Cherrymisu

Name: Cherrymisu: Cherry Tiramisu Without Coffee
Prep time: 20 min
Total time: 3 h 20 min
Yield: 8 servings
Ingredients: 3 eggs, separated; 100g icing sugar (3½oz); 375g mascarpone (13oz); 1/2 cup kirsch (125ml); 3/4 cup syrup from amarene cherries (180ml); 1/4 cup hot water (60ml); 200g Savoiardi biscuits (7oz / about 24); 24 amarene cherries (half a 600g / 1lb 5oz jar); 20g dark chocolate

Tiramisu without coffee? How can that be? After all the coffee gives tiramisu its name, which means ‘pick-me-up. But some people (like my friend Diana) don’t like coffee yet still crave the creamy layered flavour of this mascarpone dessert. So this one’s for them, tiramisu without coffee, the ‘pick me up’ coming from a hearty slosh of kirsch and the complex bitter-sweet flavour of amarene cherries and their syrup. Amarene is a variety of sour cherry that grows in Emilia, particularly around Bologna and Modena. The family-owned Fabbri company produces the best known preserved amarene cherries, with their distinctive white and blue Faenza (faience) jars seen all over Emilia. They’re often served with gelato and are delicious in this cherrymisu. The perfect wine match for this cherry trifle comes from just south of Emilia-Romagna, in Marche, where red wine is infused with another sour cherry called visciole. Track down a bottle of Visner di Pergola and see what I mean! See video below for my classic tiramisu recipe.

Serves 8–10

Ingredients

3 eggs, separated
100g icing sugar (3½oz)
375g mascarpone (13oz)
½ cup kirsch (125ml)
¾ cup syrup from amarene cherries (180ml)
¼ cup hot water (60ml)
200g Savoiardi biscuits (7oz/about 24)
24 amarene cherries (half a 600g/1lb 5oz jar)
20g dark chocolate

Method

Whisk egg whites with half the sugar until firm peaks form. Set aside.
Whisk egg yolks with remaining sugar until pale and creamy.
Stir mascarpone to loosen it up, then add it to the yolk mixture and whisk just until smooth.
Fold egg white mixture into this mixture and set aside.
Place kirsch, cherry syrup and hot water in a wide shallow bowl and stir to combine well.
Dip half the biscuits into about half the kirsch mixture, so that they absorb it but aren’t soaked through, and arrange them in a single layer in a serving dish that’s about 26 x 21cm and 4–5cm deep (10″ x 8½″ and 1½–2″ deep).
Distribute the cherries evenly across the dish, pressing them down gently into gaps between the biscuits.
Top with half the mascarpone mixture.
Dip remaining biscuits into remaining kirsch mixture and arrange them on top.
Drizzle any remaining kirsch mixture over the top.
Top with remaining mascarpone mixture.
Cover and refrigerate for at least 3 hours, preferably overnight.
Just before serving, grate chocolate over the top.