Tiramisù stands as arguably the ultimate in Italian desserts.

It’s one I came quite late to liking mainly due to the fact that, outside of Italy, I’d sampled a whole library of vanilla-gooey, stale egg horrors claiming to be the classy pick-me-up that this dessert should be. You really shouldn’t go wrong with simple, fresh, quality ingredients and real coffee. And there, that right there. That’s the secret.  Leave the International Roast alone!

I persevered and it paid off. The following recipe was my introduction to the best tasting dessert I’d ever had, in 2012 while I was studying Italiano at Dante Alighieri in Siena and joined an evening cooking class.
You can easily omit the teeny amount of alcohol, and I managed to find savoiardi that are gluten-free, but I’m afraid if you’re vegan or egg / lactose intolerant, this recipe probably isn’t for you.

Ingredients

300g mascarpone
2 tablespoons of rum
3 eggs, carefully separated
3 tablespoons of sugar
Fresh percolated coffee – break out that cafetiera
Powdered cacao, or fresh grated 80% dark chocolate
Savoiardi – two boxes, or about 14 – 16 biscuits

Method

[Just so you all know how appreciated this tiramisù was, I don’t yet own an electric beater and thus I do the beating by hand, which may explain the Popeye muscle I have on my right forearm.]

Lay out the savoiardi in a square or rectangle 30 x 20cm dessert pan, drizzle with the rum.

Mix the sugar and egg yolk and then beat until creamy and uniform.
Prepare the coffee as you normally would and then leave to cool a little [I pour it into a cup and add it from the cup.

Add that giant mountain of mascarpone to the egg yolk and sugar mixture, and fold together.
Beat the egg white until foamy peaks form, then fold that into the mascarpone mixture.

Pour the coffee over the pre-rummed savoiardi, spoon over half the mascarpone mixture. Soak another quantity of savoiardi in coffee and lay that over the top. Add the remaining mascarpone mixture, shake over a little cacao, or grated/shaved dark chocolate, then allow to set in the fridge for at least two hours.

Easy as that!
This would easily serve 6 – 8 people and will remain delicious in the fridge for two days [if it even lasts that long].

Enjoy!

A presto, Ali :)