Most people know that I love to eat. But what people don't know is that I really love food. I am not exactly good with cooking, but when given the time I love to explore recipes, tweaking it till I get the right texture and taste. I even have a separate blog where I jot down cooking notes!
Sometimes in my play cooking session, I deviate further from what is authentic to make the dish more appealing to my Singaporean taste buds. But isn't cooking aimed at pleasing your own taste buds anyway?
One dish that I (think) I have perfected is the Tiramisu. Most tiramisu these days omit the mascarpone and use custard as substitute for traditional zabaglione in an effort to make the layered cake simpler without taking away the layers. But trust me, once you tried this recipe, you would never go back to the tiramisu from the cold section of any supermarket.
I like my tiramisu alcoholic. But then again, I like most things alcoholic so that statement is kind of redundant. I also like my tiramisu firm. In my mind, layered cakes should stand tall and proud as a single slice on a plate. I frown upon serving tiramisu in cups for it just highlights the fact that the whole cake is weak, soggy and lacks structure.
So try this recipe. I guarantee that if you do this right, you will be in for a great reward. I'll try to get a picture for you this weekend if I can get supporters for eating it. No guarantees.
Enjoy~
Tiramisu Ingredients List (for a cake measuring 6" x 8")
5 large eggs yolks
½ cup + 4 tbsp Caster Sugar
250g Mascarpone Cheese
300ml Cream
6 tbsp Coffee
12 tbsp Kahlua (or other liqueur that you like)
1 packet Savoiardi Sponge Finger Biscuits
Drinking chocolate for dusting
Large Lasagne Dish or any other oblong dish
Zabaglione
Whisk egg yolks and ½ cup caster sugar till pale and thick.
In a double boiler, continue whisking while adding 4 tbsp of kahlua.
Whisk continuously till it takes on the texture of custard taking care to avoid burning the zabaglione at the bottom of the pot (7-8 minutes).
Put pot into cold water to stop the heat, continue whisking for 1-2 mins to dissipate residual heat. Avoid overwhisking.
Tiramisu Cream
Whip the cream till just past the soft peak stage in a clean bowl.
Stir the mascarpone till it takes on a lighter creamy texture, Avoid whipping mascarpone.
Fold in the whipped cream in 2 stages till completely folded.
Fold in the zabaglione slowly.
Dipping Mixture
Dissolve 6 tbsp of black coffee* and 4 tbsp of caster sugar in 1 cup of hot water. Ensure that all the sugar is completely dissolved.
Add 1/2 cup of ice-cold water to coffee. Mix well then follow with 8 tbsp of Kahlau.**
Top up to 2 cup of liquid volume.
Put the coffee into a container that will fit your sponge fingers for easy dipping.
Putting it Together
Dip the sponge fingers into the coffee for about 10 secs each on both sides and lay them in a flat layer on the bottom of a dish. If there a spaces that are unfilled, cut sponge fingers to fit. Check that all the sponge fingers are adequately soft by prodding with your finger, and add coffee to them with a spoon if they are not. If excess pools, drain liquid.
Layer 1/2 the tiramisu cream on top. Aim for a layer that is 2/3 of the sponge finger height.
Repeat with another layer of the sponge fingers, and top with the remaining cream.
Bang the tiramisu tray down on the tabletop by dropping the tray from a height (10 cm) after everything is assembled. It is tempting to level during each layer but you want to avoid pulverising the spongefingers without the cushion of cream. This step also ensures that the cream fills the empty corners and allows the bubbles to rise to the top.
Refrigerate overnight (or at least 6 hours depending on the size of the tiramisu).
Dust drinking chocolate/cocoa powder over the top of the tiramisu just before serving.
Note: The tiramisu will taste the best the day after making.
Try to do the zabaglione in a metal bowl for better heat control
Always prepare the mascarpone for folding by mixing and introducing some air with a spatula. Skipping that would give you a hard time with the folding since it is heavy when set.
Buy the best mascarpone one can afford. No point wasting calories on bad food.
*Alternative to coffee powder is 6 shots from a good coffee place and work with the volume in recipe
**Omit for child-safe recipe
Dusting of cake should be done before serving. Doing it way before causes the dusting to be clumpy upon storage.
No comments:
Post a Comment