Melinda Lee - Clear Channel, Los Angeles
TIRAMISU
Italian Pudding with Mascarpone Cheese and Coffee
Tiramisu is the traditional dessert of Treviso – near Venice, Italy – and a huge hit these days in America. Some recipes make tiramisu with cream cheese – on the grounds, I think, that cream cheese is the nearest domestic cheese to mascarpone…but cream cheese isn’t very close. Mascarpone is a distinct, rich, double- or triple-cream cheese from Italy’s Lombardy region - and well worth the effort to find for this recipe.
The other common interpretation of this recipe is simply mixing the mascarpone (or cream cheese) with sugar, and spreading the whipped and sweetened result on coffee-soaked sponge cake or lady fingers. The real, Italian way is to make a zabaione (egg custard) and fold in the mascarpone along with a bit of whipped cream – then spread the enriched custard between layers of sponge cake or lady fingers soaked with sweetened espresso and brandy (or other liqueur) and top with more whipped cream, dusting the finished creation with cinnamon and ground coffee or with cocoa powder. An “authentic” version of the recipe is this:
SERVES 12
One, 9 or 10-inch baked sponge cake (one, 2-inch high layer)
OR: about 2-3 dozen lady fingers (available packaged, or make “savoiardi” – Italian Savoy biscuits, or ladyfingers)
For the syrup:
1/3 cup, sugar
1/4 cup, water
1/2 cup, very strong, brewed espresso
1/4 cup, Italian or other brandy
For the filling:
3 large egg yolks
1/3 cup, sugar
1/3 cup, sweet Marsala wine
1/2 pound (8 ounces), mascarpone cheese – at room temperature
2/3 cup, heavy whipping cream
For the garnish (topping):
1 cup, heavy whipping cream
2 tablespoons, sugar
ground cinnamon - and
ground coffee
OR: unsweetened cocoa powder
To make the syrup: in a saucepan, combine the sugar and water and bring to a boil. Cool, and stir in the espresso and brandy.
To make the filling: In the bowl of an electric mixer, or in another heat-proof bowl, beat the egg yolks until blended, then beat in the sugar and Marsala. Place the bowl over (but not in) a saucepan of simmering water and continue whisking until thickened. Remove bowl from the water pan, and continue beating (by hand, or with an electric mixer using a whip attachment) until cold.
In another bowl, crush the mascarpone with a rubber spatula, then stir until smooth. Fold in the zabaione (egg mixture). Whip the 2/3 cup of cream until it forms soft peaks, then fold it in to the custard mixture.
To compose the tiramisu: If using sponge cake, cut the layers cross-wise into layers about 1/4-inch thick. If using lady fingers, split them in half, lengthwise. Place a layer of the cake or lady fingers in the bottom of a 2-quart dish, and brush over about 1/3 of the syrup using a pastry brush, until the cake is evenly saturated.
Spread half of the filling over the soaked cake layer. Add another layer of cake or lady fingers, brush with another 1/3 of the syrup, and top with the remaining filling. Place the last third of the cake or lady fingers on top of the custard, and soak with the remaining syrup.
Whip the cream (for garnish) along with the 2 tablespoons of sugar, until the cream forms soft-to-firm peaks, then spread the whipped cream over the top of the tiramisu. Decorate by sprinkling with with the cinnamon and ground coffee or with the cocoa powder. Refrigerate for several hours before serving.
Variations:
Fold chopped chocolate or finely chopped “torrone” (Italian nougat candy) or crushed almond brittle (called “croccante” in Sicily) into the filling before composing the tiramisu.
Recipe adapted from Great Italian Desserts by Nick Malgieri (Little, Brown).
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