Baileys Irish Cream Tiramisu

I watched a foodie program not too long ago and the host was talking about how some of the most popular Italian dishes are no longer prepared the way they were supposed to or using ingredients that aren't traditional. Now, I'm a purist and couldn't agree more. But! I do believe in tinkering with recipes to suit our changing palate. I wouldn't completely change the recipe by swapping ingredients though (god forbid!) but I will experiment with flavours by using a close relative to the original ingredient. That's what I did with this Tiramisu.

Young Master and I love Tiramisu. Most of the time, we get dissapointed with the versions we get here albeit paying a lot for sponge cake drenched in coffee layered between coffee-flavoured whipped cream. And mind you, the young fella can tell you if its halal or not! I tried various recipes of so-called "authentic Tiramisu" and they weren't as "pick-me-up", as tirami-su meant in Italian. So, I started tinkering recipes...

I stuck to using the Italian savoiardi biscuits, Italian mascarpone but cheated brewed Italian espresso with a Brazillian instant espresso and replaced the suggested cognac/brandy/Tia Maria/Kahlua with wholesome Baileys Irish Cream - that's a great combo of whiskey and cream liquer. There were also a few methods I used that lent to the success of this but you know what? There's no short cuts to making good dessert.