Tiramisu Piemontese

[urmaniac13]

This is a special recipe of Cristiano's. The best Tiramisu I ever had!!

Ingredients:

• 700g/ 1,5 lb mascarpone
• 6 very fresh (essential!!) eggs (5 if eggs are particularly large)
• 100g / 3,5 oz sugar
• half cup of Marsala wine
• 1 cup (circa, more if needed) freshly brewed coffee (not too strong, slightly diluted) or little more as needed.
• 600g / 1 lb + 5oz Savoiardi or lady fingers
• pure cocoa powder unsweetened
• sweetened cocoa powder

Instruction:

1. Separate eggs. Beat together yolks, sugar, wine and mascarpone until the mixture attains a smooth creamy texture.
2. Whip the eggwhite vigorously until it becomes solid. (do this patiently with "high energy", if it is not solid enough the end result will be soggy and soupy!)
3. Carefully fold in the whipped eggwhite into the mascarpone/york mixture, blend them well and evenly.
4. Mix 2 teaspoonful of sugar into the coffee, then pour in a container large enough to dip savoiardi/lady fingers comfortably. dip each pieces of biscuits into the coffee quickly, (wet the entire surface for a moment but not until it gets soggy all the way through) lay them neatly in one layer at the bottom of a large square/rectangular baking dish (or 2 medium).
5. pour half of the cream (mascarpone/egg mixture) evenly over the savoiardi, then sprinkle the sweetened cocoa powder to cover the surface.
6. lay another layer of savoiardi on top, repeat with the cream, then top it off with unsweetened pure cocoa powder.
7. Chill it in the fridge for a couple of hours before serving.

Interesting note:
"Tiramisu" means "Pick me up" in Italian (Tira mi su). I was curious about the origin of this name, and when I asked Cristiano about it, he told me this rich cake full of calories (thus it would give you lots of energy) was served traditionally as a final dessert at weddings (the Italian weddings rival to those of Greeks, they keep on eating and eating all day and night!!). This was done to assure the newly weds' very "energetic" and passionate honeymoon following the big feast!!

 

[pdswife]

Tiramisu is one of my favorites.
Thanks to Cris for sharing his recipe with us.

 

[mudbug]

oohh! yummy! grazie!

 

[Alix]

Oooooooooooooo! That looks extra good. I thought you soaked the ladyfingers in Frangelico though? Or some coffee flavoured liqueur I don't know about?

 

[shannon in KS]

wowie zowwiiiie! That looks yum! Cool history of the name, too! Definitely have to try this one out!

 

[urmaniac13]

Oooooooooooooo! That looks extra good. I thought you soaked the ladyfingers in Frangelico though? Or some coffee flavoured liqueur I don't know about?

Cris always used just coffee for soaking the lady fingers. I know there are many variations so I looked around several credible italian cooking sites. Some mixed marsala wine into coffee instead of the cream, one site said to use "liquor of your choice" in the coffee but in this case marsala wine was not used in the cream. I am sure the other versions can be also good, the one thing to avoid I believe is to use another liquor on top of the marsala in the cream. Marsala wine has a particular flavour and you wouldn't want it to clash with some other alcoholic beverage...

 

[Alix]

Thanks licia, I am so glad to have you here to answer my questions. I am on a baking spree today so if I get myself out to the store I may pick up the ingredients to try this soon.

 

[Eliza]

Well, I've got some friends over this weekend and am going to turn my hand at trying out this wonderful recipe...wish me luck!!!!

 

[urmaniac13]

Good Luck Eliza!! If you need some help or advice, pm or email me!! I hope you guys will enjoy it!!

 

[Eliza]

Thks urmaniac13, I tried it this morning and cldn't believe how easy it was!!! Ofcourse, instead of Masala wine - which is really expensive and fairly hard to find in Spore, i used brandy instead and guess what - it turned out wonderfully! My husband cldn't resist dipping his fingers into the cream mixture and i hope my friends will love it tonite!

Thks so much for the easy and wonderful recipe....you can bet your bottom dollar i'll be making more of this!

There was even enough cream left for me to make a small loaf which i gave to my neighour!!!

Simply can't thank you enough urmaniac13!!!!!!!

 

[urmaniac13]

Yey, Eliza, way to go!!

I am glad that you discovered the wonder of Tiramisu can be enjoyed right at home easily!! It always makes me happy to spread the great authentic Italian treats around the world... I am sure it tastes lovely also with the Brandy. I bet your guest will love it, so make sure your hubby won't eat the whole thing before their arrival!!

P.S. now that I got you motivated, I just posted a few other lovely Italian dessert recipes on "Ricotta cheesecake" thread, check it out for a future reference!!

 

[Eliza]

My friends cldn't stop raving about the tiramisu!!!! thank you!! It was the highlight of our evening and everyone when for second helpings...there was a bit left over and my dear husband promotly finished it the next day!!! hahaah...

I love italian food...now that i've mastered tiramisu..i'm all rav up to try others....

Thank you very much urmaniac13!!! You're a gem and a lifesaver!

 

[Chopstix]

Hey Urmaniac, I'm planning to make your Tiramisu again for Saturday night dinner with DH's boss. Can I add some kahlua to the coffee before moistening the savoiardi? I just want to amp the coffee flavor distinctly. I'm not happy with the flavor of my coffee (there's some bitter taste). Not sure if the liqueur would keep or spoil the ladyfingers. I plan to make it late Friday or early Saturday morning. Also, when serving, I'll drizzle chocolate syrup on top of the tiramisu slice. I'm planning to add a dash of Bailey's to the chocolate syrup... whaddayathink?

 

[XeniA]

This recipe looks great, Urmaniac, and you've now made me very, very hungry.

A question: the first tiramisou I ever had used a chocolate genoise rather than ladyfingers. Come to think of it, so did the second, third and fourth! All here in Greece, so I'm wondering: is this some kind of inaccurate Greek perversion of the authentic recipe? Every Italian take on this does indeed use ladyfingers, as yours does.

Any idea?

(the Italian weddings rival to those of Greeks, they keep on eating and eating all day and night!!). This was done to assure the newly weds' very "energetic" and passionate honeymoon following the big feast!!

God, I hate Greek weddings! It's TORTURE to have to look lively and interested at 3:00 in the morning when you really want to be home in bed!

 

[XeniA]

Hey Urmaniac, I'm planning to make your Tiramisu again for Saturday night dinner with DH's boss. Can I add some kahlua to the coffee before moistening the savoiardi? I just want to amp the coffee flavor distinctly. I'm not happy with the flavor of my coffee (there's some bitter taste). Not sure if the liqueur would keep or spoil the ladyfingers. I plan to make it late Friday or early Saturday morning. Also, when serving, I'll drizzle chocolate syrup on top of the tiramisu slice. I'm planning to add a dash of Bailey's to the chocolate syrup... whaddayathink?

Hi Chopstix --

As I've just said above, I think I make a kind of inauthentic version of this (although it's delish!), but it's still similar enough that I'll throw my two cents' worth in about the alcohol:

We dribble espresso over the cake part, and also dark rum (again, I think a Greek thing?). It's seriously yummy and could hardly be said to "spoil" anything!

(My always-in-a-hurry sister-in-law tried making this once but forgot exactly what the various components were (winging it without a recipe, I guess). She remembered "alcohol" and "something brown" sprinkled over the top ... so she added tequila and topped it with cinnamon! We've just called it "Maria's Mexican Tiramisou" from then on!)

 

[ChefJune]

This recipe looks great, Urmaniac, and you've now made me very, very hungry.

A question: the first tiramisou I ever had used a chocolate genoise rather than ladyfingers. Come to think of it, so did the second, third and fourth! All here in Greece, so I'm wondering: is this some kind of inaccurate Greek perversion of the authentic recipe? Every Italian take on this does indeed use ladyfingers, as yours does.

Ayrton, the recipe that was taught me by an Italian (Giuliano Bugialli!) is almost identical to the one Licia posted. the chocolate genoise is delicious, I am sure... but maybe not too "Italian." That doesn't matter, imo, as long as you know it's a variation on the theme...

I like to make mine in a trifle bowl. That's how Giuliano did it, and then spoon it into dessert bowls.

BTW, Giuliano teaches wonderful weeks of Italian cooking in Florence, for anyone who's looking for a fab fun learning vacation!

 

[urmaniac13]

Egad, now I have a few questions to answer!!

Well, Chops as I answered in my PM, if you are looking to enhance the coffee flavour, Kahlua maybe an interesting option. However I am not sure of combining two different alcoholic beverages into a dessert recipe, such as marsala/kahlua, and, or kahlua/baileys, I have never tried it. I would prefer using one or another, but having said that, pairing of kahlua and baileys may produce a surprisingly pleasing effect, maybe worth an experiment...

And for the question of Ayrton, and this applies to the usage of rum, kahlua and baileys as well, I agree with Chef June, maybe it is not the authentic recipe, and it should be considered as a "variation", but if it tastes good and works well, I would say go for it by all means!! Making a delicious dessert that will suit you and your family is the most important thing!!

And Chef June, Giuliano sounds like an excellent gourmet maestro... maybe I will look him up when I get to go up to Firenze one of these days!!

 

[Chopstix]

We dribble espresso over the cake part, and also dark rum (again, I think a Greek thing?). It's seriously yummy and could hardly be said to "spoil" anything!

Thanks Ayrton! That's really useful to know!

 

[Chopstix]

Well, Chops as I answered in my PM, if you are looking to enhance the coffee flavour, Kahlua maybe an interesting option. However I am not sure of combining two different alcoholic beverages into a dessert recipe, such as marsala/kahlua, and, or kahlua/baileys, I have never tried it. I would prefer using one or another, but having said that, pairing of kahlua and baileys may produce a surprisingly pleasing effect, maybe worth an experiment...

Licia, I love mixing some kahlua with my Bailey's drink. That's how I got the idea of combining the two for the Tiramisu. (In this case though, there'll be 3 different liqueurs -- Kahlua, Bailey's and Marsala, so you do have a point!) I imagine it will still be good! I'll let you know how it turns out! Grazie!

 

[prada]

can it be put in the freezer to chill?