I made tiramisu the other day, using a classic Italian recipe, and it turned out delightful – just what you need if you want an elegant dessert. It’s best to make it the night before serving, so it would set overnight, and you would enjoy it even more 🙂
- Espresso or strong coffee – 1 1/2 cups (300 ml) – room temperature
- Dark rum – approx. 190 ml
- Mascarpone cheese – 452 g
- Large egg yolks – 6
- Sugar – 133 g
- Double cream – 500 ml
- Vanilla extract – 2 tsp
- Savoiardi (sponge finger) biscuits – about 40 (depending on the size of your dish)
- Cocoa powder – 33 g
Make espresso or strong coffee to your taste (300 ml).
Put about half a medium pot of water on medium heat – you need it to simmer, as you will use it for a double boiler.
Take 1/2 cup (125 ml) of the total amount of rum (I use measuring cups like this)…
… pour it into a bowl, add the coffee and put aside.
Place the mascarpone cheese into a separate bowl.
Pour the remaining rum (about 65 ml)…
… into the bowl with mascarpone cheese.
Whisk together until smooth and creamy, and put aside.
Separate egg whites from the yolks, and pace the yolks into a separate heatproof bowl.
Add the sugar…
… and whisk it in until well combined (however, you don’t need all the sugar to melt completely). You my use an electric mixer, but it’s not crucial.
By now, the water should have boiled. Reduce the heat to let the water just simmer…
… and place the bowl with egg and sugar mixture over it for a double boiler, whisking constantly.
Cook the mixture over a double boiler just for a few minutes, until it thickens up, turns light yellow in colour, and the sugar dissolves. This is what its consistency should be like.
Take the cream off the heat, pour into the mascarpone and mix together until combined, then put aside.
Pour double cream into a whisking bowl…
… add vanilla extract…
… and whisk until it looks shiny and glossy, and forms stiff peaks. However, be careful not to over-whisk the cream, as it may turn into butter.
Once it’s whisked, it should form stiff peaks like these.
Now, add the cream into the egg and cheese mixture…
… and mix well together. You can use a spatula.
And now, time to assemble your tiramisu! Exciting! 🙂
To do that, you will need the savoiardi biscuits.
Dip each side of the biscuits into the rum and coffee mixture ever so slightly, only about 2 seconds per side…
… and place them into a rectangular dish.
IMPORTANT: please do NOT completely saturate the biscuits in the rum and coffee mixture, as they will turn soggy.
Once you’ve placed the bottom layer of the biscuits into the dish, cover it with the half of the creamy mixture.
Make the top layer of the biscuits exactly the same way – by dipping them into the rum and coffee mixture and putting them onto the cream layer.
Place the remaining cream on top of the biscuit layer, making sure all the biscuits are covered. Smooth the surface with an icing spatula.
Dust the top of the dessert with some cocoa powder.
Technically, it’s ready to enjoy, but it needs a few hours in the fridge to firm up. You can also make it in the evening and put into the fridge to set overnight.
And when you are finally ready to taste it… it’s absolutely delicious! Enjoy! 🙂
