Yes, I know you're salivating!
Tiramisu is one of those classic Italian desserts that every tourist wants to have in Italy and that, luckily, every Italian knows how to make (probably). It's so simple yet so good and luscious that it's really hard to get it wrong so every home cook should be able to make one... yes, it's soooo SIMPLE!
Ingredients:
Savoiardi (Italian lady finger biscuits)
Espresso (or, for those outside of Italy, the strongest coffee that you can get), unsweetened
Mascarpone (which is a creamy Italian cheese used in desserts), 250g
1 Egg (or 2 Egg Yolks)
Sugar
Optional Stuff:
Coffee Liquor (makes the dessert richer and gives that extra sexy kick)
Strawberries (or other fruits which you could cut into segments and used to pretty up the dessert like cherries, berries or orange segments)
Cinnamon or Nutmeg or Cocoa Powder
And you need a nice plastic container for the dessert which you can put in the fridge (me? I wash and re-use old ice cream containers).
Making tiramisu is not rocket science... The idea is to make a layered dessert made from the lady fingers soaked in coffee with the mascarpone cream in between...
1. Best to start with the mascarpone cream... Add some sugar into the egg/egg yolks and whip them until slightly foamy/airy. I normally use just the entire egg (else, what do I do with the whites) but I guess some people just use egg yolks (and seeing how yellow some mascarpone creams are, they probably do use just the yolks). Add about half of the mascarpone and whip until full incorporated and then add the other half and whip some more. Taste - if not sweet enough, add more sugar. (And, in case you're wondering, I made the cream pink by adding some KoolAid powder...)
2. The 250g+ mascarpone mix should be good enough for about 4 layers of savoiardi with 6 pieces each layer. You need to soak this into some unsweetened espresso (or the strongest coffee you can make) so make enough coffee. You can also spike it with a bit of coffee liquor (though not so much) or rum.
3. Don't soak all the fingers at the same time! Soak them one at a time, never letting them stay too long into the liquid (or they'll bloat up and turn to mush... they're really porous!), and placing them carefully into your clean plastic container. After a layer is done, spread some of the mascarpone-egg mix... Make another layer, put more cream, make another layer, put more cream... until you fill the container (or you run out of either mascarpone mix or savoiardi). In case you are using some fruit (like halved strawberries as in the example above), place the fruit on top of the cream - this will prevent them moving.
4. Add some cinnamon or nutmeg or cocoa powder at the top as a final flourish (if you wish).
5. Refrigerate the assembly for about half an hour, letting the cream set for a bit. Afterwards, serve and enjoy!
For non-bakers like me, being able to make a dessert like this is such a treat since I'll be able to serve up an entire meal that I cooked by myself to friends and family, if i wanted to... So yeah, another recipe to add to your repertoires!
Ingredients:
Savoiardi (Italian lady finger biscuits)
Espresso (or, for those outside of Italy, the strongest coffee that you can get), unsweetened
Mascarpone (which is a creamy Italian cheese used in desserts), 250g
1 Egg (or 2 Egg Yolks)
Sugar
Optional Stuff:
Coffee Liquor (makes the dessert richer and gives that extra sexy kick)
Strawberries (or other fruits which you could cut into segments and used to pretty up the dessert like cherries, berries or orange segments)
Cinnamon or Nutmeg or Cocoa Powder
And you need a nice plastic container for the dessert which you can put in the fridge (me? I wash and re-use old ice cream containers).
Making tiramisu is not rocket science... The idea is to make a layered dessert made from the lady fingers soaked in coffee with the mascarpone cream in between...
1. Best to start with the mascarpone cream... Add some sugar into the egg/egg yolks and whip them until slightly foamy/airy. I normally use just the entire egg (else, what do I do with the whites) but I guess some people just use egg yolks (and seeing how yellow some mascarpone creams are, they probably do use just the yolks). Add about half of the mascarpone and whip until full incorporated and then add the other half and whip some more. Taste - if not sweet enough, add more sugar. (And, in case you're wondering, I made the cream pink by adding some KoolAid powder...)
2. The 250g+ mascarpone mix should be good enough for about 4 layers of savoiardi with 6 pieces each layer. You need to soak this into some unsweetened espresso (or the strongest coffee you can make) so make enough coffee. You can also spike it with a bit of coffee liquor (though not so much) or rum.
3. Don't soak all the fingers at the same time! Soak them one at a time, never letting them stay too long into the liquid (or they'll bloat up and turn to mush... they're really porous!), and placing them carefully into your clean plastic container. After a layer is done, spread some of the mascarpone-egg mix... Make another layer, put more cream, make another layer, put more cream... until you fill the container (or you run out of either mascarpone mix or savoiardi). In case you are using some fruit (like halved strawberries as in the example above), place the fruit on top of the cream - this will prevent them moving.
4. Add some cinnamon or nutmeg or cocoa powder at the top as a final flourish (if you wish).
5. Refrigerate the assembly for about half an hour, letting the cream set for a bit. Afterwards, serve and enjoy!
For non-bakers like me, being able to make a dessert like this is such a treat since I'll be able to serve up an entire meal that I cooked by myself to friends and family, if i wanted to... So yeah, another recipe to add to your repertoires!
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