Tiramisu'

Tiramisu’

Today, I’ll like to share the recipe of the tiramisu’, which in Italian means “pick me up”, and with all the coffee this pudding contains you’ll feel lifted up. It was created by chefs from Siena in occasion of the visit of the Archduke Cosimo. At first, the tiramisu’ was called, Duke’s pudding.

Ingredients:

Sponge biscuits or Savoiardi biscuits 400g (or you can use slices of sponge cake)

Icing sugar 80-100 g

Two egg yolks

Coffee, strong and with a bit of sugar if you like, 400 ml

Mascarpone cheese 250 g

Whipped cream 350 g

Cocoa powder to garnish

Preparation:

Prepare the coffee, add sugar if you want, and set it aside into a bowl to cool. I use hazelnut and vanilla flavoured coffee. I don’t drink coffee. I love it, but it gives me a headache, so I’m not an expert in coffee, but I never add sugar.

Prepare the cream: beat the egg yolks with a teaspoon of sugar until the colour becomes pale yellow. Add the mascarpone cheese and beat well, add the whipped cream and the remaining sugar until you obtain a smooth cream.

Spread a few tablespoons of the cream on the bottom of a baking tray. Dunk the savoiradi biscuits in the coffee for a few moments. Don’t let them absorb too much coffee or they’ll turn soggy. Set the biscuits on the tray over the cream until you fill the entire space. Add another layer of cream to cover the biscuits and keep going until you finish the cream.

Sprinkle with cocoa powder

Refrigerate for a couple of hours before serving.

Notes: My grandmother didn’t use the whipped cream. She preferred using the egg white, beat into a firm cream with a drop of brandy or rum, which also gave me a headache, but admittedly it covered the otherwise too egg-ish taste of the cream. She said she put only a teaspoon, but I didn’t believe her. Alternatively, try with some coconut cream!  It’s delicious.