This is a variant on the traditional tiramisu using cake mix instead of sponge fingers. Same taste, lots less work!
Awesome recipe. Seriously, it inspired awe in those who tasted it. I just wanted to repost a mascarpone substitute I found in another Tiramisu recipe. It worked wonderfully in this one! HEIDI8803 posted this in Raspberry Tiramisu, not sure which recipe she got it from: mascarpone substitute- 2pkgs cream cheese blended with 1/2 c heavy cream and 5 T sour cream And, to reiterate other advice given by previous reviewers, I too made two of the three cake layers with the instant coffee (I'd've made it three, but the changing colors are beautiful) and I doubled the coffee liquer everywhere it was called for. I think next time I'm going to add chocolate covered coffee beans around the base of the cake. ***Edit*** I've made this a few times now, and learned (the hard way) one big thing on the frosting: It is better to under whip than over. More than five minutes and you risk hitting an icky butter zone. That might be what happened to Nicky. Right at 5 min. works for me. Oh, and believe all the reviews about letting the cake sit overnight. The frosting will set better in that time. - 29 Aug 2006 (Review from Allrecipes USA and Canada)
AMAZING! Make this and you will look like a pro! My suggestions: 1) use 4x as much instant coffee powder in cake batter, and make 2 layers of coffee flavored cake 2) i followed another reviewer's suggestion for substituting mascarpone with a mix of cream cheese, sour cream, and heavy cream, and it tastes great and is cheaper 3) you must turn the cake upside down when layering, otherwise coffee liqueur will not soak into it 4) i used kahlua for liqueur 5) I used Duncan Hines supreme white cake mix-it is moist and uses egg whites 6) i used a very strong espresso instead of the coffee to give it more flavor...also, instead of making coffee/espresso, just add water to some of the instant coffee powder, it tastes just fine in the cake - 09 Mar 2007 (Review from Allrecipes USA and Canada)
Used 1 cup of coffee and 3T of liqueur. Made it twice this way and it turns out so wonderfly moist and flavorful. Oddly the coffee flavor is still very subtle. The cake layers are so moist with the extra liquid it is best to freeze them before you layer them.This way they will not fall apart when stacking. - 12 Apr 2006 (Review from Allrecipes USA and Canada)