“imagine that you’re dressed in gossamer. You have delicate white wings and are sitting on a fluffy cloud. You are experiencing the greatest dessert ecstasy of your life. You are in Heaven, and Heaven is in your mouth!”
Tiramisu was my ‘love at first bite’. It was a summer afternoon in 2004, when my friend took me for a lunch at a restaurant just outside of Bangalore. While you always had to book your table in advance, if you wanted Tiramisu, you had to order that as well in advance. It was such a popular dessert in that restaurant! My friend was all raving about Tiramisu and I had to try it. One bite, and I was a victim of it.
This eggless Tiramisu recipe is super easy. It makes an incredibly light and creamy Tiramisu with a beautiful aroma of espresso and just a hint of rum. mmmmm….
Tiramisu is a dessert that has an ardent fan following. Literally translating to ‘pick me up’ in Italian (tirami-su), there are lot of theories behind it’s origins. Created in the restaurant ‘Le Beccherie’ in Treviso, Italy, Tiramisu used to be eaten by the ladies who ‘worked’ in the brothels above the restaurant. One of the most colourful stories is that it used to be a favourite of Venice’s courtesans, who needed a tiramisu to fortify themselves between their amorous encounters.
ah.. the sinful dessert of Italy!
Tiramisù
By Ashima Goyal Siraj
Preparation time: |Serves: 9 servings
1 cup hot water
2 tbsp espresso powder (I use Trader Joe’s French Vanilla Coffee
) (you can also use instant coffee powder)
2 tbsp dark rum/ essence (I use rum essence when I want a non-alcoholic recipe)
1/4 cup + 1 tbsp castor sugar
1/2 cup cream, whipped
220 gm mascarpone cheese
1 tsp vanilla essence
24 ladyfingers biscuits (biscotti Savoiardi
)
2 tbsp cocoa powder
- Prepare espresso (or instant coffee) as regular. In a wide bowl, mix together espresso, rum,1 tbsp sugar and water until the sugar dissolves dissolves. Leave to cool.
- Beat the cream until soft peaks form. (Normally in a 200 gm fresh cream packet, there is a lot of liquid as well. Remove the liquid and beat the thick cream with a beater on medium speed until soft peaks form when the beater is lifted. Preferably use a chilled bowl to beat the cream in.)
- In a separate bowl beat the mascarpone cheese with the beater on medium high. Add the vanilla essence and 1/4 cup sugar. Beat until the cream mixture is well mixed and fluffy, about 2 mins.
- Gently fold in the whipped cream into the cheese mixture.
- One by one, dip the unsugared side of the ladyfingers in the espresso and rum liquid and line the bottom of a 8in X 8in glass dish (I have this regular square glass dish
with a plastic lid, which works perfect for this quantity. Also makes it easy to store and carry.) - Spread half the cheese mixture over the biscuit layer evenly.
- Top with one more layer of biscuits dipped in coffee mixture.
- Evenly spread the remaining cheese mixture on top. Smoothen with a spatula.
- Close the lid and refrigerate for at least 6 hours before serving.
- Dust the top with cocoa powder.
- Cut into squares and serve cold!
Very easy recepie n yummy pudding is ready.