Best Tiramisu Recipe

Soothingly creamy, but spiked with coffee, this little pick-me-up (as its name translates) is a true modern classic.  This recipe is very easy and is fun to make with the children during school holidays (without alcohol!).

Preparation  35 min
Chill  4 hr+
Serves 6-8

Ingredients

100ml strong coffee (see step 1)
4 eggs
75g caster sugar
450g mascarpone
2 tbsp sweet marsala, triple sec or amaretto (optional)
2 tbsp dark rum, brandy or grappa (optional)
16-24 savoiardi biscuits  depending on the size of your dish
Cocoa powder, to dust

1 Make the coffee

Espresso is ideal, because you want the coffee to have as strong as possible, but if you can’t make expresso at home, a strongly brewed cafetiere, moka or filter pot, or even a cup of instant, will do.

2 Separate the eggs

Separate the eggs into two large, clean bowls – you’ll be beating the whites into a foam, so it’s important they’re not contaminated with any yolk. You can crack each white into a small bowl first and then add it to the larger bowl.

3 Whip the egg whites

Whisk the whites preferably with an electric beater until they are stiff.  Set aside.

4 Mix the yolks with sugar

Beat the egg yolks with the sugar until voluminous and pale yellow in colour; this is easiest done with a food mixer or electric beaters.

Drain off any excess liquid from the mascarpone, if necessary, put it into a medium bowl and beat with a wooden spoon to loosen a little.

5 Mix the yolks and mascarpone

Beat the cheese into the egg yolks a little at a time, until you have a smooth mixture without any lumps. Do it gently so as not to lose the air you’ve just whipped into the yolks and sugar.

6 Add the whisked whites

Using a large metal or wooden spoon, gently fold a third of the whisked whites into the cheese mixture, then, once that’s well combined, fold in the rest, again being careful to knock out as little air from the mix as possible.

7 Now for the coffee (and booze)

Put the coffee and alcohol, if using, into a wide dish. You don’t need alcohol, but it makes it a more interesting dish. You can combine something sweet and something strong – sweet sherry, amaretto or triple sec instead of marsala, and brandy or grappa instead of rum.

8 Soak the biscuits

Dip each biscuit – savoiardi are best, because they’re drier and lighter than boudoir biscuits or trifle sponges– into the coffee mixture until they’re a pale brown colour, and then use them to line the base of a medium serving bowl.

9 Layer, chill, then dust with cocoa

Spoon a third of the mascarpone mixture on top of the biscuits, followed by a generous sprinkle of cocoa. 

Repeat the layers twice more with the biscuits and mascapone mix , finishing with a layer of the mix and a dusting of cocoa. Cover and refrigerate for four to six hours before serving, but you can make it a day ahead.

Source: Guardian