Tiramisu

Tiramisù is an Italian dessert. It is made of ladyfingers dipped in coffee, layered with a whipped mixture of egg yolks and mascarpone cheese and flavored with cocoa. I made this delicious dessert for a joined birthday party of my sister and brother last Tuesday. Honestly, this is my first time and turns up woww…..so impressive. 

Tiramisu

Before that, let me share with you the history of Tiramisu. It pronounced "tih-ruh-mee-SOO" and was invented in the 1960's at the El Touga restaurant in Treviso, Italy. Literally translated, Tiramisu means "pick me up" or "carry me up", which probably refers to the jolt you get after eating espresso and alcohol laced ladyfingers. It is often called an 'Italian Trifle" because, like any trifle, it has layers. In this case, ladyfingers (finger-shaped cookies) are layered with custard that has been mixed with mascarpone cheese. You can garnish the top of the Tiramisu with a dusting of cocoa powder or shaved chocolate and a scattering of fresh raspberries (if they are in season). It is a good idea to make the Tiramisu the day before serving so all the flavors have time to soften and mingle and it has become firm enough to slice easily. If you want a firmer Tiramisu, place it in the freezer for an hour or two before serving.  

Ladyfingers form the base of this dessert and these finger-shaped cookies are about 4 inches long and 1 inch wide (10 x 2.5 cm), are made with a sponge cake batter. They are called Savoiardi in Italy and are so named because they come from Savoy Italy.

Ladyfingers & Mascarpone Cheese

The recipe

700gm fresh milk

8 egg yolks

140gm castor sugar

80gm cornstarch

70gm butter

2tsp vanilla extract

50gm mascarpone cheese

Coffee syrup

2tbsp of espresso/coffee

2 cups of water (room temperature)

3 tbsp castor sugar

Cream Topping: Put 500gm milk and sugar in a medium size saucepan. Place over medium heat and bring this mixture to boiling and stirring occasionally. Meanwhile, in a heatproof bowl whisk together the remaining 200gm milk, cornstarch and egg yolks. When the milk comes to a boil, gradually whisk it into the egg yolk mixture. Transfer this mixture into a clean large saucepan and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly until it comes to a boil. When it boils, continue to stir for another minute or two or until it thickens. Remove from heat and strain into a large bowl. (This will remove any lumps that may have formed.) Whisk in vanilla extract and butter. Immediately cover the surface of the custard with plastic wrap to prevent a crust from forming. Refrigerate until thick and cold at least two hours.

Once the custard has cooled sufficiently, remove from the refrigerator. In a separate bowl, with a wooden spoon, beat the mascarpone cheese until it is soft and smooth. Gently fold or whisk the cold custard into the mascarpone until smooth.

Coffee Soaking Syrup: In a large shallow bowl combine the coffee (espresso), sugar and water. Originally, Marsala (rum) is used in this recipe. As a Muslim obviously rum or liquor is not allowed, so I need the substitutes to be non alcoholic. Water is the best option or you may   replace it with non-alcoholic rum flavoring. Other alternative maybe a mixture of molasses (cane syrup) thinned with white grape juice. Taste and add more sugar if you like.

To Assemble: Line a 10 x 10 inch pan with plastic wrap. Make sure the plastic wrap extends over the sides of the pan. Get ready the ladyfingers roughly 32 pieces, coffee mixture and cream filling. Step 1, spoon ½ of the cream filling to the bottom of the pan evenly. Dip ladyfingers in coffee mixture at a time and place them side by side on top of cream layer. Cover layered of ladyfingers by sifting cocoa powder. Spoon remaining cream filling over the ladyfingers, making sure they are completely covered. Repeat with another layer of ladyfingers. Cover the Tiramisu with plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 6 hours, preferably overnight.

To Serve: Remove the plastic wrap from the top of the tiramisu. Gently invert the Tiramisu from the pan onto your serving plate and remove the plastic wrap. Sift cocoa powder or grated chocolate over the top of the Tiramisu and decorate with fresh fruit.