I thought of trying another recipe for my take-two on Project Tiramisu, but after googling for recipes, I still reckon this is the better one. (p/s : anyone who has a tested & proven tiramisu recipe, pls pls pls do share with me!).
This time, I tried to improve on the esthetic part of it, and there were improvement (albeit a slight one). However, my photography skills are somewhat lacking (I blame it on not having the proper lens!) hence, this is the best I can do on Project Tiramisu : Take Two
Posted on 4/3/2011
I finally got my butt off into starting Project Tiramisu, which as it name says, a project for me to make a tiramisu. Tiramisu is a well-known Italian dessert that literally says “pick me up”, which consist of layering of dipped-ladyfingers and sweetened and flavored mascarpone cheese, topped with aplenty of whipped cream!
I have actually gotten most of the ingredients from Bake With Yen (the absolute best place to get your baking needs, IMHO) which includes mascarpone cheese and ladyfingers aka savoiardi)
After mindlessly surfing for recipes after recipes that claims to be the best it town – I finally settled for this tiramisu recipe (albeit slightly modified) here!
The ingredients are as below
• 1-1/2 cups brewed espresso, at room temperature
• 1/4 cup brandy/marsala wine/liquor of your preference (I used Bailey)
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar
• 3 large egg yolks
• 2/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
• 1-1/4 cups heavy cream
• 1 pound mascarpone cheese, at room temperature
• One 7-ounce package crisp Italian ladyfingers (about 24 cookies)
• Unsweetened cocoa powder, for dusting
• 2 ounces bittersweet chocolate, scraped with a vegetable peeler to make curls
Steps to make Tiramisu
1.In a medium bowl, stir together the espresso, 3 tablespoons Bailey and the 1 teaspoon vanilla and the brown sugar; set aside. In a double boiler, beat together the egg yolks, 2/3 cup granulated sugar and 1/2 cup cream over simmering water until the mixture lightens in color and thickens, about 7 minutes. Transfer the insert to a larger bowl filled with ice water. Whisk until cold, about 5 minutes. Whisk in the mascarpone and the remaining 1 tablespoon Bailey until smooth.
2.Dip* half of the ladyfingers, one at a time, into the reserved espresso mixture and lay them flat in a single layer on the bottom of an 8-inch square baking dish. Spread half the mascarpone mixture on top. Repeat with the other half of the ladyfingers and the remaining mascarpone mixture. Refrigerate for 2 hours.
3.Using an electric mixer, beat the remaining 3/4 cup cream and 1 tablespoon granulated sugar on medium speed until stiff peaks form**. Spread the whipped cream onto the chilled tiramisu and, using a small strainer, dust the whipped cream with the cocoa. Top with the chocolate curls. Cut into rectangles.
* After reading many comments from baking forums worldwide, I believe that one of the most common problems encountered is soggy ladyfingers. It is crucial that you only dip it for only a second or less as these cookies absorbs liquid really fast. Or, if you worried that you do not have quick fingers, do what I did, take a brush, dip the brush into the espresso mix and brush it on both sides of the ladyfingers. It worked like a charm, no soggy ladyfingers!
** As it is my first time whipping cream with my electronic mixer, I screwed up the first time by over-beating it and it became butter-like *whoops*. After much research, a tip that I picked is that the utensils (albeit the mixing bowl and the beater) and the ingredient (albeit the cream) must be really chilled. It worked as I have perfect, stiff whipped cream on my second attempt!
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