Beginning the weekend with a tiramisu pick-me-up and champagne. And plenty of coffee.
I made the tiramisu with griottes, a local specialty from where I live, which is cherries soaked in cherry eau de vie, honestly to die for. You can also make them yourself, the recipe is in my cookbook. Tiramisu actually is such a simple dessert to make, and I love to serve it in vintage champagne glasses.
This weekend (well on Tuesday actually, but that’s making up for a loooong weekend, doesn’t it) we’ll be celebrating Toussaint, or All Saints Day. It’s the time when the veil thins and the ferocious huntsmen are out riding the wind through the valley. It’s rather spectacular yet it is advised not to get into their way. Also it’s the days of unexpected visits and unasked for gifts, so watch out! Better have an extra tiramisu ready for when the thing gets started. And don’t mock odd offerings, for they might turn into gold (especially if you leave them on the stove until next morning, mind).
Being one to take a feast as it falls, as we say where I come from, I have decorated the courtyard with pumpkins I got at a farm nearby and mother made this stunning wreath for the door, doesn’t it look inviting!
What you’ll need
- 250g mascarpone
- A little jar of griottes
- Three happy hens eggs from the farmer around the corner
- 75g of sugar
- A box of biscuits de Montbozon, another fabulous specialty from where I live
- 1dl of best Italian espresso
- Natural cocoa powder for dusting
- Wide crystal glasses, depending on the size of the glasses 6-8
How to make it
Separate the yolk from the egg white and beat the yolks with the sugar for five minutes until the mass is foamy and white. Gently add the mascarpone. Then beat the egg whites to a stiff firm mass and carefully fold under. Pour the espresso into a shallow plate and add three tablespoons of cherry liqueur from the griotte jar.
Put three cherries in each glass, then cut a biscuit per glass into cubes and soak them in the coffee-liqueur before putting them into the glasses. Add a layer of mascarpone-cream and then another of soaked biscuits if there’s still room but at any rate finish with a layer of mascarpone cream. Cover with plastic foil and let sit in the fridge for at least four hours. Dust with cocoa powder before serving.
How to eat it
It’s a literal pick-me-up, the tiramisu, so be ready for a boost! We had ours as a dessert after an extended brunch with an accompanying glass of bubbly before heading out to find fresh trumpet mushrooms in the woods.
Les Poissonchats 