Tiramisu

I really love Tiramisu. I mean, I REALLY love it. But there is nothing I hate more than a bad Tiramisu. Throughout the 90’s, my mom made Tiramisu so often and sometimes with so much liquor, that the kids weren’t even allowed to eat it. But my love for it never went away and I make it whenever I get the chance.

Classically, Tiramisu is made with Mascarpone Cheese but I was a complete airhead last week and forgot to get Mascarpone, so I had to substitute with firmly whipped cream. I was quite nervous about it not working and after the first bite, my mind was at ease. It was absolutely delicious and actually, a bit better than the original way of doing it. The cream actually lightens the whole ‘cream’ mixture and so you feel less guilty after eating an entire bowl full. It’s also obviously MUCH cheaper than using the same amount of Mascarpone so from now on, this is the way I’ll be doing it.

And then, it’s time to announce the winner of last week’s giveaway. I have to say, first of all, that I was blown away by all of your challenges for 2011. I can’t believe the amount of courage and positivity I got back in the answers and I just want to say that you have all inspired me to reach for even more this year. But there was one person that had such amazing challenges for himself that even other readers commented on it. Congratulations Matthew! I hope you enjoy this book and that it gives you a bit of an upper hand with all the challenges against your wife! 🙂

Serves 10-12

750ml fresh cream
6 egg yolks
3/4 cup caster sugar
1/2 cup espresso
1/2tsp vanilla extract

2 cups espresso
1/2 cup rum (or other alcohol of your choice)
+- 800g finger biscuits (you might not use all of it)

3tbsn cocoa powder

• In a large bowl, whip the fresh cream until quite stiff peaks form.
• In a separate bowl, whisk the egg yolks and sugar until the mixture becomes light and creamy. Add the espresso and the vanilla and whisk for another minute.
• Transfer the egg mixture to the whipped cream whilst whisking and make sure that everything is well combined.
• Mix the espresso with the rum in a wide bowl and soak the biscuits very quickly in the mixture before placing them in a suitable dish.
• Pour a layer of the cream mixture over the layer of biscuits and then repeat the process. Be sure to finish off with a cream layer.
• Place in the refrigerator until the cream mixture is set.
• When you are ready to serve, dust the Tiramisu with the cocoa powder and serve.