Lemon Tiramisu Cake, made with a homemade or store bought Angel Food Cake. Filled and frosted with a creamy Mascarpone Lemon mixture. No eggs needed! The perfect family or get together dessert.

Cake on a wire rack and a slice on a black plate.

I think you all know how much we love lemon recipes, from cookies to a sweet bread to even a favorite Italian lemon cake. and I am happy to say so does the Italian. These past two or three weeks he has been very happy about what has been coming out of the oven or off the stove.

From Butter Tarts to Hazelnut Cream Hand pies to these Lemon glazed baked donuts and now this Lemon Tiramisu recipe.

Instead of making a Tiramisu with either Lady Fingers or a typical Italian Sponge Cake, I decided to make it with a lighter Angel Food Cake. Yes homemade and no it isn’t nearly has hard as you may think.

Recipe Ingredients

For the cake

Flour – all purpose/plain flour or pastry flour
Salt
Sugar – granulated sugar or fine sugar
Egg whites – room temperature
Lemon juice – fresh lemon juice, room temperature
Vanilla – vanilla extract

Lemon Syrup

Water
Sugar – granulated sugar
Lemon juice – fresh lemon juice

Tiramisu Filling

Mascarpone cheese – room temperature
Cream – whole/heavy or whipping cream with at least 30% fat content
Powdered sugar – also known as icing sugar or confectioners sugar
Lemon zest

How to Make Cake Flour

For every cup of all purpose flour, remove two tablespoons and replace with two tablespoons of corn starch. Be sure to sift the flour and cornstarch together a couple of times, this way it is sure to be properly combined and lump free. Cake flour in cakes will give you a very tender texture and fine crumb, it will also help the cake to rise.

If you want, a store bought Angel Food Cake would work too and then it becomes No Bake also!

How to make Lemon Tiramisu

To make the cake – Sift together flour, salt and 1/4 cup sugar 3 times.

In a large bowl beat egg whites, lemon juice and vanilla on medium speed until soft peaks form, gradually add the 1 cup sugar (a little at a time), continue beating until stiff peaks form (don’t over beat).

Fold in flour (quarter cup at a time), gently fold until combined (do not over fold). Spoon into ungreased 9 inch tube pan. Gently cut through batter with a metal knife to eliminate air bubbles.

Bake until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool in the pan upside down. Remove from pan and slice in half horizontally.

Drizzle bottom half with the lemon syrup and top with half the Tiramisu filling, repeat with top half. Refrigerate for about four hours or even over night, sprinkle with white chocolate flakes and dried lemon zest if desired before serving.

To make the lemon syrup – In a small pot mix together water, sugar and lemon juice, heat on a slow boil until sugar has completely dissolved and mixture has thickened slightly, approximately 10-15 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool completely.

To make the Tiramisu filling – Gently mix together mascarpone and lemon zest, add cream and sugar and beat until thick.

Cake on a wire rack with frosting and decorations on top.

Where did it originate?

The origins of Tiramisu are actually unknown as pretty well every region in Italy claims it as their invention! In fact a small dispute started between Tuscany, Piedmont, Friuli Venezia Giulia and Veneto.

There are many stories that started on how this dessert came about, but the official version places the origin of tiramisu in the seventeenth century in Siena. Some pastry chefs, decided to prepare a dessert to celebrate the arrival of the Grand Duke of Tuscany Cosimo de Medici.

They wanted it to reflect his personality. It had to be stunning and very tasty, but they wanted simple ingredients. But most importantly it had to be rich and decadent. And that is how Tiramisu came about. And rightly named Pick me Up.

Can I add alcohol to the dessert?

Yes you can for this recipe I would use Limoncello, instead of making a lemon syrup you could combine the liqueur with a little water and wet the cake with that.

How to store the Tiramisu cake

The cake should be kept in the fridge in an airtight container or well covered with plastic wrap, it will keep for 2-3 days in the fridge.

How to freeze it

It is best to freeze the cake the same day you prepare it. Place it in a sealed freezer container to prevent freezer condensation from penetrating and ruining it. It will keep for up to 2 weeks in the freezer.

To thaw the cake in order to avoid harmful sudden changes in temperature, it must first be place in the fridge for at least a few hours and then it can be moved to room temperature.

So there you go my Canadian upbringing meets the Italian Tiramisu, you don’t always have to go by the book. Enjoy!