Let's Start From The Begining: Tiramisu

Charly Brown
8 Jun, 2010

Photo by bloggyboulga

By now I think you know what Tiramisu is: one of the most famous Italian desserts ever, but it also has an interesting story behind it, more about Tiramisu and some recipes after these pics.








   Photos by Flirty Kitty  and by stu_spivack                    
 You'd think something so famous has been aroound for centuries, but no, tiramisu apperas to be a relatively recent invention, but as us it often happens with famous desserts there are many people that claim to be it's creators , there seems to be  little consensus as to where does tiramisu comes from.

Some people say that tiramisù was created in 1971 in Treviso by Giuseppe Di Clemente, others say that tiramisù was invented in Treviso at Le Beccherie restaurant by the god-daughter a Roberto Linguanotto, other claim it was created it in honour of Cosimo III when he visited the city of Siena.

Alternatively, accounts by Carminantonio Iannaccone as researched and written about by The Washington Post and Baltimore Magazine credit Carminantonio Iannaccone for the creation of tiramisù  on December 24, 1969, in Via Sottotreviso when he was chef at Treviso, near Venice.

History bits from wikipedia.

Recipes an Video after this pic:




Tiramisu Recipe by dosdne

Ingredients

  • 4 eggs, separated
  • 250g mascarpone
  • 200g caster sugar
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1 cup freshly brewed, extra strong coffee (or 1 cup worth of espresso), cooled
  • 2 tbsp liquer (I like using either Kahlua or Marsala)
  • enough sponge fingers to line the base of your dish in two layers
  • A small block of semi-sweet chocolate (about 1 oz should do)
Tiramisu is probably my favourite dessert, and it's ridiculously easy to make. Seriously. A nice way to posh it up is to bake sponge cake and use that instead of sponge fingers, and then make it really neatly in a round or square cake tin, then slice it up, but I like it this way. More rustic. :) This recipe made 10 ramekins worth, so it'll serve 10 as a really small dessert, or probably make 4-6 generous helpings.
  1. Combine the liquer into the espresso. Resist the urge to add more, since you really just want a hint of it - you don't want to get drunk on your dessert. Or maybe you do, in which case add the whole bottle. :)
  2. Whisk the egg yolks with the sugar until pale and frothy. It should form ribbons when you pull the whisk through the mixture. Whisk in the mascarpone.
  3. Use an electric mixer or standing mixer to whisk up the egg whites until soft peaks form. Fold this into the egg yolk and mascarpone mixture.
  4. Dip a sponge finger briefly (they fall apart if you soak them for too long) into the coffee and liquer mixture, then place it in the base of your dish. Repeat until the base is covered in one layer.
  5. Spoon over the egg-and-cheese mix, using about half. Grate over some chocolate, then make another layer of sponge fingers, and another layer of egg-and-cheese. Grate the rest of the chocolate over, or dust with cocoa powder.
  6. Refrigerate for at least 3-4 hours or for up to one day, then serve! Easy peasy, just like I told you.
Note: If you want, you can use a smaller, higher-sided dish and make many layers. I chose to do simple two-layered ones in ramekins for easy serving.

Thanks to dosdne for this great recipe.




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