For breakfast, I'm typically a toast and jam with a cup of coffee kind of person. It's boring and predictable but gets the job done at 5.30AM. I will say it gets boring fast. To mix it up a bit, I do sometimes splurge on various options that are a bit more on the sweet side. Perhaps it's the Italian in me, since most Italians love starting the day with a cornetto, I'm going to blame my upbringing for my sweet cravings!
Breakfast breads are one of my favorite ways to start the day as it somehow feels better to have something called "bread" for the first meal. But let's be honest here, breakfast breads are really just coffee cakes and desserts disguised as "bread." That said, this is the time of year where I do treat myself to breakfast that consists of things like these homemade breads, crostata, a few biscotti, or some homemade anisette toasts. This tiramisu breakfast bread is definitely one of my favorite ways to start the day. It's got a nice kick of espresso, it's not overly sweet, and with the delicious spread to go with it, it just hits the spot with a delicious homemade cappuccino. What better way to start the day than with this "bread"? It's got all the flavors of a tiramisu, except in a baked form. 
Seriously, when these are some of the ingredients, you know it's going to be good!
Ingredients for the bread
1 1/2 Cups All Purpose Flour 1 Teaspoon Baking Powder 1/2 Teaspoon Baking Soda 1/4 Teaspoon Salt 8 Oz Mascarpone Cheese 3/4 Cups Sugar 2 Teaspoons Pure Vanilla Extract (or Vanilla Bean Paste) 2 Large Eggs 1/2 Cup Buttermilk 1 Tablespoon Cacao Powder 1 Teaspoon Instant Espresso Powder 1 Tablespoon Water Sugar crystals - Optional Ingredients for the espresso spread 8 Oz Mascarpone Cheese 3 Tablespoons Marsala Wine or Freshly Brewed and Cooled Espresso 2 Tablespoons Powdered / Confectioners Sugar Dark Chocolate Shavings - Optional Directions: 1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Coat a standard loaf pan with nonstick cooking spray, set aside. 2. In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and set aside. 3. In a larger mixing bowl, cream the mascarpone cheese, sugar and vanilla until light and fluffy, about 2 - 3 minutes. 4. Add the eggs one at a time, beating after each addition. 5. Alternately add the flour mixture and the buttermilk to the creamed mascarpone mixture, starting and ending with the flour, until fully combined. Do not over mix. 6. Divide the batter in half. 7. In a small bowl, add the cacao powder, espresso powder and water. Mix well using a fork or very small whisk. Batter will be the consistency of Nutella spread. Add this mixture to one bowl containing 1/2 of the batter. Mix well until combined. 8. Spoon batters in prepared pan, alternating the plain mixture with the espresso/cacao mixture. Swirl batters together with a skewer or knife. Top bread with sugar crystals, if using. 9. Bake bread for 50 - 55 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Remove from pan and cool completely before serving. 10. While the bread is baking, prepare the espresso spread by creaming together the mascarpone cheese, marsala wine and sugar until all the ingredients are well blended. Top with dark chocolate shavings, if using. Tip: The spread will need to be refrigerated if not used all at once. 
I'm pretty much addicted to this stuff. Use it in place of vanilla extract. The same amount will do.
This is the cacao, espresso powder and water mixture. I still have a few small lumps in there, need to keep stirring!
Here are my batters, divided in order to create a marble effect in the baked loaf. Yes, my spatula says "I love baking" - and I do!
Here's the loaf ready to go in the oven. I brought back these lovely sugar crystals from Italy that I just love. They're hard to find here in the US, so you can skip this step completely if you cannot find them, or add a few tablespoons of course sugar, if you like.
This is the incredibly delicious mascarpone spread. I'm not going to lie, I could just eat this by the spoon!
How good does this look? The spread is not at all overly sweet from the espresso powder and the bread is delicate. This is one great way to start any day!
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