Tiramisù
On an impulse, I bought a tub of mascarpone cheese a couple of weeks ago because it was on sale. So over the weekend, had to use it to make Tiramisù since it was going to expire soon. This is a classic Tiramisù recipe I adapted from watching and copying the recipe demonstrated on a local TV show called ‘Regional Italian Cuisine’ on Channel 31.
Tiramisù, meaning ‘pick-me-up’, because it uses two ingredients which can perk you up – coffee and cocoa (or chocolate). The classic Tiramisù is a layered dessert using savoiardi sponge fingers soaked in bitter strong espresso coffee layering with mascarpone-zabaglione cream, and top with bitter cocoa powder. The first time I read into the history of Tiramisù, I was quite surprised to learn that Tiramisù was first created as recently as the late 1960s – early 1970s. It is believed to have been created in a restaurant in Treviso, located north-west of Venice on Italy’s northern Adriatic coast, called Le Beccherie (see Anna Maria Volpi’s History of Tiramisu). However another source, The Food Timeline, attributed the creation to the El Toula restaurant in Trevisio.
Traditionally, Tiramisù would use raw eggs to make the layering cream. Todays however with health concern regarding the use of raw eggs, a lot of recipes have changed to using zabaglione (a type of cooked egg yolk custard cream, known in France as sabayon) mixed with mascarpone and replacing beaten egg whites with whipped cream. Therefore use your imagination and adapt the recipe as you wish, you can even make it into a cake-type Tiramisù (I will post a Tiramisù Torte recipe if anyone is interested – which I tried out last Christmas).
Adapted from the recipe ‘Tiramisù’ as demonstrated on ‘Regional Italian Cuisine’, Channel 31, Melbourne.
Makes 3 - 4 servings (for individual serves, use bowls of approx. 200 - 250ml capacity).
[Ingredients]
250g mascapone cheese
savoiardi sponge fingers, as required
crushed amaretti biscuits or chopped chocolate
125ml (1/2 cup) cold strong espresso coffee
1 - 2 tablespoon cocoa powder, for topping
Zabaglione:
2 egg yolks
50g caster sugar
1 tablespoon (20ml) marsala or coffee liqueur, eg. kahlua or tia maria
Meringue:
50g caster sugar
2 egg whites
http://cafeoftheeast.blogspot.com/
[Preparation]
Coffee:
Prepare 1/2 cup (about 125ml) strong espresso coffee. Let the coffee cool to room temperature.
Zabaglione:
Beat egg yolks in a bain-marie (place bowl over simmering water) until fluffy. Beat in 50g sugar and marsala or coffee liqueur. Whisk over simmering water, until the cream thickens, just below boiling point, and when small bubbles appear.
Meringue:
Whisk the egg whites until soft peaks. Gradually add 50g sugar and whisk until stiff. As an experiment, I actually placed the bowl over barely simmering water when I started adding sugar and beat the egg whites until stiff, this way cooking the meringue as well – but have to watch very carefully to make sure the meringue did not get too hot and overcooked.
Marscarpone Cream:
With a rubber spatula, stir the mascarpone cheese in a bowl until creamy. When the zabaglione custard is still warm, add the zabaglione into the mascarpone cheese, and fold in to mix well, or until smooth. Fold in the Meringue until thoroughly combined.
To assemble Tiramisù:
Line bottom of a deep, approx. one-litre serving bowl (or use small bowls to serve individually) with savoiardi soaked very briefly in cold coffee. This bottom layer need to be a bit firmer so it will hold when being spooned out for serving, so dip the savoiardi in and immediately take out (don’t worry too much if making small individual servings, in this case may soak longer). Pour half the Mascarpone Cream onto the savoiardi. Sprinkle with roughly crushed amaretti biscuits or grated chocolate – this is optional. Line with another layer of savoiardi, which can be soaked in the coffee a bit longer (this layer may be omitted if making small individual servings). Cover with the remaining Masarpone Cream. Dust with a thin layer of cocoa powder. Chill in the refrigerator overnight, or at least 3 to 4 hours. Just before serving, sprinkle again all over with more cocoa powder.
[Tip]
The Meringue may be replaced by 1/2 cup (125ml) thickened or whipping cream, whipped.
[Note]
1. Please note this recipe uses 1 standard cup of 250ml, 1 tablespoon of 20ml and 1 teaspoon of 5ml.
2. The size of egg used is about 60g (includes shell) unless otherwise stated.
Tiramisù, meaning ‘pick-me-up’, because it uses two ingredients which can perk you up – coffee and cocoa (or chocolate). The classic Tiramisù is a layered dessert using savoiardi sponge fingers soaked in bitter strong espresso coffee layering with mascarpone-zabaglione cream, and top with bitter cocoa powder. The first time I read into the history of Tiramisù, I was quite surprised to learn that Tiramisù was first created as recently as the late 1960s – early 1970s. It is believed to have been created in a restaurant in Treviso, located north-west of Venice on Italy’s northern Adriatic coast, called Le Beccherie (see Anna Maria Volpi’s History of Tiramisu). However another source, The Food Timeline, attributed the creation to the El Toula restaurant in Trevisio.
Traditionally, Tiramisù would use raw eggs to make the layering cream. Todays however with health concern regarding the use of raw eggs, a lot of recipes have changed to using zabaglione (a type of cooked egg yolk custard cream, known in France as sabayon) mixed with mascarpone and replacing beaten egg whites with whipped cream. Therefore use your imagination and adapt the recipe as you wish, you can even make it into a cake-type Tiramisù (I will post a Tiramisù Torte recipe if anyone is interested – which I tried out last Christmas).
Adapted from the recipe ‘Tiramisù’ as demonstrated on ‘Regional Italian Cuisine’, Channel 31, Melbourne.
Makes 3 - 4 servings (for individual serves, use bowls of approx. 200 - 250ml capacity).
[Ingredients]
250g mascapone cheese
savoiardi sponge fingers, as required
crushed amaretti biscuits or chopped chocolate
125ml (1/2 cup) cold strong espresso coffee
1 - 2 tablespoon cocoa powder, for topping
Zabaglione:
2 egg yolks
50g caster sugar
1 tablespoon (20ml) marsala or coffee liqueur, eg. kahlua or tia maria
Meringue:
50g caster sugar
2 egg whites
http://cafeoftheeast.blogspot.com/
[Preparation]
Coffee:
Prepare 1/2 cup (about 125ml) strong espresso coffee. Let the coffee cool to room temperature.
Zabaglione:
Beat egg yolks in a bain-marie (place bowl over simmering water) until fluffy. Beat in 50g sugar and marsala or coffee liqueur. Whisk over simmering water, until the cream thickens, just below boiling point, and when small bubbles appear.
Meringue:
Whisk the egg whites until soft peaks. Gradually add 50g sugar and whisk until stiff. As an experiment, I actually placed the bowl over barely simmering water when I started adding sugar and beat the egg whites until stiff, this way cooking the meringue as well – but have to watch very carefully to make sure the meringue did not get too hot and overcooked.
Marscarpone Cream:
With a rubber spatula, stir the mascarpone cheese in a bowl until creamy. When the zabaglione custard is still warm, add the zabaglione into the mascarpone cheese, and fold in to mix well, or until smooth. Fold in the Meringue until thoroughly combined.
To assemble Tiramisù:
Line bottom of a deep, approx. one-litre serving bowl (or use small bowls to serve individually) with savoiardi soaked very briefly in cold coffee. This bottom layer need to be a bit firmer so it will hold when being spooned out for serving, so dip the savoiardi in and immediately take out (don’t worry too much if making small individual servings, in this case may soak longer). Pour half the Mascarpone Cream onto the savoiardi. Sprinkle with roughly crushed amaretti biscuits or grated chocolate – this is optional. Line with another layer of savoiardi, which can be soaked in the coffee a bit longer (this layer may be omitted if making small individual servings). Cover with the remaining Masarpone Cream. Dust with a thin layer of cocoa powder. Chill in the refrigerator overnight, or at least 3 to 4 hours. Just before serving, sprinkle again all over with more cocoa powder.
[Tip]
The Meringue may be replaced by 1/2 cup (125ml) thickened or whipping cream, whipped.
[Note]
1. Please note this recipe uses 1 standard cup of 250ml, 1 tablespoon of 20ml and 1 teaspoon of 5ml.
2. The size of egg used is about 60g (includes shell) unless otherwise stated.
posted by SeaDragon @ 8.8.05
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