly known here as swiss roll.

But my rolling technique failed miserably! So, it became a stack tiramisu cake instead. But it tasted just as fantastic as I expected it to be.

Have I mentioned that I'm a HUGE fan of Australian cake recipes and ideas?! ESPECIALLY recipes that are from the Australian Women's Weekly. They are my favorites! So far, all of AWW's cake recipes that I've tried have been accurate and yielded successful results. This 'almost' roulade was no exception.

Back to my failed attempt and the suspected reason for it. I didn't have a proper swiss roll cake pan to begin with, one that is wide or large enough for the batter to spread across more thinly. So, I had no choice but to use my rather small rectangular cookie tray, thinking that 'it'll do it'. Of course it didn't (yes, I'm blaming my pan!) as my cake turned out a tad too thick to be rolled successfully. Thus, it cracked while being rolled. I rolled and unrolled several times and when the cream started to spill out and everything became messy, that's it!! My patience ran thin. In the end, I thought what the heck, all I wanted was to eat this cake regardless what shape it takes. So, I scooped out all the cream again (yes, messy! messy!), cut the cake where it cracked and I got four pieces. I then stacked two pieces, with generous amount of the delicious smooth cream sandwiched in between.

The cake batter is very simple to make and it gives a very airy and light texture. The cream, which combines mascarpone cheese and thickened cream, is infused with coffee flavored liqueur and imparts a lovely aroma and full-bodied creamy taste. This cake makes a superb light but very satisfying dessert after a hearty meal.

I may have failed at my rolling technique but I'm sure you wouldn't. So here goes the recipe for the Australian Women's Weekly's Tiramisu Roulade.

2 tbsps coffee-flavored liqueur (I used Kahlua)
1/4 cup water
2 tbsps caster sugar
1 tbsp instant coffee granules
1 tbsp hot water
3 eggs
1/2 cup caster sugar (extra)
1/2 cup plain flour
2 tbsps flaked almonds

Coffee Liqueur Cream
1 cup mascarpone
1/2 cup thickened cream
2 tbsps coffee-flavored liqueur

1. Grease 25cm x 30cm swiss roll pan; line base and two sides with baking paper, extending paper 5 cm over long sides
2. Combine liqueur with the water and sugar in a small saucepan; bring to boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, without stirring, for about 5 minutes or until syrup thickens slightly. Remove from heat, stir in half of the coffee; reserve syrup.
3. Dissolve remaining coffee in the hot water.
4. Beat eggs and extra sugar in small bowl with electric mixer about 5 minutes or until sugar is dissolved and mixture is thick; fold in dissolved coffee.
5. Meanwhile, sift flour twice, then sift again over egg mixture and gently fold into mixture. Spread sponge mixture into pan; sprinkle with almonds. Bake about 15-20 minutes or until cake is done at 170 deg C.
6. Meanwhile. place a piece of baking paper cut the same size as the swiss roll pan on working top; sprinkle evenly with about 2 tbsps of caster sugar. Turn sponge onto sugared paper; peel away lining paper. Roll sponge from long side, using paper as guide; cool.
7. Meanwhile, beat ingredients for coffee liqueur cream in a bowl with electric mixer until firm peaks form. Unroll sponge, brush with reserved syrup. Spread cream over sponge then re-roll sponge. Cover roulade with plastic wrap; refrigerate 30 minutes before serving.

Happy rolling!