Easy Tiramisu Brownies

Tiramisu is one of Italy’s most famous and beloved desserts combining coffee-soaked sponge fingers, lightly sweetened mascarpone cream and cocoa powder. Earlier in October, Treviso hosted the 9th Tiramisu World Cup where, over the course of three days, 240 enthusiasts from across the globe competed for the coveted world title. To honour the event, The Sealed Bakery has combined the fudgy decadence of the chocolate brownie with the elegant sophistication of tiramisu to create a recipe that is sure to become a firm favourite!

Ingredients for the brownie batter

• 200g unsalted butter

• 230g caster sugar

• 65g light brown soft sugar

• 45g dark chocolate (minimum 70% cocoa solids)

• 45g cocoa powder

• 2 eggs

• 85g plain flour

Ingredients for the sponge finger layer

• 15-20 sponge fingers

• 150ml strong espresso coffee, cooled

Ingredients for the mascarpone layer

• 150g mascarpone

• 2 tsp icing sugar

• 3/4tsp vanilla extract

Steps

1. Preheat the oven to 180˚C (160˚C fan) and line a 20x20cm tin.    

2. Put the butter in a large saucepan followed by the caster sugar, brown sugar, cocoa powder and dark chocolate. Place the pan over a low heat and leave for 5 minutes, without stirring, until the butter has completely melted and enveloped the other ingredients. 

3. Once the butter and chocolate have fully melted, remove the pan from the heat (don’t worry if the sugar is still slightly granular at this point). 

4. Crack the eggs into a separate bowl, whisk a little, then pour into the pan and whisk the mixture together until it is glossy and all the ingredients are fully incorporated. 

5. Add the flour to the pan and whisk again briefly until just combined. Make sure you get into the corners of the pan with the whisk to catch any pockets of flour which haven’t been mixed through.  

6. Pour 2/3 of the mixture into your lined tin, tilting the tin to encourage the mixture to fill the edges in an even layer. 

7. Dip each of the sponge fingers in the cooled coffee for a few seconds (too long and they will go soggy) and place on top of the brownie batter in two rows.

8. Add the remaining brownie batter on top and gently spread the mixture so it covers the sponge fingers and reaches the edges and corners of the pan.

9. Put the mascarpone in a bowl and stir in the icing sugar and vanilla extract, mixing well to combine.

10. Drop teaspoonfuls of the mascarpone mixture across the brownie batter and use a toothpick or skewer to ripple through the topping and create a pattern.

11. Place the tin in the centre of the oven and bake for 30 minutes, until the brownie no longer wobbles when gently shaken.

12. Leave to cool in the tin before cutting into 16 squares.