Now I’m sure we all know what tiramisu is but those who don’t – it’s a classic Italian dessert of luscious mascarpone cream layered in between coffee-soaked sponge fingers. It’s sweet, creamy and perfect for coffee lovers. Let me show you my version.

There are 3 main components to this dish: The cream, sponge fingers and the coffee mixture.

1. The cream: it’s a mascarpone cheese based cream and there is no substitute for the mascarpone, you must use it for the distinct tiramisu flavour! It’s essentially egg yolks beaten up with sugar, followed by mascarpone and whipped cream. Some recipes will include a meringue as well but i find it makes your cream too stiff and the texture is a bit lumpy.
2. Sponge fingers: you can find these pre-made at supermarkets – they are also known as “lady fingers”, usually in the biscuit aisle. They are coated in sugar which makes them quite sweet hence we will be using minimal sugar in the cream mixture.
3. Coffee mixture: for adults, this is where you can add your bit of fun – alcohol! Any coffee-liquer will do and you can make it as strong as you want. I used Kahlua but Baileys or marsala is also nice. You can also omit if you don’t consume alcohol.

Ingredients

4 egg yolks
1/4 cup sugar
500g mascarpone cheese
500ml heavy cream

Lady fingers
Coffee
Coffee liquer (Marsala, Baileys or Kahlua), optional
Cocoa powder

Method (9x9inch pan – 24x24cm)

1. In a bowl, whisk together your egg yolks and sugar until doubled in size, light and fluffy. Fold in the mascarpone cheese.
2. In a separate bowl, whip up your cream. Fold the whipped cream into the mascarpone mixture and set aside.
3. Make your coffee mixture but creating a mixture of coffee and coffee liquer. I used around 2 cups of coffee with 2 shots of liquer but you can adjust the ratio to your desired taste and how strong you want your liquer to be. Omit the alcohol if you can’t drink.
4. One at a time, dip the lady fingers into the coffee mixture and line them on the bottom of your dish. Pour half of your cream mixture into the dish and spread it out evenly.
5. Repeat with another layer of lady fingers and finally the remaining cream. Set in the fridge for at least 4 hours. Once ready to serve, dust generously with cocoa powder.