Italian Dessert Tiramisu

My elder daughter suggested me making Tiramisu last month.  I told her give me some time to find a good recipe first. I knew nothing about Tiramisu except that it uses Mascarpone cheese and ladyfingers. So, I bought these two ingredients, and stored them in the fridge. Two weeks have passed,  I have not found the right recipe yet.  One day, my Italian colleague Giulio gave us a pleasant surprise in the office. He brought his homemade Tiramisu to the office !  Italian dessert made by an Italian,  do I still need to search for the "right" recipe?   Giulio was so nice to translate his recipe from Italian to English and shared it with me. He asked me to send him the pictures after I have tried his recipe. Here you go, Giulio!

With a good authentic recipe at hand, I had no reason not to make this famous Italian dessert.  I made my first Tiramisu yesterday, and it was a hit in my family.  Everyone asked for seconds!  I made Tiramisu in one 30cm rectangular ramekin, end up only one slice of Tiramisu left.  Grazie, Giulio!

The only change I made to Giulio's recipe was eggs. His recipe calls for uncooked eggs - beaten egg whites and raw egg yolks. I have no problem eating Tiramisu with raw eggs. Actually, I enjoyed it very much.  It's just that, when come to my own cooking, I am not so comfortable with adding raw egg to a dish.  So, I twisted the original recipe by replacing beaten egg whites with whipped cream, and raw egg yolks with cooked egg yolks over a double-boiler. Well, I would say, there is little difference in flavor. It's just as delicious!

You see,  this is one of the privileges of working in a multinational company. You have the chance to experience exotic cultures without travelling far from home. I am blessed to have known wonderful people from the world and learn from them in one way or another. In return, I hope you enjoy reading my blog, and find the information useful.

TIRAMISU
(serves 10 people)

Ingredients:

• 500g Mascarpone cheese
• 120g (5 tablespoons) sugar, divided
• 3 egg yolks 
• 300ml heavy cream (I used Dairy Farmers Thickened Cream)
• 400g Savoiardi (Italian ladyfingers)
• 250 ml strong coffee , room temperature
• 2 tablespoons rum 
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract 
• 50g cocoa powder for dusting

Directions:

1. Prepare Coffee: Combine espresso (or coffee),  rum, vanilla extract and 2 tablespoons of sugar in a shallow dish. 
2. Prepare Filling:
• Beat egg yolks, 2 tablespoons of sugar in a bowl set over a saucepan of barely simmering water until tripled in volume, 5 to 8 minutes. Use a whisk or a handheld electric mixer at medium speed. (Do not stop beating until removed from the heat). If you don't mind raw eggs, just beat 3 egg yolks with sugar until creamy.  
• Remove bowl from heat. Wait till cool,  then beat in mascarpone cheese until just combined.
• Whip cream in a bowl until it holds stiff peaks. Once stiff, add the rest of sugar (1 tablespoon) and continue to beat.  If you don't mind raw eggs, just beat 3 egg whites until stiff.  Add sugar and continue to beat. 
• Fold in half of the whipped cream (or whipped egg whites) into the yolk-mascarpone mixture, then the remaining half until fully incorporated.
3. Assemble Tiramisu
• Dip half of the ladyfingers very quickly into the coffee, and line the bottom of a 30cm rectangular dish. Spoon half of the mascarpone filling over the ladyfingers and spread into an even layer. Dust half of the coco powder over filling. Then dip the remaining ladyfingers into the coffee and arrange a second layer over filling.
• Spoon remaining mascarpone mixture over ladyfingers. Dust with cocoa powder. 
4. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 6 hours. When ready to serve, dust with extra cocoa powder. 

Recipe cross referenced here.