Fresh or dried ladyfingers in Tiramisu?

[crankin]

I do not know if this really belongs in the cake forum but I do not know what class "Tiramisu" lands in, so here goes.

I am planning on making this Tiramisu recipe: White Russian Tiramisu Recipe - Cheese - MyRecipes.com. I am wondering if I should use fresh or dried ladyfingers (see pictures below). Would the fresh ones become too soggy if dipped?

(a)

(b)

Which one?

Edit: I am sort of assuming (a) in this recipe because it says you can find ladyfingers in the bakery aisle which would be fresh as opposed to dried which would be in the cookies aisle. Would you say that is a correct assumption?

 

[Bilby]

If I was making it here, it would be the ones from the cookie aisle as they wouldn't exist in the bakery aisle. If I wanted fresh, I would have to make them myself. So I would assume that most tiramisu's here use the dried ones.

 

[amber]

I am not sure, but I think the idea is to use fresh lady fingers so that it absorbs the coffee, adding lots of flavor.

 

[GotGarlic]

I have used the dried ones with no problems. They absorb the liquid without getting soggy, so they work great.

 

[crankin]

From reading the reviews of the recipe it sounds like a lot of people must have used fresh lady fingers because they said that they become very soggy (some actually suggested merely brushing the liquid with a brush instead of dipping the ladyfingers). So I think I will try this with the dried type and see how it turns out. I am hoping dried turns out because it is more obtainable than the fresh type.

 

[jkath]

crankin, please let us know how they turned out - it's always good to have another great TNT tiramisu recipe!

 

[*amy*]

I do not know if this really belongs in the cake forum but I do not know what class "Tiramisu" lands in, so here goes.

I am planning on making this Tiramisu recipe: White Russian Tiramisu Recipe - Cheese - MyRecipes.com. I am wondering if I should use fresh or dried ladyfingers (see pictures below). Would the fresh ones become too soggy if dipped?

(a)

(b)

Which one?

Edit: I am sort of assuming (a) in this recipe because it says you can find ladyfingers in the bakery aisle which would be fresh as opposed to dried which would be in the cookies aisle. Would you say that is a correct assumption?

I looked over their recipe, and they suggest fresh (in the bakery aisle) or frozen. I use fresh - usually in the cookie section of the market here. Here's a pic:

Lady Finger (cookie)

It won't be soggy if you either dip the fingers quickly, or rather than dipping - drizzle with the liquid. I like cooking Light, but I'd go for the full fat version. Here's a recipe I've prepared & enjoy.

Sophia Loren's Tiramisu Recipe

 

[Andy M.]

If they are defined as sponge, they would be soft. The Cooks Thesaurus says the American ladyfingers are softer than their Italian counterparts. Flip a coin.

 

[crankin]

Thanks for the suggestions. I used the dry type and since the recipe was made for fresh, instead of just dipping them on one side I dipped both sides. It turned out really well - they were not soggy or anything but not dry either. For being a light recipe, this was really delicious. I'd recommend it.

 

[karenlyn]

I've tried both the fresh and the dry, and I really think the dry ladyfingers work better. They seem to absorb more of the liquid, actually. You just have to let them soak a bit. I found the fresh ones I've used to stay a little dry in the middle, but get soggy on the outsides. Maybe it's just my ladyfingers, though. (I don't know why, but that sentence seems very funny to me-- you write the word "ladyfingers" often enough, and it starts to sound dirty.)