I like to fake it (Tiramisu)

I am a fake. Definitely a fake.

Traditional Tiramisu is made with marscapone and eggs. Although it is tasty, I much prefer my lighter (fake) version, especially after a big meal.

I was introduced to this (fake) recipe by a very good friend (let’s call her Boo Boo) who was coming over for supper. She painstakingly followed the recipe and brought the result over. When we looked in the bowl it appeared quite liquid with bits of biscuits and grated chocolate floating around in it.

Turns out, Boo Boo forgot to whip the cream. It still tasted fantastic so I promptly got hold of the recipe.

You can choose to make this dish in individual serving dishes or in one big dish. I used very pretty tea cups which my mother-in-law gave to me.

Serves 4

 

Ingredients

250ml fresh cream

½ cup ready-made custard

1 Tbsp Amarula or Baileys (optional)

½ -1 packet Savoirdi or Boudoir biscuits

50g Lindt dark chocolate (optional)

1 cup cold strong (espresso) coffee or instant coffee made with 3 tsp powder in 1 cup.

4 Tbsp good quality cocoa powder (e.g. Nomu in South Africa or the one with the little Dutch girl for Europeans / Australians)

Whip the cream. It has been whipped sufficiently when you lift up the whisk and it forms peaks which stay up and don’t collapse. Add the custard and the Amarula and stir in.

Place the coffee in a flat bottomed dish. Dip the biscuits into the coffee. Some biscuits take more or less time to absorb the coffee. If the biscuits absorb quickly, just dip them lightly on each side. If they take a bit longer, then leave the biscuits in the coffee for a bit longer before turning. They should stay firm and not collapse (otherwise they have absorbed too much coffee).

Place as many biscuits as will fit on the base. Layer with the cream mixture. 

Grate the chocolate over the cream mixture(if using). Repeat the layering with the biscuits and cream and chocolate until all the cream is used, ending with a layer of cream.

 

Cover and refrigerate for 2-3 hours before serving.

Before serving, remove from the fridge and use a tea strainer to dust the Tiramisu with cocoa.