Italian Tiramisu

Tiramisù

Tiramisu is one of my favorite, rich creamy desserts although it wasn't never offered at my Grandmother's home that I can recall. She usually served cheeses and fruits after dinner.  There many recipes although the one below from Italy Mag is easy and delish.

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Tiramisù Recipe

Made with savoiardi (or ladyfingers), dipped in coffee, layered with a whipped mixture of egg yolks and mascarpone cheese, often flavored with liquor and dusted with cocoa, Tiramisù is simply irresistible.

There is some debate regarding the origin of tiramisù(literally "pick me up") and, especially on-line, you find all sorts of stories about this great sweet, but the most accredited version is that tiramisù originated in the Veneto region. We find the first written recipe fortiramisù in Giovanni Capnist's 1983 cookbook I Dolci Del Veneto, but he referres to it using a different name; in 1988, the book La Marca Gastronomica, mentions it again as a sweet served in Le Beccherie, a restaurant in Treviso, and calls it with its actual name: Tiramisù.

Regardless of the true story about its origin, could anyone argue that Tiramisù, is one of the most popular Italian desserts in the world? Surely not, so here is the recipe for a Classic Italian Tiramisù

Ingredients

200 gr mascarpone cheese
2 eggs
150 g sugar
1 pack of savoiardi (lady fingers)
Italian coffee
2 tablespoons bitter cocoa powder

Separate the egg yolks from the whites, then beat the yolks and sugar together for a couple of minutes with a whisk until frothy. Start folding the mascarpone in and mix until you have a soft, smooth cream. Then whip the egg whites until soft peaks have formed and fold them gently into the mascarpone, egg yolks and sugar cream. Set aside to rest for about 30 minutes, in the meantime prepare some Italian coffee using a moka and spread it on a tray to cool down.

Once the mascarpone cream and the coffee are ready, you can begin to assemble the tiramisù.

Dip each ladyfinger in the espresso for not more than a second on one side only, and place on a deep tray or individual mold. Once the tray is filled with cookies, cover them with half the mascarpone cream levelling it off with a spatula and dust with cocoa powder. Then add another layer of espresso-soaked cookies on top, cover with the remaining cream, level it off and dust generously with the cocoa powder.

Place the tray in the refrigerator for at least 3-4 hours before serving.

Needless to say that this sweet does not keep for more than 2-3 days in the fridge.