Test Recipe: The Classic Tiramisu (original recipe?)
In September, I posted an article on how to make a simple tiramisu (I used the term "basic" at the time). It turned out this was quite a popular article and I received a lot of praise for the fast and simple recipe (it takes less than half an hour to assemble). I also received several e-mails telling me how to make a real tiramisu: use rum, don't use rum, ladyfingers aren't traditional, no chocolate ontop, with eggs, with raw eggs, etc. So, what is a classic tiramisu? I decided to get to the bottom of the tiramisu mystery.
The Original Tiramisu (serves 12)
| 4 large egg yolks | beat | beat | whisk over steam | beat | fold | assemble | sift | refrigerate 4 hours |
| 1/2 cup (100 g) granulated sugar | ||||||||
| 1/2 cup (120 mL) sweet Marsala wine | ||||||||
| 1 lb. (450 g) mascarpone cheese | beat | |||||||
| 1 cup (240 mL) heavy cream | whip to soft peaks | |||||||
| about 40 ladyfinger cookies | soak 2 seconds | |||||||
| 12 oz. (350 mL) espresso | dissolve | |||||||
| 2 tsp. (8 g) granulated sugar | ||||||||
| 2 Tbs. (11 g) cocoa powder | ||||||||
Layer diagram
| 2 Tbs. (11 g) cocoa powder | |
| filling | |
| ladyfingers | |
| filling | |
| ladyfingers |
23 Comments:
hmmm....looks yummy. Believe it or not, i have NEVER eaten Tiramisu....ever! Hehe! Might wana try the recipe sometime
Oh yeah...did the people at the coffee shop like it?
Just one remark: You should sift on the cocoa after refrigeration, directly before serving. Otherwise it might become soggy.
I've got a similar "original" recipe at
http://www.garlic-gang.de/REZEPTE/tiramisu.html
It's somewhat simpler than yours, and usually met with enthusiastic reception. Unfortunately, it's German language, but you can always use the fish...
re: did they like it?
Yes they did.
I'm married to a chemical engineer who's a great cook and your post just made me laugh myself silly! He negotiated a better deal for an espresso maker from Target arguing that it was the floor model (it worked by the way.) You engineers are great at realizing the true cost but sometimes I'd love to eat a meal without having to do a feasibility study first!
Arguing with an engineer is like wrestling with a pig in the mud. After a while you realize you are dirty and the pig likes it.
:D
Hi, I'm an enthusiastic cook from Italy and I'd like to add my two cents to this yummy question.
I write from Turin, northwestern Italy (while Treviso is in the north east) and eveybody I know, including lots of restaurants, DON'T use marsala wine and whipped cream. Marsala turns the custard into zabaglione, as you said, but zabaglione has nothing to do with Tiramisu (although there are variations on the *basic* recipe that call for it).
As for the whipped cream, we simply use 100% mascarpone. Don't know if this makes the dessert lighter or heavier, but the slightly cheesy taste of mascarpone is absolutely a must.
I use the same technique as yours to make the custard, but if you use a sugar syrup (i.e. you melt the sugar with just enough water to dampen it) and pour it over the eggs while still very hot, it speeds up the process and makes for a smoother custard.
a zing of rum or, better still, coffee flavoured liquor in the custard and in the coffee for dipping, will easily pass unnoticed but lift up flavours.
one last word, and I hope not to sound TOO heretical... I never use espresso to dip the biscuits... a strong brew of nescafe is more than enough (and I never add sugar in it: it has to be bitter, to counterbalance the custard sweetness).
just my two cents!
ciao from Italy
marcella
This post has been removed by a blog administrator.
Last comment removed due to a double post.
This article couldn't have come at a better time, as I just made Tiramisu for the first time a few days ago and was wondering about its origins and the autheticity of my recipe. I made it from the recipe at Leite's Culinaria (http://www.leitesculinaria.com/recipes/tiramisu.html), and while there are some things from your recipe that sound better, there are some things from that recipe I'd keep.
That recipe has you mix the 1 1/2 cup espresso with some simple syrup (1/2 cup water with 5 tablespoons sugar dissolved in it); that prevents the tiramisu from being too bitter, and is probably why restaurant Tiramisu tastes different from yours. I also liked the vanilla bean scraped into the cream, though I don't know whether that's common practice or not. That recipe also has you make a Genoise instead of using ladyfingers; I didn't get the consistency of the Genoise quite right (made a couple small mistakes making it), but it was still quite good and seems more appealing to me than ladyfingers. I'd like it to be a bit lighter, but I suspect the mistakes I made caused it to be heavier than it would otherwise be.
I think if I was doing it again I'd try using all Marscapone cheese instead of the Marscapone + Cream Cheese that recipe recommends; the tiramisu was a little heavy and not really as cheesy as it could have been, and I suspect that using only Marscapone would fix that. I'm also curious about the Marsala; either Marsala or some good rum sounds like it'd improve the recipe.
I'll have to try making Tiramisu again sometime with a mixture of elements from both these recipes. Thanks for the interesting post :-)
i thought there were no eggs in a teramisu because it was uncooked and could cause illness. mabybe i din't read enough or something. i alsop read that you can use just about any cake to make this dish and not just ladyfingers.
It is common to find tiramisu recipes with and without eggs, with and without ladyfingers, etc.
I guess it's safe to say that traditionally (if you can call three decades a tradition), tiramisu is served with cooked eggs in the form of zabaglione and with ladyfingers.
I have of course seen sponge cakes and genoise instead (perhaps a blending of zuppa inglese with tiramisu?) and many recipes leaving out eggs for fear of salmonella. Several recipes in recent cookbooks have been pushing nearly raw eggs, but I don't think they add substantially to the texture or flavor. My Simple Tiramisu recipe does not use eggs at all, while this one does (in the zabaglione).
Dear Michael,
Love your approach to cooking! The strong espresso flavor probably depends on the beans used (espresso coffee in Italy is a blend of different types of beans). Sometimes in the USA they roast the beans too much until they get that "burned" taste that gives the coffee a very bitter flavor. Either you have to find a coffee shop that carry the good espresso or you have to buy an espresso machine and make it yourself using Italian coffee. I make my espresso myself.
Regarding my recipe, it was posted before my research on the tiramisu', and I have to admit that there are few differences from the one published by Capnist in their book and signed by Alba Campeol (the owner of Le Beccherie).
1. They don't put sugar in the coffee. As I said before, Italian espresso is generally not as bitter as the American one.
2. They don't put liquor in the cream.
3. They use raw eggs.
Their procedure is the same. I will have to change the text on my pages to reflect these differences, sice I cannot claim my recipe is the original one, but I will stick with my recipe for the folllowing reasons:
1. I don't want the coffee flavor to be too bitter.
2. The liquor in the cream gives a distinct and richer flavor of zabaglione.
3. I don't want to risk salmonella using raw eggs.
My compliments for your great blog!
Anna Maria Volpi
I forgot one point.
4. They don't use whipped cream or whipped egg whites either.
The differences between the original recipe and my recipe don't depend only on the personal taste but also on the conditions. Let me clarify again the different points:
Item 1. You need sugar in the coffee if your coffee is too bitter (American espresso). Also, some ladyfingers sold here (the Italian ones) are not very sweet and I add sugar in this case. Some French ladyfingers have a sugar glaze and are sweeter. I don't add sugar in this case. I normally use the French ladyfingers because they soak much better. The Italian ones are bigger, and sometimes they are too soft outside and remain dry in the center, and you have to increase the quantity of coffee.
Item 2. They don't put liquor in the cream, but you need more liquid in the cream for two reasons. Mascarpone in Italy is very very soft and creamy (and sweet). In the US (at least in Los Angeles where I live) I find mascarpone harder than cream cheese. You need the cream to be little more liquid. and....
Item 3. You need some liquid to cook the egg/sugar custard. They beat raw egg yolks and sugar only instead (salmonella problem). I guess if you don't want to use liquor in the custard you could add some coffee instead of the liquor.
Item 4. Adding whipped cream: Same as item 2: I need more creaminess to soften the American mascarpone cheese. Also you don't need to beat the mascarpone cheese in Italy to make it creamy at all: it is very fluffy.
I hope I clarified what happened. I will post the original recipe and change my article later when I will update my site.
Ciao,
Anna Maria
Mike,
I would like to thank you for your great Tiramisù recipe. I tested it this weekend on some guests and it was just wonderful.
Let me just give two little remarks: for simplicity you may replace Espresso by simple soluble coffee (Nescafé for instance). Adding a little shot of Amaretto (e.g. Disaronno) to the coffee gives it a slight blend of almond, which harmonizes very well with the other ingredients.
Dominique
Since I noted quite a few people coming over to my Tiramisu, I have now translated (or rather "recomposed") the recipe in English. Check out
http://www.garlic-gang.de/RECIPES/tiramisu.html
My basic version has raw eggs, but there also is an egg-free variant. I do not think that whisking over steam is enough to kill Salmonellae - if you get the eggs that hot, they will curdle.
I also do not use Marsala wine, but rather Amaretto. I have never seen Marsala in a Tiramisu before.
Hi there!
This recipe has becaming almost a forum... Nice!
I know that much has been said but I wanted to share some of my secrets with you. Some of my Italian friends tell me that I make the best tiramisu they had ever eaten.
Secrets? Just these:
1 - I use raw eggs
2 - I use whipped egg whites, one more that egg custard (¿?)
3 - I use just a bit of cofee flavored liquor on the cofee
4 - I add a few lemon drops to the mascarpone and also just a bit of salt (NaCl?)
Hope you enjoy it.
Sorry for my bad english.
Cristiano Alves
There is an old saying (I think it was French..?)- To many cooks spoil the broth- Tira Mi SU in transalation means Pick me up- My brother is employed by a noted pastry chef after finishing 5 years training in the middle of Rome Italy- I am also an expert among other things in the Art and science of classical Italian cookery- Tira mi su as such is not a classical recipe its an invented recipe- The actual secret to its invention is actually based on traditional practices dating back to 17th century italy in a period of time pertaining to Spanish rule "Mas que Bueno" is where spain give to Northern italy the name and product to a its famous cheese "Mascarpone"(meaning "Better than Good" Today the Northern Italian plains supported by the Lodi River is where the best "Marscapone" is made and It was here where the practice of Coffee , grated chocolate, all sorts of Liqueurs were mixed with marscapone to give the "Tira mi su" its very distinctive base- Further more any serious pastry chef will always add the sponge on the base of a cake tin- then finish the cake with the Marscapone mixture, with fine chocolate grated on top- I could write pages on the subject matter-Using Finger biscuits is a cop out- This kind of information is not found on the net. Just like the rest of the classical recipe base of italy which is so corrupt today. Italian classical cookery is on the verge of vanishing all together, because too many cooks have simply spoiled the broth-
Chef Davide
Doctrine:Academy of Italian Cookery Rome
expert: www.allexperts.com
www.chefdavide.freeservers.com
I think different people has different opinion about their favorite tiramisu style. My suggestion is to pick the one you like best, from your local restauratant or bakery, immitate and improve upon.
A few tips for engineers:
1. Instead of using egg yolk, get pasteurized egg yolk from supermarket. They are made from egg white but has egg yolk taste. No need to double boil, or worry about bacteria. Real egg yolk doesn't really give it any texture anyway.
2. Pasteurized egg white can be beaten for the cream too but I find using heavy cream is more enough.
3. Make 1/3 of a cup of gelatin mixture, and mix with the cream so that it become firm quicker when chilled. This is also helpful if you don't make whip cream often, and not good at folding it into the mascapone.
4. WHen sifting the cocoa powder, tap the sifter with your finger, instead of "shaking" it while holding it. You get a better control.
For those who want to impress people:
5. Try not to put to much cocoa power (after regrigeration as another blogger mentioned), leave the white cream visible. Cocoa powder is bitter. You can melt some semi-sweet chocolate bar, and use a folk or chopstick, and drip them across the pieces before serving.
6. Kahlua is a good coffee liquer to use. I usually add 1 teaspoon to the coffee, and 1 teaspoon to the creame.
7. Get the soft lady finger instead of the dry and hard one. Lay the lady fingers down and brush them with coffee/liquer instead of dipping them. That way you can control the amount of liquid they soak up and they won't break apart.
8. Last but not least, get a cheese cake tray which you can sprung open on the side. Easier to present and to serve. Once you cut it into pieces, you can immitate how it is served in restaurant too. :)
Hi all:
Here,s my 2 cents.
I recently made a tiramisu that was quite similar to this for a work function. I too went to a local italian store and purchased several double expresso. The recipe used marsala in the zabalione and brandy in the expresso to soak. The expresso was definately stronger and more predominate than any I have had in a restaurant, but I personally really liked it and think this is probably were the original "pick me up" came from! As I down side I have become quite adicted to expresso which I always assumed would be too strong to enjoy, but the Italian kind has quite a smooth body to it.
Everyone seemed to enjoy/consume it, but next time I will probably try a more moderate recipe for a crowd and keep this one for true tiramisu afficianados.
Cheers
I find using pound cake instead of ladyfingers to be much better tasting.
I use less-sweet custard (3 egg yolks, RAW, beaten into 8 oz mascarpone with 1/4 cup plus 1 TBSP sugar, whip 3 egg whites to stiff peaks and fold into cheese mixture). I usually make up for the lower sugar by adding Frangelico hazelnut liqueur to the coffee for the sponge.
I don't think ladyfingers have quite enough body. I use thin slices of sponge cake, and drizzle the coffee mixture over instead of dunking the cake.
A really cool variation is to make a pan of brownies and use crumbled brownies for the sponge layer. Totally non-authentic, but my husband loves it.
Wow, Chef Davide, thanks for telling us about your brother. Given your family's expertise you should have shared a recipe with the group. It would have enriched our souls.
For what it's worth
I use a simpler recipe for tiramisu than the ones i've read about here, and if you like instead of savoiardi (lady fingers) you can use sponge cake and put it in a round cake tin, heart-shaped, rectangular, whatever floats your boat because it all goes down the same way:
1.5 packages of savoiardi (or as many as it takes)
500g mascarpone
4 eggs, separated
sugar to taste
vecchia romagna to taste
instant espresso powder dissolved in hot water...enough to get the job done (or quanto basta for davide)
mix sugar, mascarpone and yolks in the bowl of a stand mixer with the flat beater. add liquor to taste, and i strongly advise using SOME sort of liquor (like Vecchia Romagna) otherwise it's flat.
in a separate bowl using the whisk attachment, beat the egg whites to hard peaks (but not dry).
fold the egg whites into the mascarpone mixture, careful not to deflate the egg whites
line the base of a dish with the savoiardi, dipping each one in espresso, but not too long or else as it sits they will become soggy, and not too briefly or they will stay crunchy in the center.
cover with a layer of mascarpone/egg mixture.
repeat.
cover and put in refrigerator for 24 hours or at least overnight. this allows the mascarpone mixture to set, and allows the savoiardi to 'steep'.
right before serving, if you want, you can sprinkly cocoa on top.
I usually use one 8x8 dish and then fill up small containers like the mascarpone containers for individual portions to put in the freezer for another date.
Wow. A cooking site for people like me. Cool. Quick question about the espresso. Do the traditionalists/ itailians do a long shot for the espresso-that is, do they let the water go through the espresso for longer than the normal 22 seconds-or do they use a full powered shot?
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