This dessert is inspired by my favourite autumn flavours: apples, cinnamon and marzipan. It’s an autumnal twist on a classic tiramisu – so Italians look away now please! I’m first stewing apple cubes with cinnamon and sugar. The finger biscuits are dipped into coffee mixed with Amaretto, and also combined with crushed Amaretti biscuits. My mascarpone cream is boosted with marzipany tonka bean. And it all gets dusted with chocolate shavings. If fall was a dessert, this would be it!
For the stewed apples:
1 apple
1 tbsp sugar
½ tsp cinnamon or Anne’s Sweet Spice
60 ml coffee
25g sugar
30ml Amaretto
1 egg
1 tbsp vanilla sugar
a bit of tonka bean
125g mascarpone
100ml cream
a pinch of salt
4 sponge finger biscuits
20g Amaretti
To serve:
A bit of grated chocolate
4 Amaretti
Serves 4
Start by making the stewed apples: peel and core the apple, and cut into 1cm dice. Put in a saucepan with the sugar, cinnamon and two tablespoons of water. Cover and cook over a medium heat for a couple of minutes, until the apple has released its juices. Uncover and cook for another 4 minutes until the apples are soft and the liquid has been absorbed. Set aside to cool.
Mix the coffee with 1 teaspoon of sugar and all the Amaretto, pour into a deep plate and set aside.
Separate the egg, beat the egg white with a pinch of salt until stiff. In a large mixing bowl, beat the egg yolk with the sugar and vanilla sugar. Grate in a bit of tonka bean, then add the mascarpone and beat again.
Add the stiff egg white to the bowl with the mascarpone cream, but don’t mix yet.
Pour the cream in the bowl used for the egg white and whisk until stiff. Fold the whipped cream and the stiff egg whites into the mascarpone to get a smooth cream.
Dip the sponge finger biscuits in the coffee so that they soak up some liquid. Arrange a layer at the bottom of four glasses, top with the stewed apples, crumble the Amaretti on top, then top with the mascarpone cream.
Cover with cling film and refrigerate for at least 4 hours.
Before serving, crush the chocolate and amaretti biscuits and scatter over the top.
