Chai Tiramisu with Vanilla & Rum

This is a twist on the Italian classic, with tropical flavours and subtle spice from the chai tea. It’s a perfect pick-me-up with a dash of sunshine.

1. Brew 3 chai teabags with 200ml boiling water and allow to steep for around 5 minutes, then remove the tea bags and add the rum. Place this in a bowl and set to one side.

2. Using a hand-held mixer, whisk the egg yolks, sugar and vanilla seeds together for about 10 minutes until the mixture has at least tripled in size. It should be a very pale yellow and really aerated. Next, slowly fold in the mascarpone cheese.

3. To assemble the tiramisu, dip each sponge finger in the chai and rum mixture and place in the bottom of a glass trifle dish. Continue until you have covered the base.

4. Next, spread a layer of the whipped vanilla-egg mixture over the soaked sponge fingers and then dust with cocoa powder and sprinkle with crushed pistachios.

5. Continue layering the sponge fingers and whipped egg mixture until you have created around 2-3 layers. Place in the fridge and allow to set for a few hours before serving.

6. Finally, dust with cocoa powder and sprinkle over some crushed pistachios.

NB: Use double whipping cream instead of egg yolks if you are making this for a pregnant lady or if you prefer cream. You can add the scraped vanilla pod to your container of golden caster sugar to create a vanilla sugar.

Recipe courtesy of Kenwood's Around the World in 80 Plates