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I believe no dish is too difficult to make, even if the recipe calls for ingredients that are hard to come by and too expensive. You just need some imagination to use substitutes, add something new and you can still come up with something finger-licking good. And in the case of this tiramisu that I made, it was spoon-licking good!

Yes, today I am sharing the recipe of my version of a tiramisu, where I skipped the expensive and imported ingredients of mascarpone cream cheese and ladyfingers. While I did have confidence that it would taste good, I was surprised that it turned out so delicious! Seriously, it is one of my best experiments in the kitchen and so super easy to make!

For those who do not know what a tiramisu is, it is a classic Italian no-bake dessert, made with layers of coffee-soaked ladyfingers surrounded by lightly sweetened whipped cream and mascarpone mixture.

I substituted ladyfingers with our local cake rusk — after all, in these tough economic times, we should be relying on cheaper local substitutes. And I skipped mascarpone cream cheese altogether, just flavoured the cream with condensed milk for more richness. Oh, and I added chocolate chips in the centre layer because … why not?

The layering process was the same as in making tiramisu and the result was a show-stopper creamy dessert that was ready in minutes. So let’s check out this easy recipe.

Ingredients

400g cream

500g cake rusk

1/3 cup condensed milk

2 tablespoons chocolate chips

For black coffee:

2 cups hot water

3 teaspoons instant coffee

4 tablespoons sugar

Method

Make black coffee by mixing all the ingredients of the coffee in a small bowl, large enough to dip the cake rusk comfortably.

Beat cream for a few minutes with an electric beater, add condensed milk and beat until combined.

Now dip the cake rusk one by one in the coffee and line the base of a rectangular dish with them. Once the base is covered with cake rusk, pour the cream and condensed milk mixture over it until the rusk pieces are covered. Sprinkle some chocolate chips.

Now repeat the whole process once more: dip cake rusk in coffee, line it over the cream surface and pour cream to cover completely. In the end, sprinkle some chocolate chips again, or skip them like I did, and just sprinkle some cocoa powder lightly through a sieve to give the top a nice brown colour.

Chill for four to six hours before serving. Cut into squares and enjoy!

The writer Instagrams @the_experimentalcook

Originally published in Dawn, Young World, July 16th, 2022