Tiramisu means ‘lift me up’ in Italian and the mere thought of diving into this heavenly classic dessert certainly makes my spirits soar!

Ingredients:

For the lady finger biscuits

¼ cup aquafaba (see notes)

1 teaspoon vanilla

¼ cup caster sugar

½ cup white flour

1 tablespoon cornflour

1 teaspoon baking powder

Pinch salt

Icing sugar for dusting

Mascarpone cream

200-240g Angel Food cream cheese, room temperature

300g soft or silken tofu

⅔ cup icing sugar

⅓ cup plant milk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 tablespoon lemon juice (or cider vinegar)

Other ingredients

½ cup strong coffee

2 tablespoons brandy (or apple juice for alcohol-free)

Cocoa powder for dusting

Instructions:

·       Preheat the oven to 170° Celsius.

·       For the lady fingers, beat the aquafaba until stiff peaks form or until you can hold the bowl upside down without it moving. Add vanilla and caster sugar and beat until combined.

·       In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking powder, cornflour and salt then sift into the aquafaba mixture. Use a spatula to fold the mixture gently together until just combined.

·       Spoon mixture into a piping bag and line a baking tray with baking paper. Pipe your ‘fingers’ onto the baking tray leaving at least a 1cm gap in between each. I made my lady fingers about 2cm by 8cm, but it’s not necessary to be exact. Dust lightly with icing sugar then bake in the oven for 15-20 minutes and allow to cool.

·       For the mascarpone cream, measure all ingredients into a food processor and blend until smooth.

·       For assembly, combine coffee and brandy together in a bowl. One by one, soak each lady finger (be sure to soak well) in the coffee mixture and line the base of a dish with the soaked lady fingers. Pour over the cream mixture and spread evenly. Leave in the fridge overnight and dust with cocoa powder immediately before serving.

Notes

Aquafaba is the liquid from canned chickpeas: the starch and protein in it gives it emulsifying properties.

The lady finger recipe makes enough for one layer of lady fingers but can easily be doubled if you want two layers of biscuits. The rest of the ingredients can stay the same as there is plenty of the cream to divide between two layers.

If you prefer you can use vegan sponge or vanilla cake instead of the lady finger biscuits, or even shop-bought plain vegan biscuits.

Although tiramisu is famous around the world you might be surprised at how recently it was invented: either in the late 1960s or early 1970s.

It is claimed that tiramisu was invented at Le Beccherie restaurant in the northern Italian city of Treviso on Christmas Eve 1969: restaurateur Ado Campeol was known as “the father of tiramisu”. It has been on their menu since 1972. They made it in a round dish, although a square or rectangular dish is easier with the shape of the biscuits. It is often made as individual portions in glass dishes so the layers can be seen through the side.