This absolutely delicious cake is a dream for those who love tiramisu and is a truly great recipe that our whole family voted tasted amazing. Especially the coffee lovers were enthusiastic and asked for seconds.
Make 1-2 cups of strong coffee and put in the refrigerator to cool completely.
Separate the yolks from the egg whites.
With an electric hand mixer with whisk attachment, in a small bowl whip one egg white with 40 grams of sugar on medium speed until still peaks form and set aside.
In a separate bowl, whip the yolks with the rest of the sugar until they are thick and drizzle down slowly from a spoon and set aside.
In a large bowl, whip the mascarpone (cold from the fridge) with the Marsala or other liqueur or vanilla extract until it is creamy and set aside.
And in a fourth bowl, whip the heavy cream with an electric mixer until very firm. Fold gently the heavy cream into the mascarpone mixture.
Now slowly pour the egg yolk mixture into the mascarpone/cream mixture, gently folding it in. Do not worry if the mixture is stiff, go slowly until it is fully mixed.
Still folding gently from bottom to top, add the stiff egg white and blend in completely without "deflating" the mixture. The final outcome should be a very dense mixture.
Take out your 20-cm spring form pan. Remove the chilled coffee from the fridge and pour into a bowl for dipping if you haven't already.
Quickly roll or dip both sides of each ladyfinger into the coffee and then arrange them on the bottom of the spring form pan to create a cake layer base. When necessary, cut the ladyfingers with a knife so that they are the right length and you don't leave any spaces.
Add a layer of the mascarpone cream mixture and smooth it down with a clean knife or spatula.
Repeat the process again by adding another layer of ladyfingers dipped in espresso and another layer of the cream. You should have leftover cream that you will need to set aside for decorating the cake the next day (leave it covered with plastic wrap in the fridge).
Cover the cake with plastic wrap and put in the fridge for a minimum of 6 hours or chill overnight.
Remove the cake from the fridge. With a knife, carefully trace around the cake to loosen it from the edges of the pan and open and remove the spring form top.
With a wide knife or offset spatula cut underneath the cake layer to loosen it from the base and then transfer it from the cake pan by sliding it carefully onto a serving plate. If the cake layer is too soft to transfer, put it in the freezer for 30 minutes and try again.
Decorate the top of the chilled cake with the remaining filling using a pastry bag, adding a layer of round or teardrop looking dollops of mascarpone frosting until you evenly cover the top.
Finally, decorate the top with a dusting of cocoa powder by putting the powder in a small sieve and gently tapping the side as you move over the cake.