michelle picker cooks

Tiramisu might be a misnomer for this dessert but as it’s made with some of the same ingredients and methods as a traditional tiramisu, I’m sticking with it. I’m also being a bit liberal with the mojito label as a mojito is generally made with lime and not lemon juice. It’s a great combination of flavours, though – lemon, white rum and mint.

Line a 22cm (9″) spring-form cake tin with baking parchment. To make the lemon curd, I opted for an adaptation of a sous vide method which worked excellently well. If you have a sous vide wand or machine, in a cryovac bag combine 3 whole large eggs, 4 tablespoons of melted unsalted butter, ½ a cup of sugar, ¼ of a cup of freshly squeezed lemon juice and 1 teaspoon of powdered gelatine. Stir and seal the bag and place in a 74ºC (165ºF) water bath for 45 minutes. When it’s cooked, remove to a blender and process until emulsified. Set aside. To make the mascarpone cream, beat 150ml (5 fl oz) of cream until soft peaks form. Combine with 600g (21 oz) of mascarpone cheese, the finely grated zest of 2 lemons and 60g (2 oz) of sugar. Combine well and set aside. In a shallow bowl mix 60ml of lemon juice, 60g (2 oz) of sugar and 40ml of white rum (this only gives a mild rum flavor and you may want to add more). Stir until the sugar has dissolved. To assemble, dip savoiardi biscuits (sponge finger biscuits) briefly into the lemon juice mixture and place in the bottom of the cake tin making sure not to leave too much space. Sprinkle a little more of the liquid over them before topping with half of the lemon curd and half of the mascarpone cream. Repeat these steps to make a second layer. Chill in the fridge overnight or as long as possible. When it came to serving, I left my tiramisu upside down as I thought it looked more interesting. To invert it, just turn it over onto a serving plate, peel off the paper and voilá. Top with fresh mint.