Next up is a classic Italian dessert: tiramisu. I wish this was something I grew up enjoying, but the truth is, Italian baking didn’t become a part of my life until I enrolled in a pastry school in Florence. We learned all the basics of Italian baking and pastry, and I soon learned that Italians LOVE to use booze in their baking. In school we learned how to make Florenine Fedora Cakes, pictured to the left here, soaked in Alchermes liqueur, and how to make the perfect Cantuccini to dip in Vin Santo wine. But the star of the show was surely the tirimisu. Light savoiardi (lady fingers) dipped in liquor and coffee, layered with a light mascarpone cream make the most decadent, flavorful dessert. And it’s honestly quite easy to make, especially if you need to prep a dessert in advance! There’s a lot of debate about the perfect liquor to use for tirimisu. I’ve used dark rum, whiskey, marsala, it really depends on the flavor you’re looking for. Marsala adds a bit more sweetness to the dessert while rum, brandy, or cognac add a bit more depth and certainly make the dessert a bit boozy. Try it a few ways, and decide for yourself which is best! Now the recipe:
Lady Fingers: You’re welcome to buy these pre-made, but they’re actually quite simple to do yourself!
- 3 eggs, separated
- ½ cup sugar
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- 4 tsp cornstarch
- 1 tsp vanilla extract or vanilla paste
- ½ tsp salt
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and line a couple of baking sheets with parchment. Using a stand mixer, hand mixer, or large bowl and whisk, beat the egg yolks, ¼ cups of sugar, vanilla and salt until pale and light.
In another bowl and with a clean whisk, beat the egg whites (get ready for a workout if you’re doing this by hand). Once the egg white get a bit frothy, begin to add the remaining ¼ cup sugar one spoonful at a time. Beat until the whites are light and shiny.
Gently fold the yolk mixture into the whites mixtures. Then sift the flour into your bowl and gently fold that in as well. Do your best to avoid deflating any air in the egg through this process.
Using a piping bag with a large open tip or a ziplock bag, pipe your batter into logs on your lined sheet trays, about 5 inches long. Give them an inch or two of space between, they will spread a bit in the oven.
Bake for 10-12 minutes until lightly golden and somewhat firm. Let them cool completely before moving on.
Mascarpone Cream:
- 4 egg yolks
- ½ cups sugar
- ¾ cups heavy cream
- 1 cup mascarpone cheese
Using a stand mixer, hand mixer, or bowl and whisk, whip together the egg yolks and ¼ cups of the sugar until light and airy, and pale yellow in color.
In a separate bowl, whip the cream and remaining sugar until you achieve soft peaks. Add the mascarpone and keep whipping until just before stiff peaks. At this point, gently fold the two mixtures together.
Assembly:
- Lady fingers
- Mascarpone Cream
- 1 ½ cups strong coffee or espresso
- ¼ cup liquor of choice (we recommend Myers’s Dark Rum)
- 2 tbsp cocoa powder
Dust the bottom of your serving dish (9×9 or similar works well) with cocoa powder.
Combine the coffee and liquor in a shallow dish. One at a time, dip your lady fingers into the coffee/rum mixture. Line the bottom of your dish with the dipped lady fingers. When your base layer is finished, spread ⅓ to ½ of the mascarpone cream on top. Then repeat. You want to end with a thin layer of the mascarpone cream, and dust it with more cocoa powder to finish the dessert.
For another take on this classic dessert, check out Austin’s recipe here on our Cook Like a Cheesemonger blog!