No dessert in recent times has caused such a stir as this simple Italian grandmothers' snack. Tiramisu started as a tossed together afternoon snack of ladyfingers dipped in espresso and topped with sweetened mascarpone cheese. Over the past 25 years, tiramisu has become a bloated, creamy, chocolaty dessert that has nothing to do with the humble original.
Energy slump?
Tiramisu, which translates to "pick me up," comes from the Treviso region of Italy, near Venice. No one authentic version exists. However, all versions should have lots of espresso (it's the caffeine that picks you up!), some kind of ladyfingers (more about these later), and mascarpone cheese.
Always use fresh espresso — old espresso is very bitter. A little shaved chocolate or cocoa powder on top adds visual interest.
 | Mascarpone is soft, fresh white cheese that's often whipped and sweetened to be incorporated into desserts. It has a very creamy texture and a faintly tart/sweet flavor. Get the freshest mascarpone you can find. If you can't find mascarpone, use whipped cream or crème fraiche. |
Tiramisu
Tools: Rectangular glass or ceramic terrine or a roughly 8 x 10-inch cake mold
Preparation time: 30 minutes (not including ladyfingers)
Cooking time: None
Yield: 6 to 8 servings
2 cups (16 ounces) heavy cream, well chilled
1 cup (4 ounces) confectioners' sugar
1 cup (8 ounces) fresh mascarpone or crème fraîche
About 50 ladyfingers in strips (See "Looking at ladyfingers," below)
1 cup (8 ounces) strong espresso, cool
2 tablespoons cocoa powder or chocolate shavings
1. Whip the heavy cream and confectioners' sugar until it forms soft peaks. Keep cold.
2. In a bowl, stir 1/2 cup (4 ounces) mascarpone to soften it. Fold the whipped cream into the mascarpone until well blended.
3. Arrange your ladyfinger strips so that they fit the serving container you're using. (You'll probably have to play jigsaw puzzle and remove individual ladyfingers to do so.)
4. Pour the espresso into the bottom of a separate wide-bottomed container or cake mold.
5. Take some ladyfingers and dip them, flat side down (this side is more porous) into the espresso for about 3 seconds. Remove and place into the serving container, flat side up. Repeat with about half of the ladyfingers — or enough to fit snugly into the serving container.
6. Spoon the mascarpone-cream mixture all over the ladyfingers. Spread it evenly. Dip the remaining ladyfingers into the espresso as before, and lay those, flat side up, over the mascarpone-cream layer. Apply remaining mascarpone evenly.
7. Dust the top with sifted cocoa powder, or sprinkle with chocolate shavings.
Looking at ladyfingers
Think of ladyfingers as a twist on basic sponge cake. The main difference is that ladyfingers are lighter and more elastic because of the sweetened egg whites in them. Hence, ladyfingers are good for molding around ice cream and other wonderful things. The added lightness comes from using half cornstarch and half flour rather than all flour.
You've probably seen ladyfingers in the supermarket, stored in those cardboard boxes with a see-through cellophane window. What you can't see is how dry they are. You should use ladyfingers right away or freeze them shortly after baking. Otherwise, they dry out in a couple of days. At that point, they become cookies — and not bad ones at that — but they're no longer useable if you're making tiramisu.
Ladyfingers are baked in strips of about 16 connected cakes that are a little larger than a man's thumb. You can use these cakes for all kinds of desserts, from the most basic to the most outrageous. For example, you can make a quick dessert by just dipping individual ladyfingers into melted chocolate, chilling, and serving.
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