Tiramisu

I felt like such a typical English person when I arrived here. When asked the question: What Italian food do you like? I replied Tiramisu and Spaghetti Bolognese... and I call myself a dedicated foodie! I could have impressed them with knowledge of Cannoli Siciliani or Mortadella, but instead I went straight in there with a huge "Look at me, I'm English" sign on my forehead. As much as that may have been a low point, it did have great results... sometimes it's worth embarrassing yourself.

So this morning we tootled off to the shops to pick up a few missing ingredients, we even went to a special shop that just sold dairy products (unless I've just missed them all these years, I don't think we have those in England). Oh and I nearly forgot, I also had my first school run by bike today - thankfully it's mainly cobbled streets and pretty piazzas, no terrifying Italian roundabouts!

This cookery session didn't run quite as seamlessly as the last couple, as my confidence in my Italian grows, I double check instructions less and less often.... and today this resulted in me mistakenly throwing the egg whites away, rather than out the way for later - subtle difference! A few more eggs later, we were done, and I've jotted down the rough recipe below. One thing I've noticed about Italian tiramisu is that they don't top it with whipped cream, I personally really like it this way - I've always been a custard girl (apparently that's a northern thing, but my home is most definitely midlands - although according to my very southern aunty, they're basically the same place!) Other Italians add coffee liqueur too, this is just the way we made it today - simple but delicious (and I was given a fair few chef's perks along the way to keep me going until lunch: savoiardi biscuits dipped in the mascarpone mix... Italian fondue!)

3 eggs - 3 yolks and 2 whites separated (you don't need the 3rd white)
Tiny pinch of salt
6 tbsp. caster sugar
6 tbsp. mascarpone (about 300g)
Fresh coffee (ideally espresso) you'll need about 1/2 a cappuccino cup full
Savoiardi biscuits (about 64)
2 tsp. cocoa powder

1. Add the pinch of salt to the egg whites and whisk to soft peaks (the salt helps to make them fluffy apparently... but I wouldn't necessarily quote me, as that description is based on my Italian comprehension on only my 3rd day here!) Set aside.
2. Whisk the yolks and sugar until pale and thick, then add the mascarpone and whisk until fully combined.
3. Layer up the tiramisu in a wide shallow dish: Biscuits first (dip them in the coffee first, but there's no need to leave them to soak), then cover with about 1/3 of the mascarpone mix, sift over a tsp. of cocoa, another layer of biscuits, the rest of the mascarpone mix and then a final sprinkling of cocoa powder.
4. Leave in the fridge for at least an hour, then enjoy. Ideally eat it on the day.