For dessert at my beerbeque I made my version of Birra Mi Su. It is fairly different from Chris' recipe - I use a custard base and add some extra ingredients for a complex mix of tastes where each spoonful is slightly different.

Birra Mi Su

Ingredients

• 6 egg yolks
• ¼ cup caster sugar
• 1 tsp lemon rind
• ½ tsp vanilla extract
• 500g Mascarpone cheese
• ½ cup strong coffee
• 1 ¼ cups Young’s Double Chocolate Stout
• 2 tsp lemon juice
• 24 Sponge finger biscuits
• 50g crushed macadamia nuts
• 50g Davidson’s plum jam (or other sour plum jam)
• 100g dark Belgian chocolate (eg Cote d’or 86% Cocoa), grated

Method

1. Combine yolks, sugar, lemon rind and vanilla in a heatproof (metal or glass) bowl and place it over a saucepan of simmering water. Whisk until it thickens into a custard.
2. Combine the egg custard with the mascarpone cheese, lemon juice and ¼ cup of the stout.
3. Combine remaining 1 cup of stout with the cold coffee. Dunk biscuits briefly into coffee stout mixture and arrange them in a layer in the bottom of a large bowl.
4. Cover the biscuits with a layer of cheese then sprinkle with the crushed macadamia nuts.
5. Create another layer of dunked biscuits then spread the plum jam over the top of them.
6. Cover with remaining cheese and sprinkle liberally with grated chocolate.
Chill until set firmly – at least a few hours or preferably overnight.