Tiramisu
I wanted to make Tiramisu, so starting looking on line for a recipe. I couldn’t believe the many recipes and methods used to make Tiramisu. Some used raw eggs, whipped cream, whipped egg whites, etc. They were making my head spin. I knew I wasn’t too crazy about using raw eggs. Then I saw a episode of Secrets of a Restaurant Chef on Food Network, and saw that Anne cooks her eggs and sugar with the steam from a hot water bath. I knew that was the version I would try. I halved the recipe because I really don’t want a full tray, an 8″ by 8″ pan is enough. I also omitted the chocolate chips in Anne’s recipe. I also sprinkles very little cocoa powder on top of the cheese mixture on each layer. I brewed my own espresso in my espresso maker, but if you don’t have one, use the hot water and espresso powder method (I bought my instant espresso powder at Williams-Sonoma). Some bakeries and recipes call for Genoise cake instead of the ladyfingers. I find that the coffee liquid makes the the cake soggier than the lady fingers does. Make sure you make this the day before you need if possible. It is much easier to cut and serve when it has time to set up.
Tiramisu
Tiramisu
3 eggs
1/2 c. granulated sugar
2 c. Marscapone cheese (16 oz)
3 c. espresso (or 3 C. boiling water & 1/4 c. instant espresso powder; or 3 c. double strength coffee)
1/3 c. brown sugar
1-1/2 Tbsp cocoa powder
1/4 coffee liquor
24 ladyfingers (Savoiardi)
1/3 c. or so finely grated chocolate
In a metal stand mixer bowl, combine the eggs and granulated sugar. Beat well to combine. Place the bowl on top of a small pot with 1-inch of boiling water; be sure that the bowl does not touch the water. Beat the eggs until they have tripled in size and the whisk leaves a trail, 5 to 7 minutes.
Once the eggs have tripled in size, remove the bowl from the double boiler and put on the stand mixer with whisk attachment and beat on a medium speed until the bottom of the bowl feels cool, about 5 minutes. Add the mascarpone and mix until just combined. Refrigerate 1 hour.
Combine the espresso (or boiling water & espresso powder), brown sugar, cocoa powder, and coffee liqueur. Stir until everything has dissolved. Let cool.
When the espresso mixture has cooled, dip the cookies in the liquid one at a time and line the bottom of a 8″ by 8″ inch baking dish. Spread 1/2 of the chilled mascarpone mixture over the cookies, then dust with a little cocoa powder. Repeat this process 1 more time finishing with a layer of mascarpone. For more stability, lay the second layer of cookies in the opposite direction of the first layer.
Cover and refrigerate for at least a couple of hours and up to overnight; the longer it chills the easier it will be to slice.
Top the tiramisu with finely grated chocolate. Cut into squares and serve.
Note: You can also fold in a little whipped heavy cream in to the mascarpone mixture to give it an even more heavenly texture and taste! Also, the second time I made this. I decided to brush a little of the the coffee mixture on to the ladyfingers with a silicone basting brush. The first time, dunking the ladyfingers in to the coffee mixture made the end result a little too mushy and the ladyfingers almost dissolved in to the mascarpone mixture. By brushing on, the ladyfingers stayed “cake like” , and the cut tiramisu pieces looked better. Either way, it was unbelievably delicious!
2 Comments
mjskit
November 6, 2011 at 9:01 pmWOW! What a great looking tiramisu recipe! Thanks for doing the research for such a great recipe.
SJ
November 6, 2011 at 9:27 pmThis truly is a delicious recipe! So light, but yet so sinfully delicious!