Grilled Tiramisu with Coffee-Speckled Mascarpone Cream

TIramisu (Grilled) Final

Hey there!

Yeah, you read right. Its a new, delicious and very easy twist on Tiramisu, just in time for spring. (if it ever gets here!) I subscribed to a channel on my Apple TV called Tastemade. Its a series of short segments centered on, you got it, food and travel of course ; two of my favourite topics. One day, when I was just letting the shows play one after another, I discovered Megan Mitchell, a chef and food stylist on a show called Grill Camp. Grill Camp?? Yeah, I didn’t think it’d be my thing but she makes these great meals in no time and makes it look so easy which is totally my thing. She made this Tiramisu on a trip to Seattle which is of course, known for its coffee! It looked delicious and simple to make and it turns out , it is and I had to share.

This Tiramisu and my all time favourite, from Restaurant DaEmma, have one thing in in common which I absolutely love. Coffee grains are mixed into the mascarpone mixture producing a lightly speckled look, reminiscent of vanilla bean ice cream, but the best part is the slight crispiness they add.

Mascarpone cream cropped

Notes:

You don’t need an outdoor grill to do this. You can use the bottom grill of a panini press or a grill pan.

Sara Lee frozen pound cake is firm and dense so its perfect for the grill. Also, it’s subtle taste doesn’t interfere with the flavours in this dish.

Why grill the cake? It warms the exterior and adds a slight toasted flavour. Although more importantly, it dries the exterior to prevent the cake from getting overly soggy when the coffee is drizzled on. Also, it looks cool. People will be impressed 😉

Servings: 4-8 (depending how you decide to plate it & how thickly you slice your cake. See note below)

Ingredients

Sara Lee frozen pound cake, thawed (doesn’t matter if its not fully thawed)

1/2 cup of mascarpone cheese

1/2 tsp ground expresso

1 tbsp of powdered sugar

2 tbsp of granulated sugar (divided)

1 + 1/2 cups of brewed Espresso or other rich strong coffee completely cooled

1/2 cup of whipped cream (I buy containers of frozen whipped cream. It keeps so well & its always ready to use)

Directions

Slice your pound cake into thick slices for a maximum of 8 slices.

Lightly grill your poundcake on a preheated grill or grill pan, until you get those good lookin’ grill marks on them. Set aside.

In a medium bowl combine your mascarpone, ground coffee, powdered sugar, 1 tbsp of granulated sugar and 2 tbsp of the brewed coffee.

Gently fold your whipped cream into the mixture. Taste and adjust by adding more sugar as needed. Set aside.

Stir in the remaining tbsp of granulated sugar into the remainder of your brewed coffee

Drizzle brewed coffee over your pound cake slices. (I drizzle quite generously)

To plate your dessert, place one slice of poundcake onto a dish and scoop drop a large scoop of your mascarpone mixture over top letting it droop down the sides. Place a second piece of poundcake and top that layer with another heap of mascarpone mixture.

Note: Of course, you can plate this as you like. The method above makes for quite a large serving. You could for instance use a dessert cup; place a piece of the cake at the bottom and top with a generous dollop of the cream and chocolate shavings. You can also cut your poundcake into squares and stack, making smaller versions of the full sized portion This way you can maximize the number of servings.

Then…savour and enjoy