Tiramisu, a classic Italian dessert, is light, creamy and coffee flavoured, what’s not to love especially for a coffee addict such as myself.
So many variations of Tiramisu exist but this one has got to be my favourite as it’s made with a delicious zabaglione/mascarpone mixture folded into whipped cream. The resulting cream is delicious and light but holds its structure so nicely so you’re sure to have nice defined layers and zero sogginess.
Zabaglione is traditionally made with egg yolks, sugar and Marsala wine, a fortified wine, which I personally don’t care for but in this cream, it just works. I can see why it’s often enjoyed as a dessert on it’s own.
My mother has been the reigning champion of Tiramisu in our family for as long as I can remember so I have a lot to live up to but I’m confident that mine measures up! Rather than using heavy cream like this one, she uses beaten egg whites, said to be the traditional way of making it. I however, prefer cream which is also widely used and accepted now. (Aside from those die-hard traditionalists 😉
Zabaglione
Making the Zabaglione required me to do something I’d never done before; something that made me nervous the first time. You must prepare a bain-marie (placing a heat-safe bowl, glass or metal, over a pot with about an inch of simmering water in it to cook the contents of the bowl gently and slowly). Hang on, that’s not the intimidating part. I had to then beat the eggs, sugar and Marsala wine with a electric beaters in the bowl…over the stove! Turns out it was so easy to do but just make sure to keep the wire clear of the burner 😉
Safe to consume
Traditional Tiramisu contains raw egg whites as stated above but also raw yolks. Since I use cream instead of egg whites and pasteurize my yolks in the making of the zabaglione, my Tiramisu is safe to consume. YAY!
ENJOY!
Stephanie’s Tiramisu
Equipment
- Equipment
- 13x9x3 inch baking dish
Ingredients
- 2 cups of freshly brewed espresso or 2 cups of boiling hot water w/ 3 tbsp of instant espresso powder
- 1/2 cup plus 1 tbsp of sugar – divided
- 3 tbsp of Khalua or Tia Maria liqueur
- 4 large egg yolks
- 1/2 cup of dry Marsala wine
- 1 lb of mascarpone cheese 2+1/2 cups
- 1 cup of heavy cream 35% – chilled
- 36 Savoiardi cookies AKA Lady fingers
- Unsweetened cocoa powder for dusting
- Raw sugar/Turbinado sugar for sprinkling
Instructions
- Stir together freshly prepared espresso, 1tbsp of sugar and Tia Maria in a shallow bowl until sugar dissolves; let cool.
- Beat egg yolks, Marsala and remaining 1/2 cup of sugar in a metal bowl set over a saucepan of barely simmering water using a whisk or handheld mixer (This made me nervous because I’ve never used my mixer to beat something over the stove but it was ok. Just make sure that the cord of your mixer stays clear of the flame/heat. Also, make sure your water is not boiling or your egg might cook too quickly and become lumpy).
- Beat until it has tripled in volume (5 to 8 minutes)
- Remove bowl from heat stir, scraping sides of bowl and allow to cool slightly.
- Beat in Mascarpone until combined. (You can pre-beat the mascarpone to soften it a little before adding it in.)
- In a separate large bowl, whip the cream until you get stiff peaks.
- Fold mascarpone mixture into whipped cream gently but thoroughly.
- Quickly dipping both sides of each ladyfinger into the coffee mixture, line the bottom of the baking dish with 18 ladyfingers in 3 rows. (trimming edges if necessary) SEE NOTE! Dip for 1 sec per side. DO NOT SUBMERGE 🙂
- Spread half the mascarpone filling on top. Dip remaining 18 ladyfingers in coffee and arrange over filling in the dish.
- Spread remaining mascarpone filling on top
- Dust lightly with cocoa then sprinkle with Turbinado sugar
- Chill, covered for at least 6 hours.
- Let Tiramisu stand at room temperature for 30 minutes before serving.
- Tiramisu can be chilled up to 2 days.
- Yolks may not be fully cooked.
