It was my husband’s birthday yesterday. I know he’s not a big fan of decorated cakes covered in layers of buttercream, fondant and sugar paste so I decided that I shall attempt to make him his favorite dessert, Tiramisù. It’s my first time making this dessert. Thank goodness it turned out really well! Otherwise we would end up with nothing to celebrate his birthday with.
Tiramisù means pick me up and this dessert does just that, with lots of coffee and liqueur. Most tiramiù recipes use Marsala wine or dark rum. I only have coconut rum, Kahlúa and Baileys on hand so I got my husband to choose. He chose Kahlúa. For the coffee, I used the Nespresso limited edition Napoli capsule with an intensity of 11. The result is a wickedly titillating dessert.
Here’s the recipe for Tiramisù, adapted from my one and only Italian cookbook “Italian – the essence of mediterranean cuisine” by Carla Capalbo. I used a 9x5x3 inch loaf pan and also made extra to fill 2 glasses. Enjoy!
TIRAMISÙ
Ingredients:
- 500 gram mascarpone cheese
- 4 eggs, separated, room temperature
- 90 gram caster sugar
- 30 ml marsala wine, rum or coffee liqueur (I used Kahlúa)
- A pinch of salt
- 27 or more ladyfingers (Savoiardi)
- 350 ml strong Italian espresso coffee (I used Nespresso Napoli capsules)
- 20 gram caster sugar
- 120 ml marsala wine, rum or coffee liqueur (I used Kahlúa)
- Unsweetened cocoa powder, to sprinkle on top (I used Hershey’s)
- Dark chocolate, shaved (optional)
Method:
- Beat the mascarpone in a small bowl until soft.
- In a separate bowl, beat the egg yolks with 90 gram caster sugar until the mixture is pale yellow and fluffy. Gradually beat in the softened mascarpone and 30ml liqueur.
- Using an electric beater or wire whisk, beat the egg whites with the salt until they form stiff peaks. Fold the egg whites into the mascarpone mixture.
- Add 20 gram caster sugar to the coffee and stir in the remaining 120 ml liqueur.
- Dip ladyfingers in coffee and line the base of your dish with them. The ladyfingers should be moist but not saturated.
- Cover with 1/3 of the egg mixture. Make another layer of cookies moistened with coffee and cover with another 1/3 of the egg mixture. Repeat the same step for the last layer.
- Cover with cling wrap and refrigerate for at least 6 hours, preferably overnight. Sprinkle top with cocoa powder and shaved dark chocolate (optional) before serving.
