I didn’t have many goals for this past month. Yes, I did a lot of ‘research’ for Eat Umbria. But that meant going out to lunches and dinners with friends and family. Not the hardest job imaginable. I also kept up the blog, but even then I’ve been doing it a bit less than usual. Like any good Italian, I consider August vacation month, and during vacation I try to turn things down as much as I can.
One thing I had fully intended to do, however, was to make a video of my niece Scarlett cooking something when she and her family came to visit. We had such fun making this video two years ago, that we both wanted to do a repeat. We decided that Tiramisù would be the recipe because a) it is something that Scarlett loves and b) it was actually something that she could make 100% on her own.
Scarlett did her part, making excellent Tiramisù in cute little cups for our last dinner before the my sister’s family returned home. Me? I totally flaked out and just couldn’t get out of vacation mode long enough to make a video.
In fact, I am in such a lazy mode of being that I didn’t even remember to photograph the darling desserts before we all attacked it.
So here, at least, is a photograph of one of the cups that was only half eaten.
And the recipe too. At least I’ve got that much for you.
It kind of surprised me that I’d never posted about tiramisù in the past. I guess it’s just one of those recipes I take for granted. Although it’s super easy (no cooking involved) there are few things to keep in mind when you make it. One thing I’ve come to realize over the years is that the main ingredient – marscapone – varies incredibly from brand to brand. It is basically clotted cream, and the difference in taste obviously has to do with the original milk that was used. I find that the smaller brands I see in the supermarket tend to be more creamy and maybe a tad sweeter.
The cookies that are traditionally used are store-bought lady fingers. Again, these vary from brand to brand. Some are crisper, some are sweeter. If you can find them in a bakery all the better.
I’m a traditional tiramisù kind of girl. I dip my cookies in strong espresso and top the entire thing with a flurry of freshly grated dark chocolate. But if you want to go wild, you can certainly play around with both of those ingredients. Berries make a nice dipping syrup (be careful not to let it be too sweet) and freshly ground pistachio make for a gorgeous green flecked topping.
In my opinion, the prettiest way to make tiramisù is to make it in individual cups. I hate those big pans full of tiramisù, which always seem to be a gloppy mess. I have a set of cute glass cups that come from Bodum, ( they don’t seem to make them any more – I looked). If you don’t have little cups with handles (which are awful cute) use small glasses. The point is to be able to see the layers. Lately in Rome, I see restaurants are serving individual tiramisu in jars, which for some reason I think is one step to far towards cuteness.
Tiramisù
Prep
Cook
Total
Yield 10
Ingredients
- 9 egg yolks
- 6 tablespoons sugar
- 750 grams / 1 1/2 pounds marscapone
- 20 ladyfingers
- 100 grams dark chocolate
- 1 1/2 cups strong espresso
- 10 1 cup cups or glasses
Instructions
- Make the espresso and let cool to room temperature. If you don't want the caffeine, you can use decafinated.
- Place the egg yolks in a large bowl. Add sugar, and using a hand held blender whip until light yellow and smooth. About five minutes.
- Add the marscapone and blend until smooth.
- Break a cookie in half and quickly dip each half into the coffee, flipping it over. The trick is to let it absorb some coffee, but not too much. Lady fingers can get mushy very easily and if you let them absorb too much coffee your tiramisu will be all soggy.
- Place 1 cookie (broken in half) in the bottom of the cup. Repeat for each cup.
- Then place a large heaping tablespoon full of the marscapone mixture on top of that, making sure to cover the cookie. Repeat for each cup.
- Follow with another cookie per cup, and another layer of marscapone. You should have just enough.
- Grate the chocolate or cut on a board with a chopping knife. I like using real chocolate, not cocoa powder which some recipes call for, since it gives a variety of texture and just tastes better.
- Place in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours.
I laughed out loud when I read the post about eating the dessert before remembering to take a photo. That is exactly what happened when I made a Tiramisu Cake with Zabaglione Cream for my son and grandson’s birthday. The family cut and got into it before I could focus on the eaten cake. Luckily my daughter wanted the cake for her birthday and I was able to get a decent shot. It sounds like you’ve had a wonderful vacation. Hope your autumn is wonderful too. Buona giornata.
for a kick i mix very strong espresso with marsala, to everyone’s delight 😉
That or rum works great with coffee. And with the fruttier flavors I think a bit of grappa would be nice.
OH, YUM,YUM, YUM but only one problem here. In Texas we are facing a huge Chicken shortage. Our egg prices are going sky high. Maybe double. this is due to a Fall Season of Bird flu. So, 9 egg yolks might be a tad problematic for right now. But as soon as things get bck to normal I will make your version Tiramisu. As always, thank you for your lovely blog, pictures, videos, etc.
For a dish like this, which uses raw eggs which do not get cooked, I usually use only organic eggs. Which are expensive anyway to start with. It’s definitely a special occasion type of dish. And to get more bang for your buck, you could make a Pavlova with all those whites. THAT would make your guests very happy. http://www.elizabethminchilli.com/2014/06/mulberry-pavlova/dsc00728/
I am a little hesitant to make it with raw egg yolks.
If you are hesitant to use raw egg yolks, then this dessert probably isn’t the right one for you.
Claudio Pistocchi, a Florence Pastry Chef known for his (Excellent!) flour-less chocolate cake, uses sugar syrup at 250°F instead of sugar (To kill salmonella possibility) both on egg yolks and whites. While several discussion are available on different cooking forums, mostly going back to 2010/2011, the discussions are all in Italian. It could be a topic worth exploring, though!
All the best, and, as usual, thank you Elizabeth for your consistently great posts!
Interesting. But the high heat of the sugar syrup must in fact cook the eggs. So while safe, it must be an entirely different taste and consistency?
I am so thrilled that Elizabeth Minchilli suggested your blog and facebook page to me….I had yet to discover you and your books! Fantatico!
I had awhat I think was a strawberry version at VOY located in Ponte Milvio…..would love a recipe but not even sure it was Tiramisu. Thoughts or advice?
I’ve never made the fruity version, but I think it would be pretty easy. Chop some strawberries and let them macerate with some sugar and maybe a bit of lemon juice or grappa for a few hours. Use the resulting liquid to dip the cookies in. Then top with some of the strawberries. Since the berries are sweeter than coffee, you shouldn’t use as much sugar mixed in with the mascarpone.
Grazie mille! Going to try your suggestion(s)!
Hi! I found some cute Bodum cups with handles! Will attempt recipe before the New Year.Bodum Bistro 2 Piece double wall 0.45 L 15 oz Cafe Latte Cup, Clear are found on Amazon. Are they the right size?
I”m sure they will work!