Panettone Tiramisu

Panettone Tiramisu Recipe

This week I am rather giving with one hand and taking away with the other, nutritionally speaking.  One day it’s all low sugar snacks and the next it’s full fat puds with coffee soaked cake. That is a metaphor for my rather erratic eating habits at the moment, one day I am being brilliant, the next day, not so much. However, I am not losing heart with my diet, I am blaming sub zero temperatures and the hangover from Christmas for me not getting quite back into healthy eating mode. We also still have a house full of tempting leftovers including 3 tubs of fun sized chocolates and 2 panettones. The latter surfeit of Italian fruit based bakes has led to me posting today’s recipe the Panettone Tiramisu.

I had both a fruit and a chocolate panettone in my stash, so decided to use the chocolate one for my tiramisu and it worked beautifully. And because my January is not dry, I decided to add a little snifter of Baileys to the coffee for soaking which really did take this into a new realm. If you don’t have the EU panettone mountain in your cupboard, you could always use the more traditional trifle sponges, sponge fingers or slices of cake. This recipe came to me via the ever vivacious Not Quite Nigella, with thanks to Lorraine.

This Panettone Tiramisu makes a brilliant dinner party dessert although this batch was inhaled by my family over Sunday lunch. The leftovers were then snaffled out of the fridge after school by George for at least 3 days. He can happily confirm this pud definitely improves with age, if you give it a chance.

What a pretty palette of beige ingredients for this Panettone Tiramisu. You don’t need the whole tiramisu, about 3/4 should be fine, so you can eat at least a couple of slices while you’re making this dish.

Make a start with this rather bowl heavy dessert by taking a large bowl and your hand whisk or a stand mixer. Separate the eggs and the yolks then whisk the egg whites with a pinch of salt until stiff peaks. You only need 3 of the whites, so use the spare 2 for meringues if you like.

Pop these whites to one side while you use the same mixer to whisk the 5 yolks and sugar until voluminous and lighter in colour and texture.

In another bowl, sorry about all the washing up, beat the mascarpone to soften it up a little.

Then whisk in the yolks mixture, beating out the lumps, then finally fold in the frothy egg whites.

Now its time to soak your panettone. Cut it into thick slices then into manageable squares.

Pour the big cup of coffee into a bowl and add the shot of booze if you are using.

Dip your slices of panettone into the coffee, shake off any excess, then lay into the bottom of a 20cm square or round buttered dish.

Fashion the soaked panettone into an even-ish layer then cover this first layer with a third of the mascarpone cream.

Repeat this with another two layers of panettone then top with the last third of the mascarpone.

As a final flourish, dust with a tablespoon of cocoa then pop in the fridge for at least 3 hours or overnight if that suits.

When the terrible long wait is over, serve this wonderful dessert in large portions with pouring cream if you like.

What a wonderful way to utilise a surfeit of Panettone rather than just eating it in handfuls from the box. This creamy, decadent, Italian dessert is a perennial favourite in our house and with the twist of the fruit or chocolate festive bread as a base, it was even more popular.

Lucy x

Panettone Tiramisu Recipe

Serves 6 to 8 people

You will need a stand or hand whisk and a couple of bowls and a 20cm square or round serving dish

This dish contains raw eggs 

5 egg yolks

3 eggs whites

a pinch of salt

100g caster sugar

500g mascarpone

1 large espresso, more of an americano, approx 250ml strong coffee

a large slug, approx 60ml Baileys or Tia Maria – optional

300g panettone, sliced, or of course you can use sponge fingers or sliced madeira cake

1 tablespoon cocoa powder for dusting

Butter a 20cm x 20cm square or round serving dish.

In your stand mixer or with a hand whisk and a bowl, whisk together the egg whites and the pinch of salt until holding stiff peaks. Put to one side then clean the whisk and beat the caster sugar and egg yolks in another bowl until lighter in colour and texture and voluminous.

In another large bowl beat the mascarpone to soften sightly then carefully mix in the egg yolk and sugar mixture. Finally fold in the stiff egg whites then put to one side while you deal with the mascarpone.

Take a bowl and pour in the strong coffee and booze if you are using. Cut your panettone slices into squares then dip into the coffee then lay in a rough layer in the bottom of your buttered dish. Cover the top of the coffee soaked panettone with a third of the mascarpone mixture then smooth over. Continue with another two layers of panettone and mascarpone then top with the last third of the mascarpone. Dust with a tablespoon of cocoa powder then put in the fridge for at least 3 hours or overnight.

Serve in large slabs with extra cream if you like. This keeps for at least 3 days in the fridge.