Method

• 1.
  Add the cream and sugar to an electric mixer and beat until airy and light but not too stiff – you want a bit of slop left in it.

• 2.
  Have a clean, rectangular container ready. (I use a gorgeous square glass vase when I make this for my mums mah-jong parties, which looks very fancy, but my Italian friend Maria uses an old baking tray – it really doesnt matter what you use.) Boil the kettle.
• 3.
  Add the coffee powder to a bowl and cover with 500ml of boiling water. Stir in the liqueur, if using, then dip the non-sugary side of a biscuit very briefly into the coffee – you want it to suck up some of the coffee but not get to the point where it turns to mush in your fingers – then place it, coffee side down, in your container. Repeat until you have a layer of coffee-soaked biscuits covering the base.
• 4.
  Top the bikkies with a generous layer of the whipped cream, then repeat the layers with a second layer of coffee-dipped biscuits and another layer of the cream. Depending on your container size, you may have enough room for a third layer of each, just be sure you have enough cream to make up a final layer.
• 5.
  Tidy up the sides of your container to remove any splodges of cream, then grate the dark chocolate over the top (I like to use a microplane grater for this). Cover the lot in plastic wrap and serve the following day alongside fresh strawberries.