Saturday, April 4, 2009

Best Tiramisu Recipe





Tiramisu basically includes Mascarpone cheese, raw eggs, sugar, espresso coffee, ladyfingers, liqueur and cocoa. Heavy cream is an optional ingredient. The richness and "mouth experience" depends on the quantity of each ingredient, and the care of preparation.

I made some Tiramisu yesterday having had Tia Maria (Jamaican Blue Mountain Coffee Liqour) with me for almost 2 weeks now.

The result was just fabulous.

All my friends genuinely loved the Tiramisu.
Calories: Censored....
(I only took 2 tablespoons of it and let the others feast on the rest. ha ha..)

It's really nice.

Time required for preparation- about 1 hour.
The entire process was performed manually (Whisking) and without a weighing machine.

Here's the recipe (that doesn't require a weighing scale):-

Makes 4-6 servings

16-20 lady fingers (Google it if you don't know what lady fingers are. Could use pound cake if lady fingers are not immediately available)

5 tablespoons of coffee liqueur (Any coffee liqueur would do but I used the ever popular Tia Maria. You could even use Irish Cream if you can't get hold of Tia maria/Kahlua).

3/4 cup espresso coffee (I used Jamaican Blue Coffee to brew the espresso using a stovetop. You could use a french press if you do not have a stovetop espresso maker)

1 cup mascarpone cheese
3 eggs- separate the yolks and whites
6 tablespoons sugar
1 cup heavy cream/ whipping cream
1/4 teaspoon vanilla
pinch of salt
cocoa powder
powdered sugar

Would need quite a few bowls to make this Tiramisu!

Bowl 1: Put the mascarpone cheese into a bowl and use a spatula to mix it till smooth.

Bowl 2: Add the espresso and Tia Maria and set aside.

Bowl 3 (Use a bowl suitable to be used in a hot water bath): Add 3 egg yolks and 2 tablespoon of sugar and whisk till smooth for about 3-5 minutes. Then, set over a hot water bath and beat for another 3-5 minutes until light and foamy.
When ready, pour the entire solution into the mascarpone cheese. Whisk it till a smooth batter if formed. Then set aside.
If you like, you could add 2 tablespoon of Tia Maria while whisking the batter to further enhance the flavour.

Bowl 4: Whip the cream until it holds a firm shape. (Meaning- you could make a 'mountain' peak with the whipped cream and it remains firm ie it does not melt away. But do not over whip the cream or else it will turn to butter!)
Add in the vanilla while whipping the cream.

Bowl 5: Whisk the 3 egg whites with 3 tablespoons of sugar and a pinch of salt till if foams and holds a firm shape like what you did to the whip cream (remember- don't over-whisk or else it will turn into liquid).
Then FOLD it with a spatula into the mascarpone batter.


Now,

FOLD with a spatula 1/2 of the mascaporne batter into the whipped cream.

When it has been well mixed, fold in the remaining half. Set aside.


Final steps,

Dip each lady finger quickly but entirely in the espresso and liqueur mixture.

Line up in a single layer using half of the lady fingers.

Now, pour about half of the final batter/mixture on top of the lady fingers.

Spread out evenly.

Dust cocoa powder to the top.

Then put another layer of the lady fingers and the top it up with the remaining 1/2 of the batter/mixture.

Dust cocoa powder to the top.

Refrigerate for at least 3-4 hours before serving.

Really easy stuff.
Enjoy and let me know the result.

2 comments:

Unknown said...

Too elaborate for me and some ingredients sound foreign :-)... Can make some when you come back?

Dr YW Chow said...

no problem.
will make and bring some over one of my trips.