Being a classic Italian dessert, this pick me up (that is the literal translation from Italian) is a crowd pleaser and everyone will have a strong idea about how they like their tiramisu.
The basics are the same mascarpone cheese, eggs, espresso-soaked ladyfingers (made from scratch or using the traditional Savoiardi biscuits) and a dusting of cocoa powder are the staple ingredients for this delectable treat. It's such a popular dish, that International Tiramisu Day is celebrated on March 21, and it's spawned dessert competitions just for tiramisu alone.
Chef J羹rgen's version utilizes a sabayon method for cooking the eggs (hello, food safety!) and a more sophisticated touch by using Marsala in the recipe. Instead of a rustic, homestyle approach, this version is made as individual servings you are special and deserve your own small serving, no sharing necessary.
Ingredients
For the Ladyfingers:
- 4 eggs, separated
- 100 grams granulated sugar
- 100 grams cake flour
- Powdered sugar, for dusting
For the Soaking Syrup:
- 150 ml espresso
- 10 ml rum
- 10 ml Amaretto
- 25 ml orange juice
- 3 ml vanilla extract'
For the Tiramisu:
- 175 milliliters heavy cream
- 2 egg yolks
- 75 grams granulated sugar
- 25 milliliters water
- 50 milliliters Marsala wine
- 1.5 sheets gelatin, bloomed in cold water
- 250 grams mascarpone
- Ladyfinger biscuits (from recipe)
- Soaking syrup (from recipe)
- Cocoa powder, for dusting
For the Chocolate Sauce:
- 150 gram bittersweet chocolate
- 125 milliliters milk
- 75 milliliters heavy cream
- 15 grams butter
- 75 grams granulated sugar
- 1 pinch of salt
- 5 milliliters coffee extract
For the Chocolate Decoration:
- 2 ounces (57 grams) bittersweet chocolate, melted
- Ice cubes, as needed
For Plating:
- Cocoa powder, for dusting
- Chocolate sauce (from recipe)
- 4 ounces heavy cream, whipped
- Chocolate decoration (from recipe)
Special equipment:
- #3 plain piping tip
- 1 3-inch round cookie cutter
- 4 3-inch round entremet rings, 1-inch high
- Stem thermometer
Directions
For the Ladyfingers:
- Preheat the oven to 375簞F.
- Make a French meringue by whipping the egg whites and the sugar together in a stand mixer, adding a little bit of sugar at a time, until the mixture holds stiff peaks.
- Whisk the egg yolks lightly and fold into the meringue.
- Sift the flour over the meringue mixture, a third at a time, and fold in.
- Using a pastry bag fitted with a round #3 tip, pipe batter in rows on a parchment-lined 1/2 sheet pan.
- Sprinkle the batter with powdered sugar.
- Bake at until light brown, about 5-7 minutes.
- Let cool completely before assembling tiramisu.
- When ready to assemble, release each cake from the parchment paper and cut the cake into 3-inch disks.
For the Soaking Syrup:
- Combine espresso with the rum, amaretto, orange juice and vanilla extract.
- Set aside until ready for assembly.
For the Tiramisu:
- In a medium mixing bowl, whip the heavy cream and then set it in the refrigerator to chill.
- Set up individual rings on a parchment-lined sheet pan.
- Lightly brush the ladyfingers with the espresso syrup.
- Over a double boiler, make a sabayon with the egg yolks, sugar, water and Marsala wine. The mixture should read 145簞F before removing from heat.
- Add the bloomed gelatin to the sabayon. In a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, whip the mixture until cool and thickened, about 7-10 minutes.
- Place the mascarpone in a medium-sized mixing bowl and stir the sabayon into the mascarpone until the mixture is smooth.
- Fold the whipped cream into the mascarpone mixture.
- Line rings with the first layer of biscuit sponge.
- Fill the piping bag fitted with the plain pastry tip with the mascarpone mixture.
- Pipe the mascarpone mousse onto the biscuit and repeat until you have 3 layers of ladyfingers and 3 layers of mousse. Level out the rings with tiramisu, so the tops are flat.
- Chill the tiramisu in the refrigerator until firm, 1-2 hours.
- Before serving, dust with cocoa powder and remove rings for plating.
For the Chocolate Sauce:
- Place the chopped chocolate in a medium work bowl.
- In a saucepan, bring the milk to a boil.
- Pour the hot milk over the chocolate. With a whisk, stir until the chocolate is melted.
- In a separate saucepan, bring the cream, butter and sugar to a boil.
- Pour the ganache into the separate saucepan and stir constantly until it comes to a boil.
- Add salt and coffee extract. Stir to combine.
- Store the sauce in a bain-marie until ready to use.
For the Chocolate Decoration:
- Place chocolate in a microwave oven-safe bowl.
- In 20-second increments, melt chocolate to 85簞F, stirring at every interval.
- Place ice cubes in a medium-sized bowl and cover with cold water.
- Using a paper cornet, pipe small designs of your choice onto the ice water surface.
- Using a small offset spatula, lift hardened designs from the water.
- Place on a sheet pan lined with parchment paper and keep refrigerated until ready to use.
For Plating:
- Remove rings from tiramisu and dust the top of each with cocoa powder.
- Create a chocolate sauce design on the plate and position tiramisu as desired.
- Pipe whipped cream (or make quenelles) onto tiramisu.
- Finish with chocolate d矇cor on top.