Tiramisu Recipe

Christmas is only less than a month away and up to now, I still haven’t decided on what to serve my folks. Ever since I’ve learned to concoct my own version of Puttanesca and Waldorf salad, I’ve become the official chef of the family during Christmas and New Year as these two dishes have been staples. For this year, I thought the time has come to develop further the palates of my family.

I came across Giada de Laurentii’s show at the Food Network a few weeks ago, and at that time, she taught viewers how to make Tiramisu. I thought this one’s so easy to prepare, and this would be a good Christmas treat.

But what really convinced me to try the recipe on my own is because of the requirement to use espresso.

I happened to own a mocha pot, which a bought from a colleague a couple of years ago for about P1,000 (I consider it expensive!). I used it only twice because I thought espresso is just too strong for me. So this time, I said to myself, why not find a worthy use for this expensive gadget?

So here are the ingredients. I was so happy that it turned out really well. Beginner’s luck, as they said.

2 cups espresso coffee
4 egg yolks
1 250-gram pack Mascarpone cheese (I got this at the supermarket of Robinson’s Galleria for only P271. I tried to scout for other sources. Terry’s Selection at the basement of The Podium sells this for about P380, while that from Santis Delicatessen’s about P500).
3 tablespoons white sugar
Lady finger cookies (locally known as Broas. I got the La Pacita brand. What’s remarkable about this brand is that although it’s a bit expensive, the cookies are dense and not just filled with air.)
2 tablespoons rum
Unsweetened cocoa powder (Ricoa Breakfast Cocoa will do.)
Dark chocolate (for garnishing, Giada said, but a good choice of chocolate will actually make a difference on the whole thing. For this one, I used Meiji Black. Good thing this complemented the recipe.)
Strawberries or blueberries (optional, for garnishing.)

Procedures:

1.) Using a hand mixer, combine egg yolks and about 2 1/2 tablespoons of sugar. Beat until thick and pale (yeah, the sunny yellow color of the yolks tend to become pale when beaten).
2.) Fold in the Mascarpone cheese. What I’ve noticed was the consistency of the whole mixture was not as creamy as what the others in YouTube have done. My mixture’s a bit lumpy. Maybe I should have brought the Mascarpone cheese out of the fridge hours before I prepared the thing? I don’t know. But I proceeded anyway.
3.) Add a tablespoon of espresso to the mixture. Set aside.
4.) On a shallow pan or dish, combine the espresso, a dash of rum, and a little bit of sugar (just a little bit of sugar. The cookies are already sweet).
5.) Soak the lady finger cookies on the espresso-rum-sugar mixture. Please note that the cookies will disintegrate if soaked for long.
6.) Arrange the cookies in a baking pan. On top of it, spoon in the Mascaporne mixture. Sprinkle the cocoa powder on top using a strainer.
7.) Still on top of the mixture, add another layer of cookies, then the Mascarpone mixture, then the cocoa powder. Then top with scraps of dark chocolate and/or strawberries and blueberries.
8.) Refrigerate for 2-8 hours.

Lessons learned:
1.) Don’t be too excited. The colder it is, the better. If you could freeze the product a bit, that would be better.
2.) I actually used 2 tablespoons of sugar on the egg-mascarpone-sugar mixture. It tasted like a diabetic-friendly cake, which my folks actually appreciated. Try to add a little bit sugar if you want it a bit sweeter.

If you want the original recipe (which is a bit complicated), click here.