Black Forest Tiramisu
Resistance is futile when it comes to this black forest tiramisu. Voluptuous vanilla mascarpone cream, dark chocolate ganache and sweet cherries. How can it not be good? Tiramisu in Italian means pick me up and that, it most certainly will.
I’ve taken the liberty of using this delectable Italian dessert and given it a German-inspired twist. Imagine the best Black Forest cake and merge it with an illustrious Italian Tiramisu, then this will be the result. Layers of whipped mascarpone and vanilla cream, Marsala-coffee soaked Savoiardi biscuits laced with chocolate ganache. Tiramisu benefits from being made the day ahead as the flavour improves overnight, making it the ideal dessert for stress-free dinner parties. It’s the ultimate crowd pleaser.
Cook’s Notes for a successful Tiramisu
Use best quality, free-range eggs.
Ensure that the mascarpone and double cream are at room temperature. Fridge cold will prevent even incorporation.
Whisk the egg whites in a clean, grease-free bowl.
Amarena cherries are optional, but well worth including.
Marsala is a sweet, fortified wine but can be substituted with Sherry or Kirsch, for an authentic Black Forest taste.
Freshly brewed coffee is best.
Tiramisu contains raw egg. Do not serve to the elderly or pregnant.
If you’re looking to host a thoroughly Italian feast, here are a couple of spectacularly good dishes to have on your table. My menu for National Italian day has everything from antipasti to dolci. Check it out here. Also not to be missed for during our chilly SA winters is this rustic Tuscan farro and bean soup. It’s simple, yet soulful.
Black Forest Tiramisu
Serves 10-12
100 g dark chocolate, chopped
80 ml (1/3 cup) fresh cream
250 g mascarpone cream
250 g double thick cream
1 5ml (1 teaspoon) vanilla paste
4 egg yolks
90 g castor sugar
200 g savoiardi biscuits (lady fingers)
400 ml freshly brewed, hot coffee
125 ml (1/2 cup) Marsala, Sherry or Kirsch
40 g (3 tablespoons) Amarena cherries, drained
3 egg whites
pinch of salt
30 ml (2 tablespoons) castor sugar
200g fresh cherries
250 ml (1 cup) fresh cream
cocoa powder for dusting
Melt the chocolate and cream together and stir until smooth and glossy. Set aside to cool. Place the mascarpone, double cream and vanilla paste in a bowl and whisk on a low speed to combine. In a separate bowl, beat the egg yolks and castor sugar together until thick and creamy. It should have doubled in volume. Add 30ml of the Marsala into the whipped yolks. Fold 1/3 of the mascarpone cream into the yolks and mix to combine. Add the remaining cream and fold through gently. In a clean bowl, beat the egg whites, salt and 30 ml castor sugar until fluffy and light. Fold gently into the cream mixture.
Pour the coffee and remaining Marsala into a shallow bowl. Dip the biscuits, one at a time, into the coffee and place on the base of your serving bowl. Drop teaspoon amounts of the chocolate ganache over the soaked biscuits and scatter with a couple of Amarena cherries. Spoon over a generous amount of the mascarpone cream. Repeat the process, ending with a final layer of mascarpone cream. Refrigerate for several hours. Just before serving, whip the cream and swirl over the tiramisu. Dust with cocoa and top with fresh cherries.
18 Comments. Leave new
What a cool tiramisu variation! The custard looks so creamy and delicious, mmm 🙂
Oh my…..this is exquisite
Yip, that mascarpone is very tempting. Have a great weekend, June!
Thank you! It’s a real weekend treat.
This is amazing so far!
I have just made the layered part, and it’s in the fridge for tomorrow. But I’m confused about the final layer of whipped cream: does it really not have any sweetener in it? Already the cocoa won’t, and while there’s a fair amount of sugar in the layers, I’d expect at least a little in the top whipped cream. Or you’re going for contrast, maybe?
Hi Catherine. Thanks for stopping by. Yes, the mascarpone layer is quite sweet together with the drizzled chocolate ganache, so the whipped cream doesn’t really need much in the way of sweetening. This is completely a personal preference, so by all means, add a tablespoon or two or confectioner’s sugar to the top cream layer. Enjoy!
Oh wow, this is irresistible indeed. So delicious and so beautiful. I want to take on the entire bowl! 🙂
Thank you Nicole! It’s a blistering 37 degrees C in Cape Town today, so I’m pretty sure this lusciously cold dessert can work its charm. Thanks for stopping by.
Hi Marie. Cherry or mixed berry juice would be a good alternative.
Hi Dianne,
I love your site and use it a lot.
I go to a TT( i.e. no alcohol) Church so I can’t use the Masala(etc) when I am cooking for the church members( and I provide a pudding every fortnight for them!) What can I do to substitute the intense flavours that the Alcohol would give.Any ideas?
I assume if I use a high cocoa dark chocolate that will make the chocolate layer more chocolate-y? and obviously if I make the coffee layer quite strong – it will cover the lack of that (lovely, to me but not them), alcohol taste
Thanks, Esther
Hi there Esther. Thanks so much. Glad to hear the recipes are finding their way into your kitchen. I agree with you. Cooking with alcohol definitely adds a depth of flavour to food, but there’s always a way around it. A 70% dark chocolate or even orange or caramel chocolate will be an excellent substitute. Lindt has both. A good brand of coffee also goes a long way. Let me know the verdict. Good luck.
Thanks Dianne, thats a brilliant idea!
am happy to get this receip for black forest will try my best at home from now to make my family happy
I’m sure they’re going to love it!
hello 1/3 cup of cream how much ml would you say that is sems very little to melt 100g chocolate in or is 1 1/3 cups. please help :/
Hi Debbie. The 1/3 cup (80ml) is more to make a ganache consistency for the chocolate. Without the cream, the chocolate will set hard, once chilled. I hope that helps.
Kind regards Di
Made this dessert for a friend’s leaving party and it was an absolute smash-hit! Looked impressive, tasted great and with just the right amount of boozy-punch.
I cheated and bought a couple of chocolate Swiss rolls which I unrolled, scraped out and used for the cake layers because I was short on time but I followed the rest of the recipe exactly and it was perfect. Thank you so much, this will be my go-to now for entertaining.
Ah Helen! I love a bit of ingenuity. It can save the day, because we’re all in need of extra time. So delighted it was a success. Thank you for sharing ‘the inside story’.