Easy Eggless Instant Tiramisu and my B'Day Story

Birthdays are always special. As kids, Birthday celebrations were really cool. With all my friends around, lovely presents like Washed out Disney Pencil Boxes, useless Wall Paintings, 100 times passed over Lunch Boxes etc. Ohh Ok, not that lovely but memorable is the right words for them,. And sometimes an Aunt used to gift a Cadbury chocolate Box which I used to  finish up the same day, without much help taken from my sister.. that kept me all cheered up for a long time. Till the time when I had to pass over those washed out gifts to some other friend of mine. It actually happened once that the Disney Pencil Box I gifted to my classmate was actually returned back to me next year from another friend of mine. And I knew it was the same since her poor Mum didn’t even bother to remove my name from the Tag. So basically it was To “myself” From “myself”. Don’t you smile lady, I might have exaggerated the incidence a bit, but am sure that’s the same old story in every kids life.

My point is that at that age, we don’t actually realise the importance of all that Party fun. It’s just when we grow up and those routine gifts change into Birthday Bums and formal Restaurant get together, then we really miss that time. I have been doing that for a long time though, but this year I wanted to mix that Birthday feeling with the fun of Holi. And hence I organised a small get together with few close friends at home, with the theme Red and White.. Just to have a feel of Holi in the chilled British weather ( I cant write any post without discussing weather, remember that ! )

Preeti, who has become a very dear and special friend, got her special Cake for me despite of her illness , for which I can’t thank her enough. All in all, this Birthday was really special for me, and though I still miss those washed out rotating gifts, I feel lucky to have such friends :)

Coming back to the party, I invited all our friends at home for the Holi-Cum-Birthday celebration. Yes, I do celebrate my birthdays and cook for everyone too. After all, it’s all about finding your own way towards happiness. Anyway, I tried to keep Menu simple since I had no other person apart from S to help me out. So, it went like 

• For starters – Pani puri Shots, Lamington cake rolls, Fried Idli, Indian Patties, Bread tikki
• For main course – Punjabi Kadhi Pakora, Green Garlic Pulao, Kashmiri Egg tomato

After deciding all of it, I  really got stuck on Dessert. While I have made all sorts of Kheer, Rasmalayi and Halwa a lot of time before, I wanted to try my hands on something which is not Indian. And at that time Nisha came to my rescue. No, not literally !! but through her recipes.  Nisha prepared this amazing Instant Tiramisu when me and Preeti visited her for the final preparations of Bloggers Buzz, the event we organised in February. The simple things she prepared for us like Potato bake, Stuffed Mushrooms, Mac n cheese and this Tiramisu made me fall all over again in love with not just her photos but taste too. This recipe of her Instant Tiramisu was a hit in my party, and I have totally copied her method. Very easy to prepare and a no-mess Dessert, this is a sure shot choice for any small get together for me now

What you need ?
A pack of 10-12 Sponge Fingers
1 tbsp Coffee 
1/2 cup boiling water
1/2 tsp Sugar 

1 cup Mascarpone Cheese 
1 tsp Vanilla Extract
1/4 cup Sugar  
1 cup Double cream

How to Make ?

• Boil the water and dissolve Coffee and sugar into it. Keep aside 

• Beat the mascarpone cheese in a bowl with the sugar and vanilla extract till just smooth, add in double cream and whisk it toll soft peaks are formed. 

• To assemble in the individual glasses or dessert bowls, break each sponge finger into 2-3 pieces and dip them in the coffee. Make sure its not hot while you are doing it or the sponge fingers will just beak and melt
• Line them  in the glass, and spoon a layer of cheese-cream mixture. Layer again with the sponge fingers and finally cover it with more cream-cheese. 
• Dust some cocoa powder on top, and refrigerate it for next 4-5 hours. 
• Serve chilled. 

My Notes:

• You can also dip the Sponge Fingers in Liqueur as Nisha did, look here for her post. 
• This can be kept in Fridge, for 3-4 days so you can make it in advance before any party. And its really a no fuss dessert, suitable very much for all sorts of Get-together
• I have seen one of the Bloggers used Nutella as a layer in between, havent tried that but could be worth trying - Nutella Tiramisu, the name itself is tempting :P

Gayathri had given this Tiramisu as a Challenge in her Baking Eggless monthly challenge. Though I didnt make it from scratch, have a look at this page to see the roundup and how  others have done the hard work making this amazing Italian dessert all from Scratch.