Start by making the soaking liquid for the sponge fingers. Brew a pot of strong coffee with the boiling water and coffee granules, then let it cool to room temperature. When cool, stir in the whiskey or rum and set aside.

In a mixing bowl, combine the egg yolks, sugar, peppermint extract and vanilla paste and beat together until lightened in colour and fluffy. If using an electric mixer, this will take about 5 minutes.

Whip the cream in a separate bowl until soft peaks form (the kind that hold their shape but curl over gently at the tips), but be careful not to over-whip – you want it light and airy. Gently fold in the mascarpone using a spatula and a light hand just until well combined, then add your egg yolk mixture and gently fold in.

Now comes the fun part! Quickly dip each sponge finger into the coffee and whiskey/rum mixture. Be swift – sponge fingers soak up liquid very quickly! Arrange them snugly in a single layer at the bottom of a a 23 × 33cm serving dish, covering the entire base. Spread half of the mascarpone mixture over the sponge fingers, smoothing it out evenly with your spatula, then sprinkle over a generous amount of the chocolate.

Repeat the layering process: another round of soaked sponge fingers, followed by the remaining mascarpone mixture. Smooth out the top layer to make it nice and even. For the finishing touch, dust the top generously with cocoa powder using a fine-mesh sieve.

Cover and let it chill for several hours in the fridge – overnight is even better (this allows all those wonderful flavours to meld and gives the tiramisu time to set properly). When you’re ready to serve, cut the tiramisu into the desired number of pieces and plate them up.