Autumn 2021Baileys Tiramisu recipe

By Natasha Brown - owner of Brown’s Cakes

Our tiramisu recipe was devised as a solution to use up the offcuts from our many celebration cakes we bake. Each week, we have a tray full of surplus cake trimmings – which happen to create an excellent base for this delicious Italian dessert. It would even be worth baking a sponge cake just to cut it up to make this tiramisu.

You may not have cake offcuts, and maybe you don’t want to bake a sponge cake for this, but this recipe can be used as a way to use up any leftover cake you have. Alternatively, you could use a cheap Madeira cake from a supermarket, or a couple of packets of sponge lady fingers – but I like cake better!

This recipe MUST be made the day before you plan to eat it to give the sponge time to soak up all the moisture. Whilst that means you save time on the day if you’re going to be busy cooking, it does mean you need to be organised.

It doesn’t take too long, so that’s a bonus too.

The tiramisu will last a couple of days in the fridge, but be aware that it has fresh cream on top. The Baileys can be substituted for another alcohol: rum, Cointreau, brandy would be lovely, and if you don’t want to add the alcohol, this can be made with a coffee syrup substitute such as vanilla syrup.

I’ve arrived at this recipe by experimenting with ingredients, please feel free to experiment yourself. You could try different flavour cakes, such as coffee and walnut cake or try lemon drizzle cake with Limoncello and omit the coffee.

Just have fun and enjoy.

Ingredients:

• 8 tsp instant coffee
• 150ml Baileys
• 3 eggs*
• 250g mascarpone
• 75g caster sugar
• 400g vanilla sponge cake
• 300ml double cream
• 2 tsp cocoa powder

*Eggs with a British Lion stamp mark are considered safe to be eaten raw.

Method:

Dissolve the coffee in a little boiling water then add cold water to make up 150ml of coffee, then add the Baileys.

Separate the eggs and beat the egg yolks with the sugar until pale and fluffy. Beat in the mascarpone and put to one side.

With a clean whisk, beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form then gently fold this into the mascarpone mixture.

Cut the cake into slices and create a layer of cake along the bottom of a trifle dish or other suitable serving dish. Drizzle about a third of the Baileys/coffee mixture over the cake (if using sponge lady fingers dip them in the mixture first, but cake tends to fall apart if it’s dipped).

Spoon about a third of the mascarpone mixture over the cake.

Repeat this process by adding another layer of cake, drizzle with another third of Baileys/coffee mixture and then spoon over another third of the mascarpone.

Repeat again. If you run out of mixture just drizzle a bit of neat Baileys over the cake, there will be enough coffee flavour in the sponge below but you can never have too much Baileys!

Spoon the last of the mascarpone on top of the cake.

Now cover the dessert and put it in the fridge overnight.

Before serving the tiramisu, whip the double cream and spread it over the top of the dessert and give it a good dusting of cocoa powder.