I don’t have much of a sweet tooth. I mean…pump me full of hormones, and I’ll scream murder for a Milka bar. But you can make me much happier with something in the cheese category. In addition to that, I’m not a big eater. Three courses is always too much for me. Given those two facts, you can probably imagine that I don’t eat a whole lotta dessert. And even if I do, it’s pretty much always a cheese plate.
But sometimes you gotta placate the dessert lovers around you. Especially when they are your girlfriend’s family, and you want to, no, you MUST, impress them with your kitchen-fu.
Ergo: tiramisu. With a difference.
This is my version of tiramisu. I added some peaches (an idea I got from my uncle) and replaced the coffee liqueur with Amaretto and the chocolate with almonds, which I think works well with the fruit. Whipped cream and beaten egg whites slightly lighten up the mascarpone cream.
Before I continue, I have to clarify something about the portion sizes on this thing. Personally, I would say this feeds about INFINITY people. But according to Marbles’ family it probably serves about 8. I shared a piece with Marbles, and there was no way we were getting through that thing. So portion with caution!
Almond-Peach Tiramisu
- 450 gr/16 ounces mascarpone
- 2 egg whites
- 3 egg yolks
- 1/2 C whipping cream
- powdered sugar
- lady finger cookies – enough to cover the bottom of your dish, twice
- 2 shot espresso, cold
- 2 to 4 shots Amaretto liqueur
- 1 large can peaches, drained, sliced
- 1 C shaved almonds OR 100 gr/ 3.5 ounces extra dark chocolate
Mix the mascarpone with the egg yolks and beat until completely smooth en very soft. WHip the cream and mix into the cheese and egg mixture. Add sugar to taste. The cream should be quite sweet.
Beat the egg whites with a pinch of salt until soft peaks form. Lighten the cream mixture by stirring in a scoop of egg whites, then fold the cream mixture into the egg whites.
Mix the coffee with the liqueur. Dip the cookies into this mixture and arrange on the bottom of your serving dish. Cover with a layer of peach slices and about half the cream mixture. Top with another layer of coffee-soaked cookies, the rest of the peaches and the rest of the cream mixture.
Refrigerate for a few hours, or overnight.
To serve:
Toast the almonds (if using) in a dry skillet until golden, remove from heat and toss with 2 TB powdered sugar, until the almonds look “frosted”. Alternatively, shave or grate the chocolate. Sprinkle on top of tiramisu.
Cut with a hot, wet knife.
Notes:
- I’ve been thinking about different variations on the theme of tiramisu. I think I’d like coffee liqueur, fresh raspberries, and a thick layer of chocolate. I think I’ll try that next;
- I think using amaretti cookies for the bottom layer would be delicious. Even better would be bitterkoekjes! Using bitterkoekjes would make this a gluten free dish;
- since peaches and vanilla go really well together, you could make a children’s version by substituting vanilla syrup for the liqueur and using decaf coffee and sterilized eggs.
