Juicy Picota cherries give a wonderful touch to this indulgent Italian dessert.

Serves 8
Preparation time: 25 minutes, plus chilling time

Suitable for vegetarians

200ml freshly-brewed strong coffee

6tbsp Marsala or Amaretto liqueur

3 eggs, separated

50g caster sugar

250g mascarpone or cream cheese

150ml double or whipping cream,

24 sponge fingers (boudoir biscuits)

200g Picota cherries, halved and pitted

2tsp cocoa powder

1 Mix the coffee and Marsala or Amaretto liqueur and leave until cold.

2 In a large bowl, whisk the egg yolks and caster sugar together until very pale, light and fluffy. Use a hand-held electric mixer for this, and whisk on full speed for 3-4 minutes. Add the mascarpone or cream cheese and whisk again for a few seconds.

3 In a large grease-free bowl and with scrupulously clean beaters, whisk the egg whites until they hold their shape (any trace of grease and they won’t whip). Fold into the cheese mixture. Whip the cream until it holds its shape, then fold this into the cheese mixture too.

4 One by one, dip half the sponge fingers into the coffee mixture, placing them over the base of a serving dish. Top with half the mascarpone mixture, leveling the surface.

5 Dip the remaining sponge fingers into the coffee mixture and arrange them in the serving dish in an even layer. Spoon the remaining mascarpone mixture over the top and level the surface. Cover and chill for 1-2 hours, or overnight.

Serve, sprinkled with the cherries and cocoa powder.

Cook’s tip: Raw eggs are used in this recipe, so make sure that they are very fresh. It’s advisable for the very young, pregnant mums or the elderly to avoid eating uncooked eggs. If you can’t eat raw eggs, you could replace them with 300ml of whipping cream, whipped until softly stiff, then folded into the mascarpone cheese. (Beat the sugar into the cheese first).

Nutritional values