Tiramisu Bread

I thought I’d try this great bread I’d seen in an issue of Cuisine At Home magazine. It looked so good and reminded me of one of my favorite desserts, Tiramisu. Its not too sweet, and a perfect anytime treat. Even the batter tastes yummy!

If you can’t find espresso powder (I found it in Williams-Sonoma and King Arthur Flour), use instant coffee. I used sweet chocolate flakes (King Arthur Flour) in the Espresso Spread (I don’t think the Chocolate flakes are available in the warmer months. Check with King Arthur for availability). If you can’t find chocolate flakes, very finely chop some chocolate chips. Its just easier using the chocolate flakes. The recipe calls for 1/4 c. Sweet Marsala to pour over top of bread after it has been cooked. If you don’t care for using the alcohol,, you can enjoy the bread without it. It still tastes wonderful. For an exceptional touch and more espresso flavor, dollop the Espresso Spread (recipe below) on sliced bread. This spread is so good, you can eat it alone! It looks like chocolate chip ice cream, but is full of coffee flavor and light as a feather (does that mean its not fattening?). Really good!

Tiramisu Bread

1-1/2 c. all purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp table salt
1 pkg (8 oz) Mascarpone, room temperature
3/4 c. sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 Tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
2 tsp instant espresso powder
1 Tbsp water
1/2 c. buttermilk
Sweet Marsala Wine, Kahula or Espresso

Preheat oven to 350° F. Coat an 8-1/2 X 4-1/2 inch loaf pan with non-stick cooking spray.

Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda & salt in a bowl; set aside.

Beat mascarpone and sugar in a bowl with a mixer on medium speed until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing after each addition. Mix in vanilla.

Combine cocoa and espresso powder in a bowl; stir in water to dissolve.

Alternately add flour mixture and buttermilk to creamed mixture (starting and ending with flour mixture) until combined. Divide batter in half, transferring half in to a separate bowl. Stir cocoa mixture into half of batter until combined. Alternately, spoon batters in to prepared pan, ten swirl together with a skewer or knife to marble.

Bake bread until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 50-55 minutes. Using a fork or skewer, poke small holes all over the top of bread.

Pour or brush Marsala over top of bread, if desired. Let bread cool in the pan for 15 minutes, then turn on to a rack to cool.

Espresso Spread

8 oz. Mascarpone
1 Tbsp Marsala
2 Tbsp sugar
3 tsp chocolate flakes
1/2 tsp espresso powder

Mix all ingredients above together until well combine. Keep refrigerated until ready to use.