Coffee And Dessert: How To Make This Perfect Tiramisù

Award-winning food blogger Bernard Laurance has a fantastic new cookbook out, and if you’re a fan of baking at home, you’ll want to pick up a copy. With dessert recipes from around the world, Baklava to Tarte Tatin has something for every sweet tooth. Head to Italy for a lightly caffeinated, heavily delicious confection that comes together in no time. 

Tiramisù literally means “pick me up” in Italian, and it really does keep to its word. A single spoonful of this creamy dessert is an instant pick-me-up. With this recipe, you’ll be able to make a light, airy, deliciously soft and creamy tiramisù, and what’s more, it won’t be runny at all. This is just how I like my tiramisù to be. Feel free to adapt the recipe and make it with fruit: Instead of soaking the ladyfingers in coffee, use a little kirsch or eau-de-vie, and insert a layer of fresh raspberries between the layers of mascarpone cream. Fresh pears or peaches with a few crumbled shortbread cookies will add an original, tasty touch to your dessert. For a tiramisù without any alcohol, soak the ladyfingers with coffee and finely grate a little orange zest over them before smothering them with cream. I often double the quantities to make a second layer of both ladyfingers and mascarpone cream, and you may want to do so, too.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup strong coffee
• 2 extra-large eggs
• Scant 1/2 cup sugar
• 2 1/2 cups mascarpone
• Scant 1/4 cup confectioner’s sugar
• 2-3 tablespoons Amaretto liqueur
• 8 ounces ladyfingers
• Unsweetened cocoa powder for dusting

Directions:

For the tiramisù:

1- Prepare the coffee and set aside.
2- Separate the eggs. Place the yolks in a mixing bowl with the sugar and with an electric beater, whisk until the mixture is as pale and thick as possible, about 3 minutes.
3- Add the mascarpone and whip until the texture is light and airy. Beating the mascarpone until it resembles whipped cream gives the tiramisu its lovely texture and ensures that it holds its shape.
4- Make sure your beaters are perfectly clean, grease-free, and dry. In another mixing bowl, whip the egg whites. When they begin to hold soft peaks, add the confectioners’ sugar. Continue whipping until the meringue mixture holds firm peaks.
5- Using a flexible spatula, fold the egg whites into the whipped mascarpone, taking care not to deflate the mixture.
6- Stir the liqueur into the coffee. Dip the ladyfingers into the coffee mixture just to moisten them. Be careful not to soak them.
7- Pack the ladyfingers tightly in a 7 x 10 inch dish. Pour the mascarpone cream over the ladyfingers, spreading it evenly. If you’re making a second layer, repeat the process. Chill for at least 3 hours.
8- Just before serving, sprinkle the entire dessert with cocoa powder that you’ve pushed through a small sieve. A dusting of cocoa powder around individual portions is very attractive, so you may want to plate the tiramisu before serving.

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< br/> Source:foodrepublic.com