27 Feb Damn Good Tiramisu
I don’t have much to say today. Which is not a promising way to start off a blog post, I know.
But I’m completely exhausted. After an almost 12 hour day at work, then a 6 mile run, my brain is running on low. The thought crossed my mind to go over some of the events of my weekend…and then I realized it’s already Wednesday night. what?
The sad thing is, now that I’m thinking about it, I can’t even remember what I did last weekend.
As you can tell, this girl needs a good night’s sleep.
But you see, I’ve been holding onto this Tiramisu recipe for a few weeks now, and I can’t stand to keep it from you any longer. So witty, engaging post or not, I’m getting this recipe on the blog tonight.
I made this Tiramisu for an Italian-themed group dinner that we held with friends a few weeks ago.
It was quite the smorgasbord.
There were marinated mushrooms, caprese salad, lasagna, eggplant rollatinni, anchovy and walnut fettuccine, more fettuccine with broccoli rabe and lemon, homemade rosemary bread loaves (yes, that’s more than one), and pork and chicken scaloppini. As my dad would say, all the ‘ini’ foods. (Prounounced eee-neee like it sounds. It’s from the movie Breaking Away, you should totally see it if you haven’t.)
And that’s how I know this is some damn good Tiramisu. Because after stuffing ourselves full of all the ini food, people still ate the shit out of this Tiramisu. (Excuse my French. Apparently exhaustion turns off my speak-like-a-lady filter. If I even have such a thing.)
Friends who claimed to “not even like Tiramisu” were going back for seconds. Even Steve, who is lactose intolerant and NOT supposed to eat dairy on nights we are planning to sleep in the same bed, sneaked himself a bite or three.
Take my word for it, THIS TIRAMISU IS REALLY FREAKING GOOD.
Making Tiramisu takes patience but very little skill in the kitchen. While there is no baking involved there is a double boiler, which can be quite scary for some people but assure you, it’s not as bad as it sounds.
And once you’ve got that part done, it’s as easy as dipping your lady fingers in your deliciously boozy coffee syrup and layering. A few hours in the fridge and this recipe sets up beautifully – creamy, fluffy, delightfully rich Tiramisu for all. (And maybe some leftovers, if you’re lucky.)
Note that you do need to buy good quality, creamy mascarpone. I bought mine from Whole Foods, and I rarely shop at Whole Foods. Because, really, who can afford it? BUT I read a lot about cheap mascarpone being grainy in texture, and thus resulting in lumpy, unattractive Tiramisu. And since you’re going to have to go out and buy a whole bottle of dry marsala, you might as well do this thing right.
Prego! XO, Katie
Ingredients
- 2 cups water
- 3 tablespoons instant-espresso powder
- 1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon sugar, divided
- 3 tablespoons Tia Maria (or any liquor you have on hand, I used rum)
- 4 large egg yolks
- 1/3 cup dry Marsala
- 1 pound mascarpone (2 1/2 cups)
- 1 cup chilled heavy cream
- 36 savoiardi (crisp Italian ladyfingers; from two 7-ounce packages)
- Unsweetened cocoa powder for dusting
Instructions
- In a sauce pan over medium low heat, stir together water, espresso powder, 1 tablespoon sugar, and liquor until sugar has dissolved, set aside to cool cool.
- Prepare your double boiler by bringing some water to a simmer in a medium saucepan. In a medium heat-proof bowl that fits nicely into the saucepan (but does not touch the bottom), beat egg yolks, Marsala, and remaining 1/2 cup sugar in. Set over a saucepan of barely simmering water and use a whisk or handheld electric mixer (highly recommended) to beat until tripled in volume, 5 to 8 minutes. Is it ready when it achieves the consistency of a loose pudding. (Congrats, you just made a zabaglione!)
- Remove bowl from heat and beat in mascarpone until just combined. Cover and refrigerate until cool.
- Now it's time to make whipped cream. Beat chilled cream in a large bowl until it holds stiff peaks.Next, gently fold your cooled mascarpone mixture into the whipped cream.
- Dip both sides of each ladyfinger into coffee mixture and evenly line bottom of a 13- by 9- by 3-inch baking pan or casserole dish, trimming edges to fit if necessary. Spread half of mascarpone filling on top and dust with cocoa powder.
- Create another layer of ladyfingers following the same dipping process and arranging over filling in pan.Spread remaining mascarpone filling on top and dust with cocoa. Chill, covered, at least 6 hours.
- Let tiramisu stand at room temperature 30 minutes before serving.
Recipe from Epicurious
miss messy
Posted at 04:03h, 28 FebruaryGet a good nights sleep 🙂 This looks fabulous!
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Posted at 22:39h, 24 March[…] made this cake waaaay back when I made my Damn Good Tiramisu. I had leftover very expensive Whole Foods mascarpone cheese that I was not about to let go to […]