What a hectic week this has been! I’m exhausted and I’m so looking forward to the weekend, and this one in particular! It’s my birthday this Sunday and Duncan is treating me to a break in breathtaking Santorini where I will be able to put my feet up at last.
And what an idyllic place to do that in! It’s such a thoughtful present and although the hammock I got last year was his best b’day present yet (I love sinking into it at sunny weekends with a book and a coffee in hand), this is a close second! Duncan hasn’t always been that intuitive when it comes to present choices. One memorable Xmas, he presented me with two beautifully wrapped boxes. I was excited. We’d only been going out for about a year or two at that point, so I was secretly hoping for something romantic. I went for the larger box first. My smile quickly morphed into a confused wince as torn wrapping paper revealed an electric power drill! I somehow managed to keep my graces and I swiftly moved to the smaller box. This must be it, I thought. Imagine the horror on my face when I discovered that the smaller box contained a 64 piece drill bit set to go with the power drill!!! He said he was agonising over whether to get the 128 piece set instead (Duncan here: it turned out the 64 was fine, I wouldn’t bother with the 128)! His rationale was that as I was a brand new home owner, a power tool was exactly what I needed to help me accomplish all the DIY I was planning on doing. He was right, it did prove very useful over the course of all our DIY projects and he never failed to bring up what a great yet massively undervalued present it was. Fair play! I’m so glad we can laugh about it all now! Today’s recipe is a vegan tiramisu as I am a coffee fiend and I’ve had an idea for it banging around in my head for a while. It’s easy to make and a pleasure to eat. I made mine in small glass ramekins as that’s what I had to hand, but you could also double the ganache and cream quantities and go for a largish (20 cm / 8″ square) tin instead. Just remember to allow a few hours (4 hours to be on the safe side) for the cream to set and keep well chilled until you’re ready to serve.
135 ml / ½ cup + 1 tbsp almond milk 45 ml / 3 tbsp olive oil ½ tsp vanilla essence 15 ml / 1 tbsp lemon juice 60 g / heaped ¼ cup sugar 140 g / 1¼ cup all purpose flour, sifted* ½ tsp baking powder ¼ tsp baking soda
CHOCOLATE-COFFEE LAYER
80 g / 2.75 oz vegan dark 70% chocolate 80 ml / 1/3 cup almond milk 120 ml / ½ cup strong coffee, divided**
CREAM LAYER
60 ml / ¼ cup aquafaba (chickpea brine) ¼ tsp white or apple cider vinegar 25-35 g / 2-3 tbsp sugar, adjust to taste 1/8 tsp xanthan gum (recommended but not necessary) 200 ml / heaped ¾ cup coconut cream from a tin of full fat coconut milk
CREAM LAYER
The sponge recipe is adapted from this earlier recipe. Chocolate coffee cream is adapted from this earlier recipe. Cream is adapted from this earlier recipe.
