Tiramisu - Pick Me Up
Serves 6
4 eggs, separated
45ml/3 tbsp caster sugar
175g/6 oz 3/4 cup Mascarpone cheese
300 ml/1/2 pt 1 1/2 cups fresh coffee
5 ml/1 tsp instant coffee powder
60 ml/4 tbsp brandy
30 ml/2 tbsp rum
35 sponge (lady) fingers
100g/4 oz plain chocolate, grated
60 ml/4 tbsp chopped nuts or drinking chocolate powder

Whisk the egg yolks and sugar together until light and creamy. Mix in the Mascarpone cheese. Mix the fresh and instant coffee with the brandy and rum.
Dip each sponge finger into the coffee/brandy/rum mixture and arrange at the base and around the sides of a glass dish. Spread half the Mascarpone mixture over the biscuits. Sprinkle over half the grated chocolate. Repeat the process with the biscuits, cheese and chocolate until the ingredients are used. Cover with clingfilm and chill overnight if possible. Just before serving sprinkle with the chopped nuts or drinking chocolate powder.

Cannoli
Serves 24
3 cups plain flour
3 egg yolks
1 egg
1 teaspoon grated lemon rind
3 tablespoons marsala
1 egg white
oil for deep-frying
FILLING
1kg (21b) ricotta cheese
11/2 cups pure icing sugar 6 x 5crn (2in) pieces cinnamon stick
1 teaspoon grated lemon rind
1/4 cup mixed peel
Icing sugar for coating
60g (2oz) dark chocolate

Giovanni and Lucia, proud hosts of Victor's Tavern in Surrey Hills, Sydney, showed us how to make Cannoli in the true Sicilian style. Giovanni has special metal moulds but we have found cannelloni pasta shells make excellent moulds.
Sift 1 cup of the flour into bowl, add egg yolks and rub in until mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. Refrigerate 2 hours. Add remaining sifted flour, lightly beaten egg, lemon rind and marsala; mix well.
Turn mixture onto lightly floured surface and knead 10 to 15 minutes. Cover with plastic food wrap and refrigerate 1 hour. Cut pastry into four pieces. Roll out each piece to paper thinness. (This is important; if the pastry is too thick, it will not be crisp, with the characteristic "bubbles", when deep-fried.) If you have a pasta machine, roll pastry through three times, adjusting the machine to roll pastry thinner each time. Measure the length of the cannelloni shells, then cut pastry into strips about 5mm (1/4in) narrower than shells. Put shell at one end of pastry, roll pastry round, then cut so about 1 cm (1/2in) overlaps. Brush this cut end with egg white, press firmly into position. Do not get egg white on shell or it will stick to the pastry and be hard to remove. (Once this first length of pastry is determined, the other strips of pastry can be cut to the same size.) Place Cannoli  about four at a time - into deep, hot oil; fry until golden brown, approximately 1 minute. Remove Cannoli from oil, place on absorbent paper, let cool about 1 minute.
Then (use teatowel for this, as shells are hot) carefully remove cannelloni shell from inside pastry. Let pastry shells cool completely; they become crisp when cold.
FILLING - Place cheese in bowl of electric mixer, add sifted icing sugar, beat on high speed 5 minutes.
Place cinnamon sticks in blender, blend on high speed 60 seconds or until powdery; you will need 2 tablespoons of cinnamon. Add lemon rind, mixed peel and cinnamon to cheese, beat further 3 minutes.
Spoon filling into large piping bag fitted with plain tube. Pipe into Cannoli shells. Roll in sifted icing sugar,
dip ends in finely chopped or grated chocolate.

Gelato allo Zabaglione - Zabaglione Ice Cream
Serves 10
10 egg yolks
200g (10 OZ) caster sugar
120 ml (4 fl oz) Bristol Cream sherry
85 ml (3 fl oz) Jamaica rum
450 ml (15 fl oz) double cream

Place the egg yolks and sugar in an electric miner and beat until light and fluffy, at least 10 minutes. Add half of the sherry and rum, and transfer the mixture to a bowl that will fit over a large -saucepan of boiling water.
The water should not touch the bowl.
Whisk continuously until the mixture comes to the boil  this will take at least 30 minutes. Stir in the remaining sherry and rum and leave to cool. If you are using an electric ice-cream machine, add the cream and churn.
If freezing directly in the freezer, beat the cream to soft peaks, fold into the mixture, then freeze in a suitable container.

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