Tiramisu - the perfect pick me up for a bad day

According to Wikipedia, the Italian dessert tiramisu means pick-me-up, or metaphorically, make me happy.

I think we can all agree that this layered Italian creation is a celebration dessert. With the effort and specialty ingredients required, it’s not really an every day event. But there are times when a bad day can warrant making something special for pudding, just to make up for it.

I know it doesn’t look the greatest – but, like poor Jane Eyre, it was born of misery and made with no mind for presentation. After a bad weekend, I found solace in the kitchen and assembled my tiramisu in a large corning ware dish because I didn’t expect to be blogging about it. But on tasting it, I realised it was a recipe worth blogging about. It involves a fair amount of whisking (with a machine of course) and many bowls but this tiramisu is worth the effort for any celebration or bad day.

Tying in nicely with International Coffee Day on September 29 (who knew?), it's beginning to look like I am telepathically linked to the whole 'food' awareness day juggernaut.

Tiramisu Recipe

Ingredients:

Layer 1 – 1 large carton of double/ whipping cream

Layer 2 – 1 large (500g) tub of Marscapone cheese, 1 shot of espresso*, 1 or 2 tbsp brandy**

Layer 3 – 3 eggs, 3 tbsp brandy, 3 tbsp caster sugar (to make zabaione, or zabaglione)

Layer 4 – savoiardi biscuits, 1 cup (long black) of espresso, a good slosh of brandy

Method:

Layer 1 – whip the cream, so it’s light enough to be spooned  and spread, set aside.

Layer 2 - blend together the Marscapone and coffee, set side.

Layer 3 – on a double boiler, whisk 3 yolks and 3 tbsp of sugar over the heat till it turns pale yellow. Add the brandy and keep whisking till it thickens. Set aside to cool.

Whip 2 egg whites to stiff peaks. When the zabaglione is cooled to room temp, fold in with the egg whites.

Layer 4 – combine coffee and brandy and dip biscuits in briefly to coat all over.

Now, starting with the soaked biscuits, make a layer of biscuit, then cover with the zabaglione mixture, then cover with Marscapone mix, then top with cream. Repeat.

Put in the fridge for a day at least or over night.

You can dust with cocoa if you like, but I think it kind of ruins it.

Notes

* I realise not everyone has an espresso machine in their home. You could perhaps buy a double shot of coffee at a local cafe and bring home, or simply use Nescafe.

** I only had brandy in the cupboard, which worked great, but you could use Kahlua, Tia Maria, Cognac, sweet wine or even rum or whiskey.