By Matthew Luca
This recipe is dedicated to an Italian restaurant that served me Coffee Cake when I ordered a Tiramisu, how I held my head down is disbelief at that atrocity.
I wanted to make the best Tiramisu recipe I know and started off separating egg whites from yolks and made a technically challenging mousse combining this with mascarpone cheese then leaving it to set in the fridge for 8 HOURS!!! and after making it I honestly though it was a totally unnecessary process. My philosophy is beauty is in the simplicity of cooking and my second version proved far superior in texture and taste without waiting a day to eat it. Oh and I named this dish after a famous Italian tarantella by Lou Monte "Lazy Mary"
Ingredients
16 ladyfingers (sponge fingers)
500g Mascarpone cheese
400ml Double cream
50ml Vin Santo dessert wine (or Masala wine or Amaretto Liqueur)
1 tablespoon Vanilla extract
200g Caster Sugar
1teaspoon icing sugar
2 large cups filtered coffee "double shot" (using instant coffee is an Italian form of disrespect)
1 Orange for grating zest
100g Dark chocolate for grating
Cocoa powder for dusting
Method
In your favourite dessert dish with shallow sides lay the sponge fingers covering the base of the dish, add 25ml of the vin santo wine to the coffee and pour over the sponge fingers a bit at a time and allow them to soak it up but not get drenched, put in the fridge for 5 minutes to cool.
In a mixing bowl add the Mascarpone cheese, sugar, 25ml of Vin Santo, a tablespoon of the double cream, vanilla extract and a grating of orange zest. Using an electric whisk combine until loose and smooth in texture.
In another mixing bowl add the double cream along with a teaspoon of icing sugar and using an electric whisk, mix until thick and stiff peaks form.
Gently fold the whipped cream into the mascarpone cheese until combined and then spoon on top of the sponge fingers in the dish, evenly spread to cover the sponge. then simply dust generously with cocoa powder, grate over some more orange zest and a grating of the dark chocolate. It's now ready to serve and can be stored in the fridge for up to 3 days.
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