Tiramisu for you

I arrived home from my and Bruce’s Italian honeymoon 10 years ago about 10 pounds heavier.

Chalk it up to tiramisu research. I ordered tiramisu almost every day for two weeks.

The reason I never got sick of tiramisu is no two desserts were alike. I finally stopped ordering tiramisu after I decided I could eat tiramisu every day and still not taste all the options.

Some tiramisu was cakey, cut in squares, so firm one could eat it with a fork. Others were puddingy, so soft and smooth that only a spoon would do. Some were so boozy that they left me almost tipsy. Others were extremely generous with the mascarpone cheese, while others contained practically none.

In the last decade, I’ve played with tiramisu variations until I finally created the kind I like.

First, I swapped a combination of rum and coffee liqueur for the traditional sweet Marsala. I like Marsala OK, but I like the rum and coffee liqueur better.

The next thing I did would probably get me thrown out of most Italian restaurant kitchens, but I will not lie: I omitted the zabaglione, a traditional Italian dessert concoction made from eggs, sugar and sweet Marsala.

For one thing, zabaglione is a fair amount of work to make this custardy treat, for what I think is low return. Basically, I think the delicate zabaglione is lost among all the other tiramisu flavors. Plus, its form doesn’t hold up under the pressure from the lady fingers, whipped cream, alcohol and mascarpone cheese.

Speaking of mascarpone cheese. This is a flavor I never omit from my tiramisu, which is too bad since the cost for a tiny tub of this flavorful, creamy cheese practically requires a tiramisu (pick me up) from the grocery store’s floors whenever I see its $4 to $5 price tag. Oh well. I don’t make it that often, and when I do it’s usually for special occasions.

Let’s move onto lady fingers, shall we? Often, the lady fingers sold in American grocery stores’ bakery sections are super soft and oh-so delicate. They look pretty, but the truth is they become all soggy and unstable during a tiramisu chilling period.

In a perfect world, you’d use the crunchy, biscuit-like fingers from Italy, such as the Vicenzi brand ones that I’ve squirreled away from such seemingly unlikely places as Big Lots, Tuesday Morning and the Grocery Outlet in Redding. Yes, it’s true.

But if you can’t find those, don’t panic. Make a white sheet cake. Cut it up. Let it dry out a bit. Use that. It’ll be fine. Or use a chocolate cake. No law says tiramisu’s torta can only be bianca.

Now let’s talk about texture, which leads me to chocolate. To relieve the monotony of tiramisu’s creaminess, I sprinkle chocolate shavings between layers. Nobody expects that. It’s a nice surprise.

Finally, we arrive at tiramisu’s shape. Aside from its glorious taste, the other thing I love about tiramisu is how easily it conforms to almost any container. I’ve made it in tiny, individual dishes, then later inverted those onto small plates. I’ve made tiramisu in large lasagna pans for a crowd.

Last month, when my twin and I visited my younger sister at her new home, my sisters and I celebrated my daughter’s birthday with a tiramisu made in a glass bowl, lined with plastic wrap. Later we inverted the dome-shaped tiramisu onto a plate, dusted it with cocoa powder, covered it with chocolate curls and studded it with birthday candles.

Bella!

Oh my gosh, look how many words I’ve devoted to tiramisu.

Please do not think tiramisu is difficult to prepare. It’s really not. In fact, once you assemble the ingredients, the layering process is similar to making lasagna.

And just like lasagna, where everyone makes theirs a bit differently, so it goes with tiramisu.

Buon appetito!

Printer-friendly recipe 

Doni’s Tiramisu

Choose your tiramisu container. If you plan to just scoop out the tiramisu, there’s no need to prepare the pan. Tip: A springform pan is a great tiramisu container.

However, if you plan to later invert the tiramisu from its pan onto a serving plate, first line the container (loaf pans, lasagna pan, bowl, individual dishes, etc.) with heavy plastic wrap, leaving some draped over the edges. Set the prepared vessel(s) aside.

Using a mixer, whip the whipping cream until it holds soft peaks. Set aside. In another bowl, using the same beaters (no need to clean them), cream the mascarpone cheese with the powdered sugar and vanilla.

Now gently fold together the mascarpone cheese mixture and the whipped cream until they’re well incorporated. Cover and chill.

Meanwhile, mix together the hot espresso, sugar, rum and coffee liqueur. *Regarding the espresso, if you don’t have an espresso machine or a stove-top espresso maker, dissolve 2 tablespoons instant coffee in 2/3 cup boiling water.

To assemble: Pick up one lady finger and gently dip it – lengthwise – into the coffee-liqueur mixture. Do this quickly, because the lady fingers will behave like very little unladylike sponges and suck up too much liquid. Place the wet lady finger in the bottom of the pan.

Repeat until the entire bottom of your container is covered with dipped lady fingers. (Note: If you’re using floppy cake instead of firm lady fingers, just put the cake in the pan, and brush it with the liquid.)

Spread about 1/3 of the mascarpone cheese/whipped cream mixture over the lady fingers. Sprinkle with a light layer of the grated chocolate and dust with some cocoa powder.

Repeat these steps and layers, ending with the mascarpone cheese/whipped cream layer, the sprinkled chocolate and finally, a dusting of cocoa powder.

Cover with plastic wrap (if it’s draped from acting as your container’s liner, just bring the plastic up and over the tiramisu).

Refrigerate at least 4 hours to allow the flavors to meld.

(It will be fine in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.)

Cut into wedges or spoon into bowls or onto plates.

Or, if inverting onto a plate, uncover the tiramisu and get the plastic out of the way. Place a plate over the tiramisu. With one hand on the bottom of the plate and the other hand on the bottom of the tiramisu, flip everything so the plate rests on the counter. Lift the container from the tiramisu and remove the plastic.

Serves 10 to 12.