Tiramisu

This one is strictly for lovers of lusciousness and anti-dieters. My plonk of choice was Bailey's, but the usual applicable liqueur is rum or perhaps marsala wine. Feel free to deconstruct it by serving in individual cocktail glasses or to experiment with flavours.

Hardcore tiramisu lovers might be horrified at the thought of experimentation but this is a pudding that lends itself happily to variation. Obviously it then ceases to be a tiramisu but you'd get to call it what you like.

Tiramisu, like many desserts, has a disputed origin. The one thing people seem to agree upon, apart from their wanting to devour it outrageously, is that it is a fairly recent invention.

I like to take my time making tiramisu because, from start to end, it's a sensual feast. I lazily observe the yolks double in volume and lighten in colour, the marscapone transforming into a creamy dream ... oh, and the sponge fingers disintegrating in the coffee due to the distracted chef aaargh!

• 250g marscapone
• 150ml cream
• 4 tbsp caster sugar
• 4 eggs, separated
• vanilla bean or essence
• Bailey's Irish cream, 2-4 oz
• strong coffee, 1 cup of, with 2 tsp sugar
• rum, optional
• savoiardi biscuits, 1 packet or as needed

1. In one bowl, cream egg yolks and sugar till pale and fluffy
2. Add cream and blend, then add marscapone gradually
3. Add Bailey's and vanilla bean or essence. Keep aside
4. In second bowl, with a clean whisk, whisk the egg whites till stiff
5. Sieve the marscapone mixture to remove lumps
6. Fold the egg whites into the marscapone mixture
7. Dip savoiardi biscuits into the coffee (spike latter with rum if need be)
8. Layer them immediately in a clear bowl
9. Add a layer of marscapone cream, then savoiardi, and so on till done
10. The final layer on top should be marscapone
11. Shave some dark chocolate on top and/or dust with cocoa powder
12. Keep others at arms' length whilst you consume the lot. With a shovel.

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