- 12
- 180 mins
Ingredients
- Soak:
- ¾ cup (190 g) sweet Marsala
- ½ cup plus 2 Tbsp. (150 g) brewed espresso, cooled
- Filling:
- 1½ tsp. unflavored powdered gelatin
- 1 cup (224 g) heavy cream
- 4 (59 g) large egg yolks, room temperature
- 2 Tbsp. (26 g) sweet Marsala
- 2 Tbsp. (26 g) granulated sugar
- 1 tsp. vanilla extract
- ½ tsp. kosher salt
- 8 oz. (227 g) mascarpone
- Assembly:
- Vanilla Genoise:
- 16 (240 g) large egg yolks
- Nonstick vegetable oil spray
- 1½ cups (300 g) sugar, divided
- 12 (360 g) large egg whites
- 1½ tsp. kosher salt
- 2 Tbsp. vanilla extract
- 1⅔ cups (200 g) all-purpose flour; if making chocolate version, decrease by 6 Tbsp. (50 g)
- ½ cup (50 g) Dutch-process cocoa powder (for chocolate genoise; optional)
- Espresso Swiss Meringue Buttercream:
- 1 cup plus 2 Tbsp. (225 g) granulated sugar
- 5 (135 g) large egg whites
- ½ cup (65 g) powdered sugar
- 1 cup plus 5 Tbsp. (300 g) unsalted butter, cut into pieces, room temperature
- 1 tsp. vanilla extract
- ½ tsp. kosher salt
- 1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise; 5½ oz. bittersweet chocolate, melted, cooled but still liquid; or 3 Tbsp. espresso, cooled
Preparation
Step 1
For Assembly:
Soak:
Combine Marsala and espresso in a small bowl. Cover and chill.
Do Ahead: Soak can be made 3 days ahead. Keep chilled.
Filling:
Place ¼ cup cold water in a small bowl and sprinkle gelatin evenly over top; chill until ready to use.
Beat cream in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment on medium-high speed until medium peaks form. Scrape whipped cream into a medium bowl; cover and chill. Reserve bowl; you don’t need to clean it.
Whisk egg yolks, Marsala, sugar, vanilla, and salt in a medium heatproof bowl until smooth; set over a saucepan of just barely simmering water (do not let bowl touch water). Heat, whisking constantly, until yolks are lightened in color and doubled in volume, about 5 minutes. Mixture should feel warm to the touch. Remove egg yolk mixture from heat and scrape into reserved bowl. Fit bowl onto mixer.
Remove saucepan from heat and pour out water, then scrape in softened gelatin. Heat over medium-low, swirling pan often, until gelatin is dissolved, about 1 minute. With mixer on medium speed, stream gelatin into egg yolk mixture. Beat until sides of bowl are cool to the touch, about 2 minutes; add mascarpone and beat until smooth.
Remove bowl from mixer and gently fold in chilled whipped cream. You should have about 4 cups mousse. Cover with plastic wrap, pressing directly onto surface; chill until set, at least 4 hours.
Do Ahead: Mousse can be made 3 days ahead. Keep chilled.
Assembly:
Line a 9"-diameter cake pan or springform pan with plastic wrap, pressing into bottom and leaving generous overhang. Fit a 1-piece round of cake into pan, placing bottom side up. Using a pastry brush, dab a quarter of soak across entire surface of cake. Stir chilled mousse to loosen, then scrape a third over cake and smooth into an even layer with a small offset spatula. Place another round of cake, bottom side up, on top of mousse, this time using a 2-piece layer. Repeat soaking and filling process. Top with the remaining 2-piece round of cake, bottom side up, and repeat soaking and filling process one more time. Top with remaining 1-piece round of cake, bottom side up, and brush with remaining soak. You should have 4 layers of soaked cake separated by 3 layers of filling. Wrap plastic overhang up and over cake; chill at least 12 hours and up to 2 days to allow mousse to set and cake to absorb soak.
To frost, remove plastic from top of cake and invert cake onto a cake plate or platter. Remove pan and plastic. Dollop about 1 cup buttercream over top of cake and smooth across top and down sides, creating a very thin base layer. You want to fill in any gaps, adhere any crumbs to the cake, and seal in the fillings (this is called a crumb coat). Chill cake 10 minutes, then scrape remaining frosting on top of cake and spread all over, working down and around sides. Decorate as desired.
Do Ahead: Cake can be made 2 days ahead. Chill until frosting sets, then cover loosely with plastic wrap. Let sit at room temperature 1–1½ hours before slicing.
For Swiss Meringue Buttercream:
Combine granulated sugar and egg whites in the bowl of a stand mixer and set over a medium saucepan filled with 1" of gently simmering water (do not let bowl touch water). Heat, whisking constantly, until sugar is dissolved and an instant-read thermometer registers 115°, about 5 minutes.
Fit bowl onto stand mixer fitted with whisk attachment and beat on medium-high speed until meringue is stiff, glossy, and dense, about 5 minutes. Turn off mixer, add powdered sugar, and mix on low speed until incorporated. Increase speed to medium-high and beat until the bowl is cool to the touch, about 2 minutes.
With the motor running, add butter a piece at a time, incorporating fully before adding the next piece, 8–10 minutes. If mixture starts to look chunky or liquidy, just keep beating; it will come back together. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and add vanilla extract and salt. Beat until buttercream looks glossy and smooth. Scrape in vanilla seeds (discard pod) or add chocolate or espresso, depending on desired flavor. Beat until smooth.
Do Ahead: Buttercream can be made 3 days ahead. Cover and chill. Bring to room temperature, then beat until smooth before using.
For Sponge:
Place racks in upper and lower thirds of oven; preheat to 400°. Lightly coat two 18x13" rimmed baking sheets with nonstick spray and line with parchment paper, leaving a slight overhang on longer sides. Smooth to eliminate air pockets. Lightly coat parchment with nonstick spray. Beat egg yolks in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment on medium-high speed until light and frothy. With the motor running, gradually stream in ¾ cup sugar and beat until super voluminous and light and mixture leaves a very slowly dissolving ribbon when it falls off the end of the whisk and back into the bowl, about 4 minutes. Rub a small dab between your fingers—it should be grit-free (this means all the sugar is dissolved). Scrape yolk mixture into a large wide bowl.
Thoroughly wash and dry mixer bowl and whisk, then beat egg whites and salt on medium-high until frothy. Increase speed to high and gradually add remaining ¾ cup sugar in a steady stream. Beat until meringue is glossy and forms medium peaks, about 3 minutes; beat in vanilla. (Do not overbeat—it will look dry and curdled—this makes it difficult to fold in and yields a dense genoise).
If making chocolate genoise, sift flour and cocoa powder over egg yolk mixture (or just flour if making vanilla). Vigorously fold in with a large rubber spatula, running it down along bottom of bowl and lifting up through center and over the top as you rotate bowl. The mixture will seize up and thicken quite a bit. Add one-third of meringue and mix thoroughly to incorporate (this will lighten the batter). Gently fold in remaining meringue in 2 batches (err on the side of mixing less rather than more; it’s okay if a few streaks of batter remain).
Divide batter between prepared baking sheets and spread evenly with a large offset spatula, working into corners. Bake, rotating pans from top to bottom and front to back halfway through, until top is golden and center springs back when gently pressed, 10–14 minutes. Let cool.
To cut out rounds, fit a 9"-diameter cake or springform pan into a corner of the baking sheet and work a small paring knife around pan to cut out a full circle.
Move cake pan directly next to the first cutout and cut around it again to make a partial circle. It should be about two-thirds of a full round.
Move pan again and cut a third partial circle using as much of the remaining cake as possible. This will be the smallest.
Align the two partial circles so they form a 9" round. Trim overlap so cake pieces fit together.
Save scraps for another use (trifle!). Repeat cutting process with second cake to make 2 more rounds. When you're done, you should have four 9" rounds (2 whole rounds and 2 formed from multiple pieces).
Do Ahead: Genoise can be baked 1 day ahead. Store tightly wrapped at room temperature, or freeze up to 1 week. Thaw at room temperature before using.