Tiramisu Choc Cake:

A little more fiddly than the usual but SO worth it. It's just a lot of steps, once you've mastered the basic techniques required it should just be a question of time.

4 large eggs + 4 yolks                70ml hot double espresso or other really strong coffee

210g caster sugar                                                                            1 tsp coffee extract

1½ tsp vanilla extract                                                                               120ml Marsala

50g butter                                                  200g white chocolate, ½ chopped, ½ grated

100g plain flour                                                   200g dark chocolate, grated *see Tips*  25g + 1½ tbsp dark cocoa powder                                     500g mascarpone *see Tips*

¾ tsp baking powder                                                                                 Pinch of salt

1 tbsp Demerara sugar

OVEN: 180°C (Fan = -20). Grease and line 2 x 20cm sandwich tins then melt the butter and set aside to cool a little. Beat the 4 whole eggs with 140g sugar and the vanilla for a while (approx. 10 minutes). The mix should go pale and thick and should treble in volume.

Sieve together the flour, the 25g of cocoa, the baking powder and the salt, then gently incorporate by folding into the egg-sugar mix. Pour in the butter. Pouring it in around the edge means you’ll be less likely to knock out any air from your sponge. Divide between the tins, smooth the tops a little then on one of them, scoop a dent into the middle. As it rises in the middle, this will ensure it stays a flat top. This will form the bottom tier.

Bake for 11 minutes and leave to cool slightly in the tin. Then turn the bottom tier upside-down on a wire rack. This will help flatten out any bumps in the top and place the top tier normally to cool. For the filling, dissolve the Demerara sugar in the coffee and the coffee extract.

Now, vigorously whisk the yolks with the remaining caster sugar and the Marsala for 6 minutes-ish over a bain-marie. Again, it should have gone really thick and trebled in size. Remove from the heat, then carry on whisking until it has gone cold.

Keep your bain-marie and melt the chopped white chocolate and set aside to cool a little. Meanwhile, loosen the mascarpone by whisking until smooth. Fold into the egg-sugar mix then fold in the cooled melted chocolate.

Slice the cakes in half horizontally. Place one layer that is perfectly flat in the bottom of a 20cm springform tin and brush with the coffee syrup. Spread over 3 tbsp of the frosting and scatter with 1 tbsp of the dark chocolate. Repeat until the cake’s fourth layer. This should be the layer with the risen bump. Cover with cling film and chill in the fridge for 2 - 3 hours along with the remaining frosting.

Remove the tin; put on a serving plate then cover with the remaining frosting and cover the sides with leftover grated dark and white chocolate. Dust the top with the remaining tbsp of cocoa.

Here, praline was stuck on the sides instead of grated chocolate - it can taste just as good but it's straying away from the traditional tiramisu flavour, but that's totally cool.