Welsh cake tiramisu
Italian tiramisu with a Welsh accent. Make the Welsh cakes today, enjoy half of them warm from the pan and use the other half to make this luscious dessert.
Ingredients
For the Welsh cakes
- 100²µ/3½´Ç³ú raisins
- 100ml/3½fl oz Welsh whiskey
- 250g/9oz self-raising flour, plus extra for dusting
- 50²µ/1¾´Ç³ú caster sugar, plus extra for dusting
- pinch salt
- ¼ tsp ground cardamom (optional)
- ¼ tsp ground cinnamon (optional)
- 125²µ/4½´Ç³ú butter, chilled and diced, plus extra for cooking
- 1 free-range egg, beaten
For the tiramisu
- 2 free-range eggs, separated, plus 2 egg yolks
- 50²µ/1¾´Ç³ú caster sugar
- 250g/9oz mascarpone
- 200ml/7fl oz double cream
- 1 tsp vanilla extract (optional)
- 50ml/2fl oz sweet marsala wine
- 2 tbsp Welsh whisky
- 200ml/7fl oz strong espresso coffee, cooled
- cocoa powder, for dusting
Method
First make the Welsh cakes. Put the raisins in a small saucepan and pour over the whiskey. Heat until the whiskey starts to boil, then remove from the heat and leave to infuse for 1 hour.
If there is any remaining liquid in the saucepan, strain the raisins and discard the liquid.
Put the flour, sugar and salt into a bowl, with the spices if using. Add the butter and rub it in using your fingertips until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. Add the drained raisins and egg, cutting the egg into the mixture with a knife. As soon as the mixture starts coming together into a dough, work it into a ball with your fingers. Chill for 1 hour if possible.
Turn out the dough onto a lightly floured work surface and roll out to a thickness of 5mm/¼in. Using a 6cm/2½in round cutter, cut out rounds of the dough then reroll any trimmings and repeat. You will end up with around 36 rounds.
Heat a griddle pan or heavy frying pan over a medium heat and rub a little butter over the surface. Cook the Welsh cakes in batches, for 2–3 minutes on each side until deep golden brown. Do not have the heat too high or they will burn before they are cooked through. Coat a plate with caster sugar. When the Welsh cakes are firm to touch, turn them onto the sugar and flip over so they are well covered. You will need 16–18 of the cakes for the tiramisu, so enjoy some of them warm from the pan.
To make the tiramisu: in a large bowl, whisk the egg yolks with the sugar and mascarpone until the mixture is pale yellow and completely lump free.
Whisk the egg whites until they form soft peaks. In another bowl, whisk the cream until it forms soft peaks. Gently fold the egg whites and cream into the mascarpone mixture, along with the vanilla, if using. It will look slightly grainy to start with, but keep folding until the mixture is smooth, keeping it as aerated as possible.
Mix the marsala, whisky and coffee in a shallow bowl. Dip half of the Welsh cakes into the liquid, one at a time. You might need to double dip them as they should be quite saturated. Arrange them in the base of a large trifle bowl, breaking some of them up to fill any gaps. Dust over a little cocoa, then top with half of the mascarpone mix.
Dip the remaining Welsh cakes and arrange lightly over the mascarpone, then top with the rest of the mascarpone mixture. Dust with plenty of cocoa. Cover and chill for several hours, preferably overnight. Serve well chilled.