Easy Tiramisu

Joje in Oklahoma City, OK, United States's Note:

It was "love-at-first-bite" when I first tasted "Tiramisu" last year in a Seattle restaurant, while there visiting our son and Czech daughter-in-law. This spring, my DH and I had Tiramisu again, in several different restaurants during the 4 weeks we were visiting in the Czech Republic. I'd never considered making it, myself, until I found this recipe in THE CAKE DOCTOR cookbook, as I thought it would be too complicated to make at home. Preparation includes 5 minutes for assembly.

• Total Time: 45 mins
• Prep Time: 15 mins
• Cook Time: 30 mins

Ingredients:

Servings: 20

CAKE

• vegetable oil cooking spray , for misting the pan
• 1 (18 ¼ ounce) package plain white cake mix
• 1 1⁄3; cups water
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil (such as canola, corn, safflower, soybean, or sunflower)
• 3 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

SYRUP

• ¾ cup hot water
• 2 tablespoons instant coffee powder
• 3 tablespoons granulated sugar
• ¼ cup Kahlua or ¼ cup other coffee-flavored liqueur

TOPPING

• 2 cups low-fat vanilla yogurt or 2 cups nonfat vanilla yogurt
• 1 (16 ounce) package cream cheese , at room temperature
• ¼ cup confectioners' sugar
• 1 teaspoon unsweetened cocoa powder

Directions:

1. Place a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 350°F.
2. Lightly mist a 13- by 9-inch baking pan with vegetable oil spray.
3. Set the pan aside.
4. Place the cake mix, water, oil, eggs, and vanilla in a large mixing bowl.
5. Blend with an electric mixer on low speed for 1 minute.
6. Stop the machine and scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula.
7. Increase the mixer speed to medium and beat 2 minutes more, scraping the sides down again, if needed.
8. The batter should look thick and well blended.
9. Pour the batter into the prepared pan, smoothing it out with the rubber spatula.
10. Place the pan in the oven.
11. Bake the cake until it is golden brown and springs back when lightly pressed with your finger, 32 to 35 minutes.
12. Remove the pan from the oven and place it on a wire rack to cool.
13. Meanwhile, prepare the syrup.
14. Place the hot water, coffee powder, and sugar in a small bowl and stir to combine until the coffee and sugar dissolve.
15. Stir in the coffee liqueur.
16. Poke holes in the cake with a chopstick or drinking straw and spoon the syrup over the cake so that the syrup can seep down into the holes.
17. Set the cake aside.
18. Prepare the topping.
19. Place the yogurt, cream cheese, and confectioners' sugar in a large mixing bowl and blend with an electric mixer on low speed for 1 to 2 minutes.
20. The mixture should look well combined and thick.
21. Spread the topping over the syrup-soaked cake, using the rubber spatula to spread the topping out to the edges of the cake.
22. No more than an hour before serving, sift the cocoa powder over the topping so that it covers the top of the cake.
23. Slice the cake into squares and serve.
24. Store this cake, covered in aluminum foil, in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.

Reviews

[Sharlene~W]

My daughter and her friends made this for an international food day at high school. They picked it from the other recipes because it looked easy, but I think it missed the mark on flavor--straying too far from what a "real tiramisu" tastes like. They were excited about making it and my daughter wanted me to make one for us to eat at home. The quantity of syrup was sufficient, but unless you poke your holes big and deep it won't soak down into the cake. As other reviewers indicated, 16 oz of cream cheese must be wrong and would have been way too much topping regardless. I used 8 ounces and halved the other topping ingredients. The flavor of the cream cheese and the yogurt was barely sweet and the whole effect was disappointing.

[Stepford Wife]

I LOVE real Tiramisu!This was pretty good for a quick fix. However, I would double the coffee/Kahlua mixture next time. And I think the amount of cream cheese is wrong-they don't come in 16oz. packages. So I used two 8oz. packages instead and it made WAY too much. I also used 3/4C. strong coffee instead of the instant for a deepened flavor (good idea!), and replaced the yogurt with heavy cream. I would make it again with these changes.

[ltlfruity]

When we used whipping cream in place of the yogurt, this dessert is fabulous!