Mango and Passionfruit Tiramisu

Tuscany Now, an Italian villa rental specialist, invited me to take part in a cookery competition to create an Italian-inspired dish, the #TuscanyNowCookOff. I immediately thought of tiramisu but wanted to put my own twist on it, so came up with this mango and passionfruit tiramisu, which was absolutely delicious. It's also really easy and would be the perfect dessert to make while staying in a Tuscany villa... well, I can dream!


To serve 6-8 (depending on portion size) you need:

200g pack sponge fingers
100ml orange juice
80ml passion fruit syrup (I used Funkin Syrup, which I bought online)
250g mascarpone cheese
125ml fat-free plain yogurt
1 egg
50g caster sugar
1 mango, thinly sliced (or use tinned sliced mango)
2 passionfruit

Combine the orange juice and 50ml of the passion fruit syrup in a shallow bowl and dip the sponge fingers one at a time in the liquid, turning to cover both sides.

Layer half the sponge fingers in the bottom of a large serving dish.

In another bowl beat the mascarpone, yogurt, and 30ml of the passionfruit syrup. Then beat in the caster sugar and egg until well combined.

Spoon half the mixture over the sponge fingers.

Lay the mango slices on top to form the next layer.

Scoop out the middle of the two passionfruit and combine with the rest of the mascarpone mixture.

Place another layer of sponge fingers in the bowl then top it off with the mascarpone and passionfruit mixture.

Place in the fridge for at least one hour or overnight. Return to room temperature before serving.

 You can serve it straight from the dish...

... or use a pastry cutter to cut out a circle of the tiramisu as I did here. You can see all the different layers inside!

 I also drizzled a little passion fruit syrup around the tiramisu and served two more slices of mango on the side.

This dessert is absolutely delicious; rich and creamy but the fresh fruit flavours are perfect for summer. The passion fruit seeds give a satisfying crunch on top. Using the fat-free plain yogurt instead of the more traditional double cream makes the dessert a little lighter in calories and would suit glamourous Italians who like to look after their figure! I think this is as good as any traditional tiramisu I've had in a restaurant, but I've never come across one this flavour before.