Note: This recipe calls for strips of acetate to mold the tiramisu, something home bakers may not have on hand. Amazon sells it, but if you can’t access it during the current crisis, hang on to the recipe for future inspiration. (Or make this dessert in a square glass bowl and scoop out servings. It won’t be as pretty, but it will still be delicious.)

Looking for an awesome dessert for your Passover seder? Oakland blogger Dafne Adler of Stellina Sweets has created the ultimate Matzah Tiramisu Cake using matzah sheets instead of ladyfingers, coffee-infused ganache and mascarpone mousse.

While the recipe requires planning due to chilling and thawing times, the active prep time is short. Inspired by Robicelli’s Tiramatzu, Adler’s “cake” is five layers, but you can make it as many layers as you want, and adjust the thickness of the mousse layers accordingly. Adler makes her ganache in two batches: one for the layers inside the tiramisu, and one for the top layer, which goes on gooey after the whole thing has been frozen and thawed. This way, she explains, it can drip over the sides and you can drizzle extra chocolate onto individual slices.

But you can certainly make all the ganache at the same time and finish the tiramisu with ganache on top. Just remember that the top layer will solidify with the other layers and won’t drip down the sides.

Matzah Tiramisu Cake 2.0

Yields 12-16 servings

Ingredients

For the espresso ganache batch #1 (adapted from Food & Wine):

15 ounces good-quality bittersweet chocolate, chopped

1½ cup plus 1 tablespoon heavy whipping cream

1¼ teaspoons instant espresso powder

4 teaspoons Kahlúa liqueur

For the mascarpone filling:

24 ounces (about 3 cups) Italian mascarpone cheese, softened

2¼ cups heavy whipping cream

3 tablespoons powdered sugar

1/8 teaspoon kosher salt

For tiramisu assembly:

20 ounces cooled espresso, strong coffee or cold-brew coffee

5 matzahs (7-inch squares), plus a few extras in case some fall apart during soaking

For the espresso ganache batch #2:

6 ounces good-quality bittersweet chocolate, chopped

½ cup plus 2 tablespoons heavy whipping cream

½ teaspoon instant espresso powder

1½ teaspoons Kahlúa liqueur

Directions

To prepare the cake mold, line a quarter-sheet pan or small platter with parchment paper: Line the interior of a 7-inch square cake mold with a strip of acetate that is about 4 inches high. Try to push it into the corners as much as possible; tape it to the metal from the outside all the way around, and secure the ends of the acetate to each other, using tape on the outside of the acetate (between the acetate and the metal). Do not tape the acetate to the inside of the metal square — you will not be able to remove the cake with its acetate wrapper when unmolding the tiramisu. Place the cake mold on the parchment-lined pan.

For batch #1 of ganache: Place the chocolate in a heatproof bowl. Heat the cream in a small saucepan just until it starts to boil. Remove from heat. Whisk in the espresso powder until it has dissolved. Slowly pour the hot cream over the chocolate and let stand for 1 to 2 minutes. Gently whisk the chocolate until it is melted, smooth and homogenous, starting in the center and working your way outward. Add the Kahlúa and whisk until incorporated. Let the ganache cool to room temperature or until thicken enough to spread.

For the filling: In the bowl of a stand mixer, mash the mascarpone with a rubber spatula to loosen it. Fit the mixer with the whisk attachment and add the 2¼ cups heavy cream; beat on medium speed until the mixture starts to thicken and the whisk draws lines through it. Stop the mixer, add the powdered sugar and salt, and whip to medium-firm peaks — do not overbeat.

To assemble the tiramisu, retrieve the prepared cake mold. Pour the coffee into a shallow dish — such as a rimmed quarter-sheet pan — with enough room to lay the matzahs flat. Soak 1 matzah, flipping it a few times, for 1 to 2 minutes, so it is fully hydrated on both sides and nearly falling apart. Carefully lift it out of the coffee, letting the excess drip back into the pan. Place the matzah into the bottom of the acetate-lined square. If it starts to tear, soak a new piece of matzah. You’ll want an intact piece on the bottom.

Scoop about 1 cup mascarpone mousse onto the matzah and spread it in an even layer to the edges of the square all the way around. Pour about ½ cup ganache on top of the mousse and spread it in an even layer. Repeat to create 3 more matzah-mascarpone-ganache layers. (If your matzah fall apart during soaking, it’s fine to use them for these layers as long as the pieces can be patched together inside the mold.) Add a final intact matzah layer. Cover carefully with plastic wrap and freeze for at least 10 hours.

About eight hours before serving, remove the tiramisu from the freezer. Pick up the cake mold and peel the parchment from the bottom (don’t throw it out). Remove the tape and carefully and slowly remove the square mold from the acetate, wiggling it as needed to loosen it. (If you have a second set of hands, pick up the tiramisu block from the bottom and have the other person pull the mold down.)

Place the tiramisu, still wrapped in acetate, back onto the parchment-lined pan and place in the refrigerator to thaw. When it has reached your desired level of softness, proceed with the ganache topping.

Make batch #2 of ganache, repeating the same steps as before. Allow it to cool and thicken slightly, but not too much. When the warm ganache hits the cold tiramisu, it will firm up quickly, and you want it thin enough to drip all sexy down the sides.

Place the tiramisu on a serving platter. Detach the tape holding the acetate together and peel it from around the tiramisu. Your “cake” should now be a free-standing matzah tower.

You can cut it either before or after pouring the ganache. I like to cut the square in half, so you have two skinny “loaves” with the interior layers exposed. Transfer each one to the serving platter using a sturdy flat spatula. Pour about 1/3 of the ganache over the top of one tiramisu loaf, allowing it to drip slowly over the edges on all four sides. Use an offset spatula to coax the ganache to the edges if needed. Repeat with the second half.

Let the ganache set for 10 minutes in the fridge. Cut into crosswise slices and serve with extra ganache drizzled on top.

— Recipe courtesy of Dafne Adler, Stellina Sweets