Dairy free tiramisu? cocomisu!

omnomnomnom

Have you ever heard of an accidental tiramisu? Well, this is kind of what this is.

This is the story of how my dreams of a poofy sponge cake were thwarted by a clumpy, egg yolky and over-mixed batter which, with some perseverance, transformed into a 100% dairy free tiramisu. Or, as my suitemate Anna coined it: a cocomisu.

With a bowl of funky cake batter in front of me, all I can say is, it was too far to turn back. While I was tempted to start over, I never throw food away unless I can see and smell the mold, per se. So I popped it into the oven and crossed my fingers that the baking gods would have mercy on my n00b skillz. Lo and behold, the cake turned out fine, albeit it was as flat as a pancake! No surprise there. It had a nice egg-y flavor and a pretty golden color. Kind of like, you know, a lady finger. See what I'm getting at? [as a side note, isn't "lady fingers" such a gross name for something that you eat?]

I am dairy free! woohoo

So maybe I didn't have a tall sponge cake. But I did have coconut whipped cream, cocoa powder and plenty of coffee (it's a college dorm, what do you expect?) at my dispense, You do the math.

Tiramisu literally translates to "pick me up", which is likely a nod to its coffee and sometimes rum-infused layers. Using coconut whipped cream in the place of the traditional mascarpone cream may seem like blasphemy to authentic tiramisu lovers, but whatever - you do what you gotta do when your body rejects most dairy. Plus, now you don't have to worry about raw eggs in your cake, either.

This was my first time trying coconut whipped cream, and I am totally in love. It's lightly sweet, airy and melts in your mouth and because of that, it's incredibly reminiscent of fresh whipped cream. It does have a pronounced coconut-ty flavor, but it become hardly noticeable when sandwiched between the bitter cocoa powder and coffee and sponge.

Check out my seductive layers 

cocomisu [Dairy free tiramisu]

Vanilla sponge a.k.a. Lady fingers
3 eggs
1/2 cup icing sugar
1/4 cup oil
1/4 cup milk (I used almond)
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp vanilla extract

Coconut whipped cream
1 can* full-fat coconut milk, chilled overnight (I used Badia brand)
2 Tbs icing sugar
optional: 1 tsp lemon juice

Other Ingredients
Expresso + 1/2 cup hot water
Cocoa powder, for dusting

To make the the sponge cake
1. In a bowl, combine the eggs, oil, milk and vanilla.
2. In another bowl, mix the flour, baking powder, icing sugar ans salt.
3. Mix the wet and dry mixtures well until a pale, smooth batter forms.
4. Bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes, or until sponge is golden and a toothpick comes out clean.
To prepare the coconut whipped cream
1. Chill a can of (full-fat) coconut milk overnight, turning it upside down, along with a mixing bowl. I used Badia brand, which worked great. I've read good things about Thai Kitchen and Whole Foods 365 brand full-fat coconut milk as well. *If you would like a richer cocomisu, use 2 cans of coconut milk.
2. Turn it right side up and open. The milk and the fat should have separate due to the cold temperature, and you should be able to scoop the solid coconut butter into the cold bowl.
3. Use an electric mixer to whip the coconut butter, slowly incorporating the icing sugar and (optional) lemon juice.
To assemble the cocomisu
1. For the first layer of your cocomisu, line the container with about half of the sponge. I cut my sponge into small rectangular pieces to emulate lady fingers, but you can try using a whole piece.

2. Pour over and moderately wet the sponge with the expresso.

3. For the next layer, smooth on half the coconut whipped cream.

4. Dust the cream with a fine layer of cocoa powder.
5. Repeat steps 1-4.
6. Serve slightly chilled (but not too much, or else the coconut cream will solidify).

Bon appetit!