Jamie’s Christmas Italian Tiramisu with a Spice People Twist

PREP TIME

30 minutes

COOK TIME

120 minutes

SERVES

14 people

Ingredients

250 g quality dark chocolate (70%)
50 g butter , diced
175 g sponge fingers
400 ml good hot sweetened coffee
vin santo or other sweet dessert wine
4 large free-range eggs
80 g caster sugar
750 g mascarpone
2 oranges
a few fresh coffee beans, bashed up finely
1 tbsp The Spice People’s Cinnamon and 1tsp extra for sprinting on top
1 tsp The Spice People’s Vanilla Extract

The love this recipe

When it came time to prepare my classic Christmas food menu that I do every year, I began thinking perhaps it was time for a small change up.

Though I’m not quite ready to depart from my Lemon and Thyme Turkey and Cloves-Studded Christmas Ham as we only get to enjoy them once a year, I did think my Christmas menu was ready for a shake up in the dessert department. So I took a look online and flicked through various food magazines and came across Jamie Oliver’s recipe for Italian Christmas Tiramisu, which I’ve added my own special touch to by adding some Ground Cinnamon but who goes better with chocolate and orange than cinnamon? I’ve already done a test run before the big day and let me tell you it was absolutely mouth-wateringly delicious and even got a big stamp of approval from my kids so, I thought I have to share the recipe with you all. Take a look below and do let me know if you give it a try!

Directions

Put a glass bowl over a pan of gently simmering water, making sure the water doesn’t touch the base of the bowl. Put 200g of the chocolate into the bowl, keeping the remaining 50g in one piece. Add the diced butter and a pinch of salt, and leave for 5 minutes or so until melted and combined. Help it along by giving it a stir every now and then.
Meanwhile, line a large, deep bowl or round earthenware dish (about 30cm in diameter and 12cm deep) with the sponge fingers, then carefully pour over the hot sweetened coffee. Add a couple of swigs of vin santo to your melted chocolate, stir it through, then drizzle all over the sponge fingers. Use a spatula to carefully smooth it out to the edges so you’ve got a nice even layer. Put it to one side to cool.
Separate your eggs, putting the whites into one bowl and the yolks into another. Add the sugar to the yolks with another swig of vin santo (if you’re feeling naughty!), and whisk with an electric whisk on the highest setting for about 5 minutes, or by hand, until all the sugar has dissolved and the yolks are pale and fluffy. Mix in the mascarpone the zest of 1 orange, the vanilla extract and the cinnamon.
Clean and dry your whisk, and whisk the whites with a pinch of salt until they form stiff peaks – they should be a similar consistency to the yolk and mascarpone mixture, and should hold their shape when you lift the beaters from the bowl.
Using a large metal spoon, add a spoonful of your whites to the yolk mixture and gently fold them in, then fold through the rest of the whites. Spoon and smooth this creamy mixture on top of your chocolate layer.
Scatter the finely bashed-up coffee beans and sprinkle cinnamon over the top. Using a sharp knife or a speed peeler, carefully shave over your remaining chocolate. Finely grate over the zest from half your remaining orange. Pop the tiramisu into the fridge for 2 hours to set.