Tiramisu Cake:

Prep. 30 minutes plus overnight to chill
Bake: 10 to 12 minutes

CAKE:

3/4 cup sugar
4 large eggs
1 cup all-purpose flour

COFFEE SYRUP:

1 cup (8 ounces) hot espresso or very strong brewed coffee
2 tablespoons sugar
3 tablespoons brandy

FILLING:

1 container (16 to 17 1/2 ounces) mascarpone cheese
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup sugar
3/4 cup heavy or whipping cream (whipped)
4 squares (4 oz.) semisweet chocolate, grated
3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder for dusting

Chocolate Curls for garnish (optional)

Prepare Cake:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Grease three 8-inch round cake pans; line bottoms with waxed paper; grease paper. Dust pans with flour.

In large bowl, with mixer at low speed, beat sugar with eggs until blended. Increase speed to high; beat 5 to 10 minutes, until mixture is pale, thick, and creamy, and batter forms a thick ribbon when beaters are lifted. with rubber spatula, gently fold in flour until mixture is well-combined.

Pour batter into pans. Bake 8 to 10 minutes, until toothpick inserted in center of cake comes out clean.

Cool in pans 1 minutes; then invert onto wire rack to cool completely.

PREPARE COFFEE SYRUP:

In small bowl, stir together espresso, 2 tablespoons sugar, and brandy; let cool.

PREPARE FILLING:

In large bowl, with mixer at high speed, beat mascarpone, milk, and 1/2 cup sugar 3 minutes, or until very light and fluffy.

In small bowl, with same beaters, beat cream to soft peaks. With rubber spatula, gently fold whipped cream into mascarpone mixture.

Place 1 cake round, smooth side down, on cake plate. With pastry brush, brush one-third of coffee syrup over cake. Spread half the cheese filling, followed by half the grated chocolate. Continue layering the ingredients, ending with the third cake layer brushed with syrup. Cover and refrigerate overnight.

To serve, dust cake with cocoa and decorate with chocolate curls, if desired. Makes 16 servings.

CHOCOLATE CURLS:

In 1 - quart saucepan, heat 3 ounces (1/2 cup) semisweet chocolate pieces with 1 tablespoon vegetable shortening over low heat, stirring frequently, until melted and smooth. Pour chocolate mixture into foil-lined or disposable 5 3/4" by 3 1/4" loaf pan. Refrigerate about 2 hours, until chocolate is set. Remove chocolate from pan. Using a vegetable peeler, draw blade across surface of chocolate to make large curls. If chocolate appears too brittle to curl, let stand at room temperature 30 minutes to soften slightly. to avoid breaking curls, use a toothpick to lift and transfer to cake.