Tiramisu

by KAT VEL


THE BACK STORY:

Tiramisu is everyone's favourite (including those treacherous people who decry coffee - even they can't say no to tiramisu). This Italian dessert is a literal 'pick me up' in more ways than just its name - yes, tiramisu means 'pick me up' in Italian, I've been told.

My earliest memories of this dessert were of my Parisian neighbour, a beautiful woman by the name of Isabelle, who introduced my best friend and me to this recipe as young girls. We would crowd into her kitchen, both of us no older than 9 years old, as she would show us how to immaculately beat the egg whites, whip the mascarpone and brew the coffee in her French press.

In our neighbourhood, we all regarded Isabelle as the authority on all things food related. I mean, she's a French woman teaching us to make an Italian dessert - what's there to question? A motley mix of Russians, French, Germans, Poles, Aussies and Greeks - the lack of Italian culinary presence in our European circle, was quickly remedied by Isabelle's prowess as a dessert aficionado.  

Whilst some people opt for cream in this recipe, I'm somewhat of a purist as I think that the richness of the mascarpone, aided by the creaminess of the egg yolks makes for a sufficiently luscious cream. Also, as Isabelle's recipe called for just eggs, I will always do the same. 

INGREDIENTS:

~5 eggs, separated 

~500g mascarpone 

~1/2 cup icing sugar (you can also use caster or white sugar)

~1 tbs vanilla extract

~Pinch of salt 

~Cocoa to top 

~1.5 cups freshly brewed espresso

~200 grams savoiardi/lady finger biscuits

~1/2 cup, plus 5 tbs Tia Maria (or any coffee flavoured liqueur)

(approx 16 biscuits in total, but use as many as you need)

 

METHOD:

  1. Brew 1.5 cups of strong coffee. *espresso is preferred, but if you only have instant coffee, I’ll allow it!
  2. Add 1/2 cup of your coffee flavoured liqueur to your brewed coffee and set aside to cool. 
  3. Beat the egg whites with a pinch of salt until soft peaks form - don’t overbeat!
  4. In a large mixing bowl, beat your egg yolks with your vanilla, sifted icing sugar and 5 tbs of coffee flavoured liqueur until very pale, fluffy and creamy. 
  5. Then, add your mascarpone to your egg yolks and beat until the mascarpone is smooth and well combined with the yolks.
  6. Next, add your egg whites to the mascarpone mix and gently FOLD (don’t mix) with a spatula or wooden spoon. This will keep your tiramisu light and fluffy!
  7. Now - it’s time to assemble the tiramisu! You can assemble the tiramisu in individual little cups, or delicate glassware, but the easiest thing to do it to just get a glass rectangular dish and start layering your ingredients.
  8. Firstly, spread a decent layer of the mascarpone on the bottom of the dish. Then, take your savoiardi biscuits, dunk them once on each side briefly (you don’t want your tiramisu to be too soggy), and assemble the first layer of the biscuits on the bottom of the tray. 
  9. Top the biscuits with another layer of mascarpone, and then add your next layer of coffee dunked biscuits. 
  10. Add your final layer of mascarpone on top of the biscuits. 
  11. Cover with cling film or a lid and pop in the fridge ideally overnight, or for at least 4 hours or so. This will allow the pungent flavour of the coffee and alcohol to really set into the biscuits. 
  12. Top with unsweetened cocoa just before you’re ready to serve this up. 
Back to Sweets