I wasn’t going to blog this, I got the idea from one of those foreign Instagram reels with no measurements, but I figured – coffee and liqueur soaked biscuits, alcohol laced mascarpone, whipped cream and fresh berries! Can I really screw this up?! So here is a our first 2022 Christmas Treat – A Tiramisu Roll, absolutely delightful to make and even better to eat!

Disclaimer: Tiramisu purists look away – no egg, and not traditional at all. There I said it! Okay so the instructions for this are really hard for me to explain but when I saw the end result, it really became very intuitive.  Couple of tips, have all your ingredients ready – mascarpone whipped cream, liqueur coffee mixture, fruit, piping bag, Nutella or make your own chocolate mousse (Ina says it’s okay to use ready-made as long as it is good quality – so try Dr. Oetker’s chocolate (or vanilla) mousse if you like). Lay a couple of sheets of plastic wrap on the counter and the rest is history! I’ve provided photographs at almost every step.  I say almost every step as I started to just make it, then realized I wanted to share this idea with you!  So by that time I had spread the plastic wrap on the counter, dipped and laid the biscuits side by side, piped the rows of mascarpone cream, added the chocolate and finally the raspberries.  Once this was done, brought each end up to the center – carefully, and rested in the fridge for about 4 hours. 

I had made this for a dinner party at our neighbors house.  It sliced really well – no I didn’t take my camera to the dinner party so no picture of it.  As I said, I would love to take credit for the idea and the taste, but again – biscuits, coffee, chocolate, alcohol, cream and berries – “Come on man” (a la Joe Biden, shades and all!), how could you go wrong?! The worst thing that could happen, you will be the first on your block to make a Tiramisu Trifle.  It’s food – relax!

This is a lovely presentation for your dessert table or to take to someone’s house, and makes a delightful dessert after a Christmas meal! I just want you to make it. Feel free to adjust the ingredients to your liking, just don’t call it Tiramisu if there are any purists in your social circle, you will be frowned upon (or do what I do and just make new friends!)! Stay safe, stay well and as always – enjoy!

Suggestions and/or Substitutions:

  • At the time of writing this up, I used the extra ladyfingers and mascarpone cream to make a lemon flavored tiramisu – I painted the ladyfingers with limoncello and started to put it together.  OMG, I liked the texture better as the biscuits weren’t soaked just brushed with the liquour so they kept a bit of crunch which paired really well with the mascarpone cream. So try this as well!
  • Substitute chocolate mousse for the Nutella
  • Sprinkle the insides with toasted sliced almonds
  • Sprinkle with pomegranate seeds
  • Serve the slices on a bed of raspberry coulis for additional color and decorate with fresh mint leaves
  • And remember, Ina says “store bought is okay” to use, just make sure it tastes good!

Ingredients

  • 24 lady fingers (I used Gioia, they are narrower and I like the taste. No affiliation)
  • 1 ½ cups cold coffee, I like it strong
  • ¼ cup Tia Maria plus 2 tbsp – divided for the coffee mixture and the mascarpone mixture respectively
  • 500g mascarpone, at room temperature (on the counter for about 30 minutes)
  • ¼ – ½ cup icing sugar (to taste or use regular sugar)
  • ½ cup whipping cream
  • About 1 cup Nutella 
  • Raspberries to garnish and stuff inside the roll

Directions

  1. Using your stand mixer with the whisk attachment, add the mascarpone to the blender and whisk for about 1 minute – add the liqueur and continue to whisk – 30 seconds, finally add the cream and whisk until the mixture thickens like stiff whipped cream, about 3 – 5 minutes longer
  2. While the mascarpone mixture is in the mixer, prepare the lady fingers for the base
  3. Lay a couple of layers of plastic wrap longer and wider than the length and width of 2 columns of 12 lady fingers touching end to end
  4. Dip the lady fingers in the coffee/liqueur mixture
  5. Lay them end to end as shown in the photograph – mine made a column of 2 x 12 biscuits – set aside
  6. Back to the mascarpone which should have thickened and firmed like whipped cream, stop the mixer
  7. Scrape the contents into a mixing bag with a large ¼” opening star or plain tip (depending on the size of your bag you may need to do this in two steps)
  8. Pipe three strips down the center of the lady fingers – alternatively scoop and gently spread without breaking the biscuit layer – it will be soft
  9. Dollop the Nutella over the center by the teaspoon or tablespoon (your choice, your dessert)
  10. Top with a column of raspberries and another single row of mascarpone on top of that
  11. Now, confidently but gently, lift up the saran wrap to enclose half the filling, do the same with the other end, gently but confidently molding the ladyfingers around the filling, enclose with the plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 4 hours or overnight
  12. When ready to serve, carefully remove the plastic wrap from the tiramisu roll, and place on a platter
  13. Top with mascarpone stars and additional raspberries, dust with a mixture of cocoa and icing sugar
  14. Stand back, take a sip of wine and marvel at your creation, take it to the table, let the ooohs/aaahs subside, let them think you sweat all night making it
  15. Slice and serve (have another sip) – enjoy!