Method

• 1.
  Whisk the egg yolks and ¼ cup (55g) sugar in a large bowl until pale and creamy and sugar has dissolved. Add mascarpone and stir until combined. Whisk the egg whites with ¼ cup (55g) sugar in a separate large bowl until stiff peaks and sugar is dissolved. Gently stir egg white mixture through mascarpone mixture.
• 2.
  Combine the coffee, Marsala and extra 2 tbs sugar in a shallow bowl.
• 3.
  Halve the hot cross buns horizontally.
• 4.
  Arrange half the buns, cut-side up, in the base of a 25cm x 9cm-deep square baking dish (see recipe notes). Drizzle over half the coffee mixture and press down slightly to flatten the buns. Spoon over half the cream mixture. Dip the remaining half buns, one at a time, in the coffee mixture and arrange, cut-side down, to make a second layer. Cover with remaining cream mixture. Level surface with a spatula. Cover and chill for 2-3 hours, or overnight.
• 5.
  Before serving, cut 9 x 2cm-wide x 30cm-long cardboard strips and place over the dish in a crisscross fashion, making sure the cardboard rests on the edges of the dish and doesn’t touch the cream layer. Dust over the top with cocoa to create the cross pattern, then carefully remove and discard cardboard. Serve.