Tiramisu

I was in the Italian Dolomites recently for a skiing holiday. Every day at four in the afternoon the hotel would lay out three or four different types of cakes, from creamy Austrian sponges to custardy Italian doughnuts. I tried to resist them all (emphasis on tried!) until the day they served a Tiramisu, and then I went for firsts, seconds and then thirds. Tiramisu is my weakness, soft, pillowy biscuits, deep intense coffee, cloudy mounds of cream..What is there not to like I ask you??
And that got me thinking, lets try making a Tiramisu macaron. I am sure it has been done before but I wanted to try out the flavours myself, so I broke down the Tiramisu into its basic flavours: coffee, mascarpone, a little Marsala and spongy biscuit.

I made a basic macaron and dusted the top with cocoa powder, just as you would dust a finished Tiramisu and popped it into the oven to bake.
I then made the filling by whipping some Marsala with half a tub of mascarpone. To get that intense hit of espresso, I made a thick coffee syrup and folded it into the mascarpone. The result was a deep, voluptuously creamy filling. As I wanted the filling to be a little bit more stable, I mixed in some Italian buttercream before piping it onto the macaron shells.

I ate a couple on the spot, dredged up some self control and packaged some of the macarons as a present for a friend. Then guiltily opened up one of the boxes, snuck out a couple to have with tea. Bliss!

I have to add, my friend Daniela makes the most amazing Tiramisu in the world. Whenever she brings a tray over I want to snatch it up, lock myself in the bathroom. This macaron is dedicated to her.