Coffee Dessert - Special Tiramisu

Coffee and dessert are two things that traditionally go together for a long time ago. Most people recognize that scent of morning glory but are helpless when it comes to what a coffee dessert is. It is not by any means just a coffee accompaniment, like the so called "coffee cake" which most of the times doesn't have any kind of coffee flavor in it! Coffee dessert means any kind of sweet that uses coffee either as a major flavorful substance or as one of its mixing ingredients and combine to make easy desserts. The Italian origin Tiramisu is definitely a coffee dessert that a lot of folks around the world are familiar with.

This special Tiramisu recipe is given to me by an Italian family who lives in Brooklyn, New York in the early 1980s as a present. I practiced it a lot of times during those times under the strict supervision of pastry chef Mr. Gianni who showed me all those little secrets that almost nobody tells you about just like making the best ice cream recipes. The only change that I made to the original recipe is the pasteurization of the raw eggs because salmonella food poisoning is a major health issue today.

Some restaurants and cafes introduced a decade ago the eggless Tiramisu by substituting eggs with whipped double cream. The result wasn't the same even though the help of original Italian liqueurs usage was more than obvious on the effort to resemble a good Tiramisu just like any other easy dessert recipes.

Ingredients

40 pieces ladyfingers "Forno Bonomi Savoiardi"

2 cups real espresso coffee /approx. 4 shots (16 fl. oz./480 ml.)

3 oz. (90 gr.) dark chocolate "Cadbury Bournville" grated thinly

4 large eggs

1 lb. (500 gr.) Mascarpone cheese "Polenghi"

1 1/2 cups single cream (12 fl. oz./360 ml.)

1 1/2 cups caster sugar

1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar or 3 drops lemon juice

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

3 tablespoons dark Bacardi rum

3 tablespoons Romana Sambuca

3 tablespoons Amaretto

2 tablespoons Tia Maria or Kahlua

2 tablespoons Benedictine or cognac or brandy

1 tablespoon unflavored gelatin

Unsweetened cacao for garnishing

Instructions

Make the espresso and let it aside to cool.

Prepare a double boiler device with boiling water or anything else that can be used as such.

Put the gelatin in a cup and soak it with the Amaretto liqueur. Let it stay for at least 5 minutes.

Whisk Mascarpone for a few minutes in a stand mixer until is fluffy.

Add the cream and continue whisking until a thick mass is formed. Stop the mixer.

Separate carefully the eggs from yolks and whites.

Pasteurization of the egg yolks:

In the top device/bowl of a double boiler, mix the yolks with the vanilla extract, Tia Maria, Benedictine, 4 tablespoons of espresso coffee you have aside and 8 tablespoons of water.

Beat them with an electric hand mixer for 1 minute.

Check the temperature with a thermometer in order to reach 140 degrees Fahrenheit (60 Celsius). Remove from the double boiler.

Add to the gelatin 5 tablespoons of the double boiler's hot water.

Mix well and then pour it into the warm yolks' mixture.

Beat the yolks again until the gelatin is completely incorporated.

Place the yolks' bowl in another larger one with cold water and some ice cubes. Add 1 cup of the sugar and beat for 2-3 minutes until sugar is dissolved and the mixture becomes creamy with a pale yellow color.

Whisk the yolks into the Mascarpone mixture until fully incorporated.

Empty the mixture of the stand mixer's bowl to another large bowl.

Prepare the double boiler and the stand mixer for a meringue. (Clean and dry thoroughly).

Pasteurization of the egg whites:

Put the egg whites with the salt and the cream of tartar in the top device of the double boiler. Beat them with a hand mixer to froth and then add the remaining half cup of sugar.

Whisk for 1-2 minutes. Check the temperature with a thermometer in order to reach 140 degrees Fahrenheit (60 Celsius). Remove from the double boiler.

Transfer the meringue into the stand mixer's bowl. Start whipping it in medium speed.

Stop the mixer when soft peaks are formed.

Using a long metal spoon, fold gently the meringue into the Mascarpone cream. (Soft movements, bottom to top technique).

Assemble the Tiramisu:

Spoon 3-4 tablespoons of the Mascarpone cream into the dish and spread all over.

Mix the cold espresso with Bacardi and Sambuca in a shallow bowl.

Dip quickly the sugar side of the ladyfingers into the espresso mixture, turn them upside-down and lay them side by side to cover the base of the dish. 

Sprinkle the ladyfingers with the half quantity of the grated dark chocolate.

Cover with the half quantity of the Mascarpone cream.

Repeat once more the procedure with the soaking and layering the ladyfingers on top of the Mascarpone cream and sprinkle them with the rest of the dark chocolate.

Top with the rest of the Mascarpone cream.

Cover the dish tightly with plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator for a minimum of 12 hours.

Before serving, sprinkle lightly with cocoa powder (use a strainer to avoid lumps).

Source: Squidoo