The Sausage Dog

I asked Ben what cake he would like for his 33rd birthday. He immediately said “Lemon Lime Cheesecake and Tiramisu!”.

Now my Lemon Lime Cheesecake is the epitome of cheesecakes, it is so creamy, and light, and citrus-y, and the gingernut biscuit base gives it a really lovely point of difference to your run of the mill cheesecake so I wasn’t surprised that he had asked for it.

But Tiramisu! I have never made a tiramisu before, and Ben waxes poetic about his grandmother’s legendary tiramisu. I have been waiting 4 years for that recipe. Bella says she just guesses all of the measurements, so she’s never actually had the recipe written down. Ben says Bella’s tiramisu is super boozy, creamy and magical. Given that Bella’s tiramisu was my competition, I had to come up with something good.

This Tiramisu recipe is made in the traditional way. Instead of using cream, I have used raw eggs and mascarpone, which is SO DELICIOUS. Totally not good for you, but man, it is like eating a creamy cloud of happy. Do use fresh eggs.

In terms of the coffee, I used instant coffee (I know, I’m a horrible person). But Ben and I both don’t drink coffee, so we don’t have a coffee machine at home. It’s even a miracle that I have instant coffee at home! I only buy a small jar for guests, and I’m pretty sure it takes about a year to get through it. The honest truth is, this tiramisu is so not about the coffee. Just throw some booze into it and no one will notice the difference. I used Kahlua in my recipe (I have listed some other types of alcohol that you could use below), and don’t hold back on the sauce, unless you’re not keen on alcoholic desserts.

In terms of the biscuits, there are two ways you could approach this. I actually quickly dipped the biscuits into the coffee and liquor mixture, which meant that the biscuits still had some structural integrity, even in between the cream layers. But some people do like a soaked biscuit oozing with the coffee and liquor mixture, so if you are one of those people, do dip your biscuits in for longer, and I would suggest doubling your coffee and liquor quantities.

There were some leftovers of this tiramisu, it was HUGE, and I ate it all by myself over the next 3 days (thank God I go to the gym). It was super delicious, and surprisingly light given how much mascarpone cream was in it. It just felt like you were eating a slice of heaven.

I really hope you make this recipe guys, and please do share your experiences and pictures in the comments below!

Serves: 10 – 20 people

Prep time: 45 minutes

Chilling time: 3 hours at least, preferably overnight

Ingredients:

6 eggs, yolks and whites separated

1 cup caster sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

500g mascarpone

1 and 1/2 cups hot strong espresso coffee

6 tbsp (or more!) of liquor of choice (Frangelico, Kahlua, Tia Maria Coffee Liquer, Galliano Ristretto, to name a few options)

200g Savoiardi biscuits

Cocoa powder, for dusting

Instructions:

1. Beat yolks and sugar in stand mixer on medium high for 12 minutes or until white and thick. Note: You can get away with beating the yolks just until thick and the sugar is dissolved – around 5 minutes. The reason I beat it for longer, is because it makes the cream nice and white rather than yellow.
2. Add vanilla and mascarpone, beat until just combined. Transfer mixture to a bowl, set aside.
3. In a clean bowl, beat eggs whites until stiff peaks form.
4. Fold 1/3 of the yolk mixture into the egg whites. Then gradually fold the remaining yolk mixture in and mix until just combined. Note: It doesn’t need to be perfectly smooth. It will look a bit “lumpy”, being the egg whites, which means your cream mixture is lovely and light. The “lumps” smooth out when you spread the cream, and also while resting overnight.
5. Mix coffee and liquor of choice together. Quickly dip biscuits in and line the bottom of a 25-30cm square dish. See picture below for suggested arrangement.
6. Spread over half the cream, then top with another layer of coffee dipped biscuits.
7. Spread with remaining cream.
8. Cover with cling wrap, refrigerate for at least 3 hours, preferably overnight. Dust with cocoa powder just before serving – either before you cut or just after placing on serving plates.