Disgracefully Decadent Tiramisu (with a Tried and Tested Gluten Free Option and Thermomix instructions)

Put your biggest, stretchiest pants on, and attach steel girders to your dining chairs... this is not for the faint-hearted!!!

To be fair, it's only a centimetre or so of whipped cream more decadent than a standard tiramisu... and a lil' bit of grated dark chocolate... oh, maybe a couple of other bits... but don't be scared! Start this off the day / evening before you want to serve it, and it will keep for a few days in the fridge (well, if it lasts that long!).

I first started making and tweaking this almost thirty years ago, and then there was a period of drought, whereby there were delightful small people around (for which it's wholly unsuitable, unless you omit the alcohol and cook the egg yolk mixture to 70C, but more of that later!), and then coeliac disease, diabetes etc.... but now that the small people are in their twenties, it's come back as a decadent dessert option, and I had to research, re-vamp and remember a lot of it all over again!

It took me a fair while to get it all back to my version of perfection; so now that I've re-perfected it with a gluten free alternative, I'm getting it down onto my blog ASAP before I forget any of it!

I'll put "OPTIONAL" in brackets for the things that I like to add, which may stray a little from Nonnas' recipes, but it's fairly true to what would be acceptable to Italians, so you can make your own choices!

Whichever way you choose to do it, I hope you and your guests love it as much as we do!

Should serve at least 10, depending on your guests' appetites! Try to stay in charge of serving the initial portions and let people come back for seconds, and you might even be able to serve more!!! If you want to serve in individual glasses/dishes, I'd probably go with half portions of the ingredients, to make a good six portions.

Ingredients

For the espresso / coffee and amaretto dipping liquid (mixed then divided into two 150ml/g portions)

• 200ml/g espresso, cooled (or mix 3 tbsp good instant coffee granules with boiling water and cool)
• 100ml/g amaretto (or you could mix vodka, brandy, even whiskey - or just water if you don't want any alcohol with 2 tsp almond extract and a little sugar, around 50g to taste)

For the zabaglioni / marscapone layer

• 6 egg yolks (reserve/freeze the whites for another recipe)
• 150g golden caster sugar
• 750g marscapone cheese (room temperature)
• 1.5 tsp vanilla extract
• 150ml marsala wine (you can leave this out if you want it alcohol free)

For the rest

• 250g savioardi / lady finger biscuits (usually two 125g packs, see notes, especially for gluten free)
• 200g good quality dark chocolate (OPTIONAL for a chocolate tiramisu: grated, or blitzed in a food processor, divided into two portions - makes a delicious textual difference with a lovely aftertaste!)
• 250ml double cream plus 1tbsp milk (OPTIONAL topping)
  
• 30g slivered / flaked almonds, very lightly toasted (OPTIONAL topping, gives a nice crunch)
• 2 tbsp cocoa powder (or you could use grated dark chocolate instead) for dusting / topping
• 1 tbsp icing sugar (OPTIONAL) to make the topping even prettier - it gives a subtle tiny polkadot effect on top of the cocoa powder, especially on the almonds!

Equipment

• Dish for chilling and serving (or you could use individual small dessert dishes)
• Handheld mixer/whisk, or heated blender with a whisk attachment (e.g. Thermomix / Magimix CE) - but a whisk and a strong arm will do the job!

Method

1. Make the espresso / coffee and amaretto mix, cool down, and set aside to cool.

2. Grate the 200g dark chocolate if using (OPTIONAL ingredient), and set aside somewhere cool (if doing in a food processor, break into chunks first, then process quickly until it's the texture of breadcrumbs - not too long or the friction will make it melt! Thermomix speed 9, 5-10 seconds depending on how hot your kitchen is!)

3. Begin making the zabaglione / marscapone layer mix. You DO NOT need to cook the egg yolks for this, HOWEVER, if you're making this dessert for anyone whose immune system is compromised / weak (e.g. the elderly, pregnant, or children), then you need to heat it gently until it reaches 70C, and then cool before adding the marscapone. Whisk together the egg yolks and sugar until thick and creamy and lighter in colour (Thermomix with whisk attachment in, 37C or 70C, 4 minutes, speed 4 maximum - scrape down and repeat for a couple more minutes if necessary - do until 70C if necessary as mentioned). Cool if you heated it to 70C.

4. Add the room temperature marscapone 250g at a time until incorporated then add the vanilla extract and marsala wine. (Thermomix, whisk in, speed 3, 1-2 minutes, adding the mascapone through the lid).

5. Start assembling the tiramisu. Make the first (bottom layer) by quickly dipping each savoiardi biscuit (from the first 125g)  into (the first half of) the coffee mix for only a second and flipping, then putting on the base of your dish (see notes below). Cover the base with biscuits, and if there are any gaps, dip, flip and break up any of the remaining 125g of biscuits. Sprinkle over any of the remaining half of coffee, and press very, very gently with a spatula to even the layer. 

6. Sprinkle over half of the grated chocolate (if using), then gently blob on half of the zabaglioni / marscapone mixture, and carefully spread out as evenly as you can, trying not to disturb the grated chocolate if using.

7. Repeat with another layer of dipped savoiardi biscuits, grated chocolate and the rest of zabaglioni / marscapone mixture,and spread out gently and evenly again.

8. Cover, and refrigerate overnight, or for several hours.

9. Before serving (you can do this a few hours in advance if it makes life easier!), whip the cream and milk until it's at the soft peak stage - don't whip it until it's stiff, as it will stiffen / set a little more when it's on the dessert - and spread over the top, gently swirling randomly if you wish. If you're using almonds, scatter on top, then dust evenly and lightly with the cocoa powder. If using icing sugar, to get more of a defined effect, gently tap small amounts through a sieve or tea-strainer / shaker near to the top of the dessert until you're happy with the effect! Enjoy.... in moderation, of course!!! It's nice served with fruits like strawberries or raspberries on the side. If you've used almonds and icing sugar, leave for a few minutes, for a pretty effect, with the icing sugar on the cream disappearing into the cocoa powder, and that on the almonds staying there... will keep for around five days on the bottom shelf of a cold fridge!

Notes

For gluten free savioardi / lady finger biscuits I like the Matilde Vincenzi Gluten Free Vincenzovo lady fingers - I had to get them online, but various places sell them online, so shop around for the best deal. Depending on whether you use these, or the standard "gluteny" savioardi / lady finger biscuits may affect how much of the coffee mixture they absorb - it only takes a second to dip and flip, you don't want them to be soaked through, so if there is a little liquid left over, sprinkle it sparingly (you can always sieve the remainder for crumbs, if there's a lot, and add boiling water and cream to it for a chef's treat drink!!!)