Now for a great 'pick me up' or, as the Italians say - Tiramisu!
I love Tiramisu - it quite simply covers all the bases. It is easy enough to put together and serve at a casual lunch or you can take it up a notch and get a bit heavy-handed with the liqueur with fresh fruit and deliver a very special occasion dish - we have had it on Christmas as an alternative to the traditional pudding and at one very special Christmas, where we had 14 around the table, I made them in 250ml Mason jars (so pretty and so much easier to serve when its done in individual portions!)
Recipe for Tiramisu
568ml pot double cream
250g tub mascarpone
75ml Amaretto or Marsala or Baileys
5 tbsp caster sugar
300ml strong fresh coffee, or made with 2 tbsp coffee granules and 300ml boiling water
175g pack savoiardi sponge finger biscuits
25g dark chocolate
2 tsp cocoa powder
Optional - 250g fresh raspberries, soaked in your chosen liquor (Amaretto or Cointreau or vodka are best)
Put the cream, mascarpone, liquor and sugar in a large bowl. Whisk until the cream and mascarpone have completely combined and have the consistency of thickly whipped cream.
Get your serving dish (or dishes) ready. Put the cooled coffee into a shallow dish and dip in a few sponge fingers at a time, turning for a few secs until they are nicely soaked, but not soggy. When I used the wee pots, I cut the biscuits to size before dipping in the coffee. Layer these into your dish(es) until you have used half the biscuits, then spread over half of the creamy mixture. Using the coarse side of the grater, grate over most of the chocolate. It's at this point that you can up your game and add a layer of fresh raspberries soaked in more of your chosen liquor. Then repeat the layers (you should use up all the coffee), finishing with the creamy layer.
Cover and chill for a few hrs or preferably overnight. This can now be kept in the fridge for up to 2 days. To serve, dust with cocoa powder and grate over the remainder of the chocolate.