Dissolve sugar in the brewed espresso or strong brewed coffee, add liqueur and mix. Let cool.

In a heatproof bowl, place egg yolks and sugar and whisk lightly.

Fill a small pot with a thin layer of water and bring to a boil. Keep over heat.

Place the bowl with egg yolks and sugar over the pot with boiling water, creating a double boiler. Make sure the bowl doesn’t touch the boiling water, heat should come from steam only.

Whisk with a hand whisk, add wine or liqueur and continue whisking for about 10 minutes until you get a fluffy, light foam. Remove from double boiler and let cool.

In a mixer bowl, whip mascarpone cheese with heavy cream. Start at slow speed until cheese and cream combine, then increase speed and whip to a soft but stable cream.

Fold zabaglione to mascarpone cream until you get a uniform mixture.

Line the bottom of the dish with a layer of petit beurre biscuits.

Moisten the biscuits (while they’re in the dish) with about 2-3 tablespoons of coffee syrup.

Sprinkle a little cocoa over the cookies (optional).

Pour half the zabaglione mascarpone cream over the biscuits and smooth gently.

Arrange another layer of biscuits over the cream, moisten with coffee syrup and sprinkle a little cocoa. Repeat with the remaining half of cream and another (third and final) layer of biscuits, which you moisten with coffee syrup but don’t dust with cocoa. Refrigerate for at least one hour.

In a medium pot, bring cream to almost boiling, remove from heat and pour over chocolate. Wait one minute and using a spatula, start mixing. It’s recommended to mix in the center of the bowl without lifting the spatula from the bottom to avoid air bubbles. Mix until chocolate is completely melted, add two tablespoons of coffee syrup and mix to get smooth ganache.

Pour ganache over the top cookie layer and smooth.

Refrigerate for minimum 4 hours. It’s recommended to wait overnight before serving as the dessert’s flavors improve with time.