My Favorite Tiramisù

Allow me to address the elephant in the room. I know, I know.

Tiramisù is arguably the most well-known and beloved of all Italian desserts. This blog focuses on Italian recipes, is full of dolci, and is by no means a young site, turning 9 (!) next month.

Why, then, was there no recipe for classic, traditional tiramisù until now?

The answer is simple, kind of. 

I don’t love tiramisù.

Controversial, I know. But as I usually eat what I cook or bake for the blog (a tough job, I can assure you) I tend to gravitate more towards dishes/desserts that I’m excited about, and that, erm, appeal to me.

First things first: the word tiramisù translates in Italian to something along the lines of pick-me-up (tira=pull;. mi=me, su=up) which I imagine refers to the use of coffee (caffeine!) or perhaps just the fact that the dessert as such would surely put one in a good mood. Over the years, though, I’d deemed it a touch-and-go sort of sweet, a restaurant staple that didn’t cheer or pick me up, as much as it…disappointed me. The savoiardi biscuits sometimes were coffee-logged, making for a dessert that was more soggy cake than anything; the cake to cream ratio was often unbalanced; at times I found that the coffee used too bitter, or the cream cloying. Simple though it may seem – tiramisù is no-bake, and fairly low-key at that – it is a dessert whose ingredients and components need to harmonize in just the right way to be truly good.

It wasn’t until a reader recently asked me for a tiramisù recipe --was she looking in the wrong section on the archives? Surely there must be a recipe for tiramisù on an Italian food blog…? -- that I mobilized to post one on the P&B (I’m on it!) And so, my challenge: to give homemade tiramisù a shot, and to see if there was a recipe that I loved enough to share here (note: if I’m not completely enthusiastic about a recipe, I don’t share it.)

I began a bit of tiramisù research, finding that while all with the same general components were present in all recipes – savoiardi biscuits, coffee, and mascarpone – they varied greatly. Some called for alcohol (marsala, rum, or even brandy) to be mixed into the coffee. Some said that the egg whites in the cream should be whipped until soft peaks formed, and others until very stiff peaks formed. Some proposed using small serving dishes to make individual tiramisù, while others were served in one large dish. Some used a sugar syrup to pasteurize the eggs, while others recommended using very fresh eggs. A few recipes from non-Italian sources suggested mixing in Kahlua, or even folding whipped cream in with the mascarpone. A few recipes encouraged the addition of Nutella (never a bad idea, in my book).

So! After a little try and error, here is a pick-me-up I can get behind. I used the best ingredients I could find: good coffee brewed with my moka, high-quality mascarpone, and the freshest of eggs. I found the cake-to-cream ratio that best fits my liking, and added chocolate to the mix (thanks for the tip Carla). The result is a tiramisù assembled in a large dish (because who has a bunch of smaller serving dishes on hand)? The savoiardi have taken a dip, not a swim in the coffee; the mascarpone cream is rich and glossy and abundant, sweet but not excessively so; the sprinkling of cioccolato in between the layers adds an element of surprise to the whole dessert, rendering it a little more special and fancy. The quintessential layer of cocoa powder over the top melts gently into the cream, its bitterness softened by the buttery mascarpone. In short: this, my friends, is a tiramisù I will eat, and did eat, extremely happily. Proof that I needn’t have doubted tiramisù all those years – I just hadn’t met the right tiramisù.

I’ll leave you with one last thought, inspired by my friend Letitia – leftover tiramisù makes a superb, albeit decadent, breakfast treat. Given it’s made with eggs, coffee, and biscuits – appropriate breakfast items! – I say she has a very, very good point.

A couple of notes: Feel free to add alcohol to your tiramisù (stir a tablespoon or so into the coffee). You can use marsala, brandy, rum, or whatever your heart desires. Note that you will probably have some coffee left, and this is fine. You can leave out the chocolate if you want a more classic recipe. I am looking forward to making some variations on this recipe (first up: Nutella, and then pistachio) so stay tuned. This tiramisù was especially delicious after it set in the fridge for a few hours, whereby the cake/cream and all the flavors could mingle, though technically you can eat it as early as 2 hours after putting it in fridge (the savoiardi will be a little more solid). I loved it even more the next day.

Looking for other no-bake desserts? Click here.
Want to make your own mascarpone? It’s very, very easy. Recipe here.

MY FAVORITE TIRAMISÙ

Serves 6. Recipe a mix of the ones given to me by Carla Tomasi and Letitia Clark.

Ingredients:
25 ladyfingers
300mL (about 1 1/4 cups) strong black coffee, cold
3 very fresh eggs
100 grams (1/2 cup) sugar
500 grams (about 1 lb) mascarpone
4 ounces (100 grams) semi-sweet chocolate, chopped roughly
2 tablespoons of cocoa powder, for serving

9x13 inch rectangular pan

Directions:
Prepare the coffee (I used my moka for this). Let it cool slightly, and then put it in the fridge to let it cool completely.

Separate the egg yolks and the egg whites, being very careful to not let any of the yolk end up in the white (it won’t whip up if there is yolk). Set aside. Beat the egg yolks with the sugar until thick, pale, and very fluffy. Put the mascarpone in a large bowl, and whip it with the beaters to soften it. Fold in the yolk mixture until fully incorporated. Clean the beaters, and then use them to whip the egg whites until medium peaks form. Gently fold the egg whites into the mascarpone-yolk mixture. This is your crema.

Next, take the coffee out of the fridge and pour it in a shallow bowl. Dip each ladyfinger in coffee, about 1 second per side, and place them in your dish, making one layer. Feel free to break some of the ladyfingers to fill in any gaps in the dish and to make everything fit. Spread half of the cream over the ladyfingers. Sprinkle the cream with your chopped dark chocolate.

Repeat the two layers. Dip the rest of the ladyfingers in the coffee, and place on top of the chocolate/cream. Top the ladyfingers with the rest of the cream. Dust the top of the resulting tiramisu with cocoa powder, using a sieve.

Cover the tiramisù and place it in the fridge until cold and set, about 3 hours. Dig in and enjoy.