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Friday 15 October 2010

Best tiramisu




If there's one dessert that always goes down well on a dinner party its tiramisu. Its light, creamy, sweet but not sickening. Can be made really quickly, be prepared ahead and made to look gorgeous...Just a spoonful with an espresso...mmm..yum!
To me...the tiramisu is all about the cream...i love a fluffy, airy, smooth and sweet cream....
So my challenge today was to make the best tiramisu cream!
There are thousands of methods out there... do i only use whipped cream with mascarpone? eggs? egg yolks? do i add egg whites? milk?
I looked through books, surfed online, from michelin star chef recipes to anonymous blogs and picked 5 that were different, set up my kitchen and the challenge started!:)
I ended up making up my own recipe which is just delicious!

Tiramisu


8 eggs
200g sugar
vanilla pod
600g mascarpone cheese
200ml whipping cream

savoiradi biscuits
4 shots of espresso,or a large cup of strong coffee
amaretto, kahlua, rum or a liquer of choice
cocoa powder

1.     Separate the eggs and put the egg yolks and sugar in a heat-proof bowl and beat until mixed. Score the vanilla bean in half, and with a knife, gently remove the beans and add to the egg yolk mix. Bring a pot with some water to simmer and put the bowl with egg yolk mix on top. Never allow the bottom of the bowl to touch the water as too much heat will scramble the egg yolks. Beat with an electric whisk until the mixture is pale, fluffy and 3 times the size. This took me about 10 min.
2.     Put the mascarpone cheese in a separate bowl and mix with a wooden spoon until smooth.
3.     Fold the mascarpone in to the egg yolk mix, a little at the time, carefully smoothening out any lumps, creating a smooth, wonderful cream.
4.     Whip the cream, but remember not to overbeat. You want a smooth whipped cream that will blend well with the rest. Add to egg yolk and mascarpone mix.
5.     Whisk the egg whites until stiff and smooth. Fold a little at the time, until you get a consistency you like. I probably used half of mine. The rest of the egg whites you can either throw away make some meringues for example!
6.     That’s your cream done. Cover with cling film and store in the fridge until use.
7.     Make your coffee and let it cool down (you can put in a couple of ice cubes to cool it down). Use 2 tsp of cocoa and add hot water to make a cup of hot chocolate. Let cool down as well.
8.     Pour the chilled coffee/hot chocolate in to a shallow bowl and add the desired alcohol/s… I used a mix of amaretto and chocolate liquor because i love the hint of the almond flavor mixed with coffee and chocolate.
9.     To prepare the dessert, choose your choice of glasses or a large form, put a layer of the chilled cream in at the bottom, arrange some soaked biscuits on top continue as many layers as you wish but making sure the last one consists of cream. Sprinkle with cocoa powder or grated chocolate flakes and serve.
Honestly there are so many different to serve tiramisu, in a large trey as described above and then just cutting into portion sizes, making individual squares, serving in a martini glass... I will present you with some presentation options but it simply depends what occasion you are making it for. 

Bon appetite!!!


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