Tiramisu

Smooth, light and creamy tiramisu...yum yum!

Tiramisu is one of the easiest and most delicious desserts to make, but I have not attempted it until now, mostly because it contains Marsala (a type of fortified wine) which I don't have. The tiramisu recipe that I used here comes from Taste.com.au and is absolutely fantastic! And I didn't even use marsala. Instead, I substituted it with orange juice as suggested in the recipe. I have never tried other recipes before (well, since this is my first attempt) but this one's a keeper. I suppose you can't really go wrong with mascarpone and coffee-soaked sponge fingers, but the trick is not to oversoak those savoiardi biscuits to avoid a runny and soggy tiramisu. My, it was so good I literally licked my plate clean!

If you're looking for a great recipe for tiramisu, I highly recommend this one. It's not that difficult to prepare. The only thing I might point out is that it requires the cream, egg yolks and egg whites to be whisked separately. So, it will be handy if you have 3 mixing bowls at home. Also, make sure the dish you are assembling it in is deep enough as the tiramisu comes up to about 6cm high using a 19cm (base measurement) pyrex dish.

Tiramisu Recipe

adapted from Taste.com.au

Ingredients

2 cups strong black coffee, cooled

1/2 cup Marsala (or substitute with Kahlua, Tia Maria or orange juice) 

3 eggs, separated

1/3 cup caster sugar

250g mascarpone

1 cup thickened cream, whipped  to firm peaks

1 large packet (about 400g) of sponge fingers (savoiardi)

2 tbsp cocoa, for dusting

Method

1. Pour coffee and marsala into a shallow dish. Set aside.
2. Beat egg yolks and sugar in a large bowl with electric beaters until pale and thick. Whisk in the mascarpone on low speed until just combined. Fold in the whipped cream.
3. Beat egg whites in a medium bowl with electric beaters until stiff peaks form.  Using a large metal spoon, gently fold eggwhites into the mascarpone mixture.
4. Take one biscuit at a time and dip the unsugared side into the coffee mixture for 1-2 seconds. Arrange enough biscuits to cover the base of a 19cm square ceramic/pyrex dish. Cover the biscuits with one-third of the mascarpone mixture. Repeat layers 2 times, ending with the cream. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 4 hours. Dust generously with cocoa and serve.

Tips:

1. Take care not to soak the entire biscuit in the coffee mixture for too long as this will make the tiramisu soggy (unless you like it that way).
2. The tiramisu is best eaten after it's been refrigerated for at least 8 hours to let the flavours develop.