tiramisu! . . .
by mulberryshoots
Tiramisu is an elegant Italian dessert. I made one for Christmas a couple of years ago and shared it with my daughter and her family up in Gloucester. Our neighbor downstairs made one about a month ago which started us on a Tiramisu roll ever since. This one is probably the best tasting one so far that I’ve made, for which I used an electric mixer to whip up the Sabayon of (4) egg yolks and (1/2 cup)sugar in a double boiler. It was worth the trouble because it resulted in a light colored Sabayon, to which I gently folded in a container of Mascarpone. I whipped a pint of heavy cream starting slowly to ensure that the whipped cream would stay up during the days it would mellow in the refrigerator.
I used two packages of fresh lady fingers from the Stop and Shop. I brewed a cup of Medaglia d’Oro espresso coffee, let it cool and added a generous tablespoon of Marsala wine. I have tried using brandy (Courvoisier) or Kahlua (I think the first time I made it) but Marsala is my favorite because it is light but leaves a lasting impression that seems more Italian to me than the other poseurs.
In any case, we tried it tonight and it was a dreamy dessert. I dipped halves of ladyfingers into the cooled coffee in rows of a 8 X 8 pan, layered the whipped mixture on top; did a second row of dipped lady fingers and a top layer of 2 rows, using the fingers up. I then covered the top with the filling and whipped cream. Then sprinkled a nice layer of Hershey’s cocoa through a sieve on top. I inserted 4 toothpicks into the corners and one in the middle so that I could cover it with plastic wrap without mussing the cocoa layer. It needs to chill at least 4-6 hours and it gets even better after two days in the fridge. It usually doesn’t last much longer than that because we end up eating it all!
If you’d like to try this elegant dessert, I would strongly advise using a mixer to make the initial Saboyon in a double boiler (I used a glass bowl in two inches of simmering water in a skillet on the stove. It’s the foundation of the filling, and slowly whipping the cream until it’s thick also helps the depth of the filling.
It’s truly delicious!
mulberryshoots 