My favourite Christmas tipple is a cup of spiced eggnog, and one of my favourite desserts, served at absolutely any time of the year, is a classic Italian tiramisu. Mash the two together and you get the very untraditional and delicious eggnog tiramisu. Many tiramisu recipes fold whipped egg whites through mascarpone to create a mousse-like texture, but I prefer the mascarpone to be rich and unctuous, so I leave out the egg whites and make small individual portions. They are quite rich, though – as any self-respecting Christmas dessert ought to be.
Eggnog tiramisu
Prep 20 min
Chill 4 hr
Serves 4
150ml espresso, or strong black coffee
50ml dark rum
3 large egg yolks
50g light brown sugar
½ tsp vanilla bean paste
½ tsp freshly grated nutmeg
A pinch of fine salt
250g mascarpone
85g savoiardi biscuits, or trifle fingers
Cocoa powder and nutmeg, for dusting
Dark chocolate, to finish
Pour the espresso and rum into a small shallow container and set aside.
For the mascarpone cream, put the egg yolks, sugar, vanilla, nutmeg and salt in a large bowl set over a pan of simmering water. Whisk constantly – use an electric hand mixer, if you like – until the mixture turns thick and pale, almost like the texture of homemade mayonnaise. Take the bowl off the heat, add the mascarpone and whisk to a thick and smooth cream.
To assemble the dessert, break the sponge fingers into small pieces, then dunk them one by one in the coffee mixture for a couple of seconds. Make a layer of soaked biscuits in the bottom of four small glasses (I used 130ml water glasses, but cocktail coupes will work, too). Top the biscuits with half the mascarpone cream, then repeat the layering so you have two layers each of soaked sponge and cream. Finish with a light dusting of cocoa powder, a brisk grating of nutmeg and a sprinkle of grated chocolate, then refrigerate for at least four hours before serving.
