Tiramisu-style zuppa Inglese

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Traditionally, this Italian dessert features liqueur-soaked sponge cake and pastry cream, layered like a trifle. It translates literally as 'English soup' – though it's neither soupy nor English! In this deconstructed version, pears poached in Amaretto yield a beautiful poaching liquid, which is poured over the simple sponge cake to create a beautiful pudding-y texture. A coffee-and-chocolate mascarpone adds a decadent twist, creating flavours reminiscent of a tiramisu.

Ingredients

180 g flour
1 t baking powder
½ t bicarbonate of soda
1 cup full-cream yoghurt
150 g sugar
½ cup sunflower oil
1 t vanilla extract
For the vanilla-poached pears:
4 pears, halved lengthways
4 T brown sugar
2 T honey
2 t vanilla paste
1 cup Woolworths Honeydew juice
1 cup Amaretto or sherry
For the coffee-chocolate crema, mix:
100 g chocolate, melted
4 T espresso
150 g mascarpone

Cooking Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C. Grease a 20 cm bundt or round cake tin. Sift the dry ingredients into a bowl. In a separate bowl, beat the remaining ingredients together for 7 minutes.

2. Fold the dry ingredients into the wet. Spoon into the cake tin and bake for 40 minutes.

3. Remove the cake from the tin and place on a plate. Prick with a fork and spoon over some of the pear poaching liquid.

4. To make the poached pears, place all the ingredients into a saucepan and simmer for 30 minutes. Remove the pears and simmer the syrup until slightly reduced.

5. Serve the cake with the coffee-chocolate crema and pears.

Cook's note: “This is my take on this classic and plays with the different flavours of coffee and chocolate."

Find more sweet treat recipe.

Photograph: Jan Ras
Food assistant: Bianca Strydom