Preheat the oven to 180°C. Line your baking tray or trays with parchment paper.

Sift the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt into a bowl. Stir together and set aside.

Beat the egg whites with an electric mixer. When they begin to foam, gradually add 110 g of sugar. Continue beating until smooth and medium-firm peaks form.

In another bowl, beat the egg yolks with the remaining 110 g of sugar until pale, thick, and creamy.

Add the oil, milk, vanilla, and espresso powder, if using, to the egg yolk mixture. Mix briefly until combined.

Gently fold the whipped egg whites into the egg yolk mixture with a spatula.

Add the dry ingredients and carefully fold just until no visible streaks of flour or cocoa powder remain. The batter should be airy and smooth.

Spread the batter evenly in the prepared tray. You can bake one large sheet or divide the batter and bake it in two batches, depending on your desired cake dimensions.

Bake for 12-16 minutes per batch, checking with a toothpick after 12 minutes. Let the sponge cool, then cut it into three equal pieces.

For the cake pictured, the sponge was baked in two batches to get three layers measuring 20 × 18 cm each.

To make the milk and dark chocolate cream, finely chop the milk and dark chocolate. Heat 50 ml of heavy cream just to a boil, then pour it over the chocolate. Stir until you have a thick, smooth ganache. Leave it to cool for a few minutes.

Briefly beat the mascarpone, then add the slightly cooled chocolate mixture and beat briefly to combine.

In a separate bowl, whip 110 ml of cold heavy cream to stiff peaks. Gently fold it into the chocolate mixture until smooth.

To make the white chocolate cream, finely chop the white chocolate. Heat 35 ml of heavy cream just to a boil, then pour it over the chocolate. Stir until smooth and leave it to cool for a few minutes.

In a separate bowl, whip 125 ml of cold heavy cream to stiff peaks.

Briefly beat the mascarpone and vanilla. Add the slightly cooled white chocolate mixture and beat until combined. Gently fold in the whipped cream until smooth.

Place the first chocolate sponge layer in your pan or cake frame. Spread all of the milk and dark chocolate cream evenly over it.

Add the second sponge layer and spread all of the white chocolate cream evenly over it. Finish with the third sponge layer.

For the dark chocolate ganache, finely chop the dark chocolate. Heat the heavy cream just to a boil, then pour it over the chocolate.

Wait 1 minute, then add the butter and stir until smooth. Pour the ganache over the cake and spread it evenly.

For the optional white stripes, finely chop 50 g of white chocolate. Heat 1 tablespoon of heavy cream, then pour it over the chocolate and stir until smooth.

Let the white chocolate mixture cool slightly, keeping it fluid enough to pipe. Transfer to a piping bag and pipe white stripes over the dark chocolate ganache for the full tuxedo look.

Refrigerate the assembled Tuxedo Chocolate Cake for 6-8 hours, preferably overnight.