Tiramisu for the boys.

Or girls who like beer… stout in particular. I have just made the Lamington Tiramisu for Australia Day last month which I absolutely enjoyed, not to mention it is dead easy to make. When they announced this month’s Daring Bakers Challenge, and you’ve guessed it, is Tiramisu again! I was actually half excited and half deflated since I already made it just few days before the announcement, but also quite excited because Tiramisu is definitely one of my and The Pom’s favourite dessert of all time. So I absolutely have no problem to make it again, in fact any time of the year really. But the big question is, how could I make something a little bit different from the Lamington tiramisu that I’ve just made?

Luckily, I remember I’ve received the Masterchef cookbook recently and there is a Tiramisu recipe inside that I would really love to try. Chris Badenoch, aka the Beer man, is one of the Masterchef Australia season 1 contestants and he had wowed the judges with his own version of tiramisu by using stout, and he called it the Beeramisu.

Perfect timing for me to give that recipe a try, and believe it or not, it is delicious!

The February 2010 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Aparna of My Diverse Kitchen and Deeba of Passionate About Baking. They chose Tiramisu as the challenge for the month. Their challenge recipe is based on recipes from The Washington Post, Cordon Bleu at Home and Baking Obsession.

Correct me if I am wrong, the core components of a Tiramisu is biscuit/sponge, soaked in whatever flavour you are using (traditionally using coffee), then topped with mascarpone cheese. The challenge this month we have to make the Savoiardi Biscuits, the mascarpone cheese, and then assemble the Tiramisu. I won’t include the lengthy recipes on how to make the Savoiardi Biscuits and the mascarpone cheese here as you will be able to grab it from The Daring Kitchen website.

To make the beeramisu, it is suggested to coffee or chocolate stout. I struggled to find any boutique stout where I live, so I just used Guinness Stout mixed in with strong espresso. I got coffee, and I got stout, but one more flavour is missing in my Beeramisu, is the booze! I love my tiramisu with a boozy kick linger in the mouth on every spoonful. Usually I use Amaretto, which gives it another layer of almond flavour to the combination. Coffee liquor like Bailey’s is also another good option which gives the Tiramisu an even creamier texture.

Have to say I am not a Stout man because I think is too bitter for me sometimes. But when you mix it in with coffee, liquor, chocolate, and mascarpone cheese… stout has instantly become my favourite. As the bittery stout brings out the other flavours in the Beeramisu even more prominent and richer. It is seriously to die for.

I dare you to make Beeramisu at your next dinner party, but someone will have to be the designated driver of the evening.

In the mean time, check out some of the most amazing tiramisu I’ve seen in this month’s challenge:

Eight Texture Tiramisu – Almost Bourdain
Pyramisu – Eat Show & Tell
Devonshire Tea(ramisu) – One Bite More
Deconstructed Tiramisu – Lemonpi Y
Tiramisu – Bake in Paris

Beeramisu (serves 6-8)

Ingredients
12 Savoiardi Biscuits
1 cup strong espresso coffee
1/4 cup of Amaretto
2 eggs (separated)
3 tbsp caster sugar
250gram mascarpone cheese
1 cup stout (250ml) stout, preferably coffee or chocolate stout
250ml thickened cream, whipped
Chocolate shavings for garnish
A handful of Raspberries 

Method
1. Combine stout, coffee and Amaretto in a bowl.

2. Add egg yolk and sugar in a bowl and whisk until thick and pale. Add mascarpone and beat until just combined. Add 3 tablespoon of Amaretto and mix well.

3. Fold in the whipped cream into the mixture. Beat egg white until soft peak, gently fold it into the cream, trying not to lose the volume.

4. Dunk the biscuits, one at a time, into the liquid. Layer the biscuit into serving glasses.

5. Spoon Mascarpone mixture over the top until the biscuit is fully covered. 

6. Repeat step 4 - 5 until the serving glasses are filled to the top.

7. Top with chocolate shavings and raspberries and wrap each glasses with cling wrap and refrigerate for at least 4 hours, or until ready to serve.

Tagged as: beer, beeramisu, daring baker. challenge, daring bakers, dbc, recipe, Recipes, tiramisu