Serving 4, you’ll need…

1 shop-bought Madeira cake loaf

1-2 mugs of strong black coffee

200ml double cream

100g mascarpone

2 tbsp Marsala

The yolks of 2 small eggs

2 tbsp caster sugar

Cocoa powder to finish

Method…

Make a mug or two of strong black coffee and leave aside to cool (pouring it into a large bowl will allow it to cool faster).

Stir together the mascarpone and double cream until combined and mix in 2 tbsp of Marsala. Now whisk the egg yolks with the caster sugar for about 2 minutes until well combined. Pour this into the cream mixture and gently fold it all together with a spatula.

Cut the Madeira cake into 8 thick slices and put 4 of these into the bases of 4 small glasses (you may need to cut the slices up a bit to fit them in). You can use sponge fingers instead, I just prefer the texture and flavour of cake. Now spoon over 2-3 tbsp of coffee and then 2-3 spoonfuls of the cream mixture to sufficiently cover the cake.

Repeat with another layer of Madeira cake, coffee, then cream. Finally, dust over a little cocoa powder and serve or keep in the fridge, taking them out 15 mins before eating.