Everyone seems to have their own take on Tiramisu. When I was little I remember eating heaps of the creamy dessert laden with booze and decorated with colorful splotches of Italian liqueur at my dad’s restaurant in Germany. From the 90’s-esque plate decorations to Tiramisu’s in glasses, I carried on eating it in various places, all of which used cream and alcohol in their recipes.

Surprisingly it was only until very recently I realised that the authentic recipe uses eggs and has no alcohol in it. I have to admit I much prefer it. I got this recipe from my British auntie who happens to be married to an Italian; although this recipe is actually not one of his, but one adapted from an Italian cookbook. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.

Ingredients

4 eggs (separated)

150g Icing sugar

500g Mascarpone

200ml Espresso Coffee (cooled)

Soavardi Biscuits

Method

1. Separate the eggs. Put the egg yolks in a large bowl and the egg whites in a smaller very clean bowl. Whisk the egg whites until stiff and set aside.
2. Mix the egg yolks and icing sugar together to form a thick paste.
3. Fold in the mascarpone until well combined (sometimes this is tricky so loosen up the mascarpone in  separate bowl before to make it smoother) Now gently fold in the egg whites.
4. To assemble the tiramisu – Dip the biscuit into the coffee for 1 – 2 seconds and place in a rectangle-serving dish. Carry on doing this, laying biscuits out in a row until the dish is completely covered with biscuits.
5. Add a layer of the mascarpone mixture so the biscuits are completely covered, making sure you have enough left for the top layer. Also don’t press down too hard because otherwise the air will get knocked out of the mixture. Repeat with one more layer.
6. Put in the fridge for at least 3 hours, so all the coffee soaks in and the mascarpone mixture has cooled enough to cut and slice effectively.
7. Before serving top the tiramisu by grating dark chocolate over it. Or dust with cocoa powder if you prefer.

Tips:

*Eggs whites won’t whisk up properly even if you have a tiny bit of yolk in them. Also make sure to use a very clean bowl.

*When folding in the mascarpone it can look really lumpy, just keep on going and eventually they will disappear.

*You can make the coffee the day before and leave it in the fridge so you don’t have to wait for it to cool on the day.

*When dipping the biscuits don’t leave them in the coffee too long as they will go too soggy, in the same breath you don’t want the biscuits to stay hard so make sure to dip for 1 – 2 seconds. I dip, turn over and take out.

*You can also make the tiramisu in little glasses. As shown in my photo.