This recipe for Tiramisu has evolved from the original following the gift of Cherries in Kirsch. It is essentially a chocolate and cherry version of the classic. It incorporates 3 egg yolks, which make it a richer dessert, but are not essential if you prefer not to use raw eggs. We also make our own 2 egg chocolate sponge cake as we don’t like the texture of soaked boudoir biscuits. It is best if made a day before as the flavours mature. We love it and now you can too. enjoy!

Link to measurement conversion chart

This recipe serves 6 - 8 and looks great if assembled and served in individual wine glasses.

Ingredients

• 3 egg yolks – optional
• 75g Caster sugar
• 100ml of Kirsch plus another good splash!
• 1 x 425g tin Pitted Black Cherries
• 500g Mascarpone
• 200g Creme Fraiche
• 20 boudoir biscuits – we make a 2 egg chocolate sponge, it has a better texture
• 25g plain chocolate grated

You will also need

• 2 mixing bowls
• An electric whisk
• a grater for your chocolate
• 1 large serving bowl for one large dessert or 6 – 8 wine glasses depending upon the size of your glasses and the number of desserts you want to create

Method

1. Separate the cherries from the syrup, saving the syrup.
2. Using a large bowl beat the egg yolks and caster sugar together until pale and thick
3. Add the mascarpone and beat until smooth then incorporate the fromage fraise and drained cherries then add a good splash of kirche liquor
4. Mix together the Kirche and syrup from the cherries.
5. Dip half the boudoir biscuits into the cherry liquid and arrange in the bottom of the serving bowl
6. Spoon over half the mascarpone mix and sprinkle half the grated chocolate evenly over the top
7. Repeat to form a second layer – then lick the mascarpone spoon, chefs treat!
8. Cover and refrigerate for 2 hours or more, this improves the flavour

Serving suggestions and variations

• If you don’t consume alcohol miss out the liquor and add a slug of cherry syrup to the mascarpone mix instead.
• If you don’t like to eat raw eggs, leave them out.
• Replace the kirche with a chocolate liquor for a more choclaty version
• Miss out the cherry and kirche elements and add your favourite fruit liquor and a suitable flavoured fruit juice instead. Stir some fruit into the mascarpone mix as well if you like or layer it in on top of the sponge cake. Raspberries and peaches work well.
• I recommend the use of a proper sponge cake instead of boudoir biscuits. Use a flavoured or plain sponge following our basic Victoria sponge adapted to 2 eggs

Acknowledgements

Most Italian families have their own recipe for this wonderful dessert. A former colleague of mine, Claudine, attended an Italian cookery class and brought this in for us all to try. It was the start of a Tiramisu love affair! Our version has evolved in part from Claudine and in part from a BBC food recipe.

If you have enjoyed this recipe you might like to have a go at these too;

• If having some friends round try Asparagus Gallettes, either make one big one or several small ones  as a starter
• Doing an Italian meal then our Carbonara A La Basevi Storecupboard  makes a great main with a little twist
• Want a little mediteranean influence on your dinner plate then then have a go at our Mediteranean roasted Vegetables or Med Veg, any leftovers go well in a sandwich.

Happy eating!

 If you enjoyed this recipe you may also like to try one of the followingIf you

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Whoopie pies were a popular product on my farmers market table, which was before the reinvention of the cupcake came along. They are originally an American Amish mini sponge cake, served as a lunchtime treat to keep you going until dinner time. They can be made in a variety of flavours however the chocolate ones were the most popular on my table. Whoopie pies are a great sweet snack about the size of a doughnut, two quite dense sponge cakes sandwiched together with a filling of your choice – butter cream is a favourite. They can also be topped with a flavoured water icing and cake decorations if you want to pretty them up. I love that there are no cake tins involved so they spread and form their own shape, if this is a problem for you then use bun tins instead of a baking trays. These are a dense, filling sponge for a snack, not a light delicate teatime treat. Give them a go and see what you think, they proved very popular with University students in Southamption!

Link to measurement conversion chart

This recipe makes approx. 15 whoopie pies

Ingredients

• 125g Butter
• 200g light brown sugar
• 1 large egg beaten
• 350g plain flour
• 50g Cocoa powder
• 1 ½ tsp Bicarbonate of soda
• ½ tsp salt
• 250ml Greek yogurt or buttermilk

Filling

• 150g softened butter
• 250g icing sugar
• A few drops of vanilla essence

You will also need

• 3 large baking trays lined with parchment paper
• An electric whisk
• A mixing bowl

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180c
2. Beat together the butter and sugar until pale and creamy then beat in the egg until combined
3. Sift the dry ingredients the beat into the buttery mixture a spoon at a time, alternating with the yogurt/milk
4. Using a spoon dollop 2cm diameter balls of the mixture onto the trays allowing plenty of room to spread
5. Bake for 12 – 15 mins until well risen, the tops should be cracked
6. Transfer to a baking try and allow to cool
7. Make the filling by beating together the butter, icing sugar and vanilla essence adding a tiny amount of water if needed.
8. Sandwich together 2 cakes with a generous amount of filling
9. Eat and enjoy!

Serving suggestions and variations

• The filling can be anything you fancy, try; chocolate butter cream, chocolate flavoured Meringue Buttercream, crème patisserie, chocolate truffle mix, Chantilly Cream or whipped cream
• They can be topped with a flavoured water icing or melted chocolate drizzled over the top
• Use cake decorations or vermicelli on top if you want to pretty them up.
• If you want a more even pie then pipe them out with a large plain nozel and smooth the top.
• Replace the cocoa with plain flour and add an alternative flavouring instead. Try a few drops of vanilla or almond essence, orange or lemon zest or one measure of espresso. Then adapt the filling to suit.

Acknowledgements

I can’t think of anyone to give the credit for this one other than the Armish in America. In fact I can’t even remember where I first heard of them but they were popular in recipe magazines for about 6 months prior to the re-emergence of cupcake popularity around 2012, which coincided with their disappearance from the foodie magazines.  However they are worth a go if you want something different.

We hope you have enjoyed this recipe.

You might like to try some other recipes from our collection;

1. Like the Woopie Pie, that remind the Armish of a special treat, Boiled Egg and soldiers is one of those Childhhod favs. for me.
2. Our Corned Beef Lasagne is another one that is a family special
3. fancy a special salad with your lasagne then try our onion and tomato salad

We hope you have enjoyed these recipes

Happy eating!

Banoffee pie is a great dish for using up a couple of over ripe bananas, you know the ones where the skin is starting to get brown dots and they smell very banana'y.  We love the combination of bananas and toffee and it is well worth the effort it takes to make, you get the flavour combination of biscuits, banas toffee and cream all in one mouthful, delicious. You need to use bananas that are fully ripe so that you get the full banana flavour, any that are still firm to the touch rather than slightly soft leave them another day or so, and if they have gone over the edge, to over ripe, make them into a smoothie instead. The caramel sauce is easy to make but you need to watch it like a hawk. I have gone back to it as having tried loads of other toffee sauces this one works the best. We also prefer a biscuit base to pastry, but either works well. So if you find yourself with a few bananas that are heading for the ripe side treat yourself.

Serves 6 - 8

Link to measurement conversion chart

Ingredients

For the base:

• 100g butter
• 225g digestive biscuits crushed

For the caramel:

• 100g butter
• 100g dark brown soft sugar
• 397g can Carnation Condensed Milk

For the filling and top:

• 3 medium ripe bananas cut into 5mm thick rings
• 300ml carton whipping cream, lightly whipped
• grated chocolate
• juice of 1 lemon

You will also need...

• 20cm loose-bottomed cake tin, greased
• A small saucepan
• A mixing bowl
• an electric whisk

Method

• Make the base
  • Melt the butter in a saucepan then remove from the heat
  • Add the crushed biscuits to the buter and stir until evenly coated with butter
  • Pour the biscuits into the loose bottomed cake tin and spread evenly across the bottom and sides, pressing firmly.
  • Refridgerate for 30 mins.
• Make the caramel sauce
  • Melt the butter and sugar into a non-stick saucepan over a low heat, stirring all the time until the sugar has dissolved.
  • Add the condensed milk and bring to a rapid boil for about a minute, stirring all the time for a thick golden caramel.
  • Allow to cool slightly
• Assemble the pie
  
  • Put the remaining banana rings in a bowl and sprinkle with a little lemon juice to stop them going brown
  • Spread an even layer of banana rings on the base of the pastry case, holding some back for decoration if you want to.
  • Pour the toffee sauce over the bananas then chill in the refrigerator for 30 mins or until the sauce has stiffened
  • Spread the whipped cream over the toffee and decorate with banana slices and grated chocolate

Serving suggestions and variations

• Try using chocolate digestives instead of plain ones for a biscuit base.
• For a pastry base use 1 batch of extra rich short crust pastry or 1 pack of ready made dessert pastry or 1 batch of Gluten free pastry, blind baked before assembly
• Substitute the bananas for tinned peaches or cooked apple slices
• Instead of layering the bananas at the bottom the original recipe combined half with the whipped cream and piled it all on top of the toffee sauce
• Make it exotic by adding 50g or desiccated coconut to the cream and decorating with pineapple segments
• If you have any pastry left over cook up a batch of mini tart cases, remove them from the oven and pop a banana slice in the bottom, top with half a toffee and bake for a further 5 mins to the toffee melts then spoon over a little whipped cream. Bite sized banoffee pies make a great pass around pudding at a cocktail party or buffet.

Acknowledgements

The original recipe is one I found on a Carnation condensed milk can. However I didn’t like the bananas stirred into the cream so layered them at the bottom of the pie instead.

Fancy something else from our collection then why not try one of the following;

• A Salad Nicoise makes a great light lunch if you have a banoffee pie for pud!
• Want something a little more substantial then try our Corned Beef Lasagne
• Our red cabbage coleslaw makes a great addition to either of these main meals and adds a little colour to the plate as well

We hope you have enjoyed these recipes

Happy eating!

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This recipe for Chantilly cream is a simple combination of double or whipping cream, vanilla and icing sugar. It gives a sweetened whipped cream to serve with dessert and cakes and works particularly well with summer berries on a meringue or pavlova. Be warned that adding icing sugar makes the cream stiffen quicker than usual and the cream will continue to stiffen after you stop beating so go carefully.

Makes enough to serve 4 – 6 as an accompaniment or top 1 Pavlova

Link to measurement conversion chart

Ingredients

• 150ml double cream – or whipping if you prefer
• 2 tbsp Icing sugar
• Vanilla essence

You will also need

• a mixing bowl
• a hand or electric whisk

Method

1. Pour the cream in a mixing bowl
2. Add a few drops of vanilla essence, less is best here.
3. Sprinkle on the sugar then beat until soft peaks start to form, this will not take long.
4. Either transfer to a serving bowl or use as needed in a dessert, cake or piped decoration
5. Eat and enjoy!

Serving suggestions and variations

• I like to use Chantilly cream with meringues or inside a sponge sandwich cake. It is particularly complimentary if you are using fresh or frozen berries of any kind, peaches and apricots.
• It makes a great addition to a cold dessert or topping for trifles.
• It can be used instead of clotted cream in a cream tea.
• If you want a different flavour substitute the vanilla for a splash of flavoured liquor

Acknowledgements
Chantilly cream is named for a small French town outside Paris that is famed for its whipped cream. Therefore I acknowledge the French for this one, and it tastes great.

We hope you have enjoyed this recipe. If you have some photo's to share, we would love to hear from you or you can post them on our Facebook page.

You might like to try some other recipes from our collection;

• Eggs Royale make a very special starter or breakfast, so if you want to impress give this a go
• Got a lot of runner beans to use up, try Runner Bean Spaghetti and bolgnaise sauce, or any other pasta sauce, great if you are gluten free
• Whether you are doing a BBQ or serving a curry, Hot Aloo potatoes will make a great addition to the meal

We hope you have enjoyed these recipes 

Happy eating!