Tiramisu became wildly popular all over the world at the end of the twentieth century, but for various reasons it reached Odessa only 20 years ago. At that time, few people knew what words like “marsala”, “mascarpone” or “savoiardi ” meant. Only the word “espresso” no longer confused anyone. Cunning Odessa restaurateurs, taking advantage of the gastronomic illiteracy of their guests, did not hesitate to add even gelatine to tiramisu. At the “My Friends” cooking school, we have always cooked according to authentic recipes, with particular regard to the quality of the products and their country of origin. The recipe in front of you has been around for many years, and this is perhaps the first truly Italian tiramisu I have tasted in Odessa.
Tiramisu became wildly popular all over the world at the end of the twentieth century, but for various reasons it reached Odessa only 20 years ago. At that time, few people knew what words like “marsala”, “mascarpone” or “savoiardi ” meant. Only the word “espresso” no longer confused anyone. Cunning Odessa restaurateurs, taking advantage of the gastronomic illiteracy of their guests, did not hesitate to add even gelatine to tiramisu. At the “My Friends” cooking school, we have always cooked according to authentic recipes, with particular regard to the quality of the products and their country of origin. The recipe in front of you has been around for many years, and this is perhaps the first truly Italian tiramisu I have tasted in Odessa.- Prep time: 15 minutes + 3 hours’ chilling
- Cook time: 10 minutes
- Serves: 8-12
- Difficulty: easy
- Course: dessert
- Cookware: baking dish 20x30cm, silicone spatula, fine sieve
- Cuisine: Italian
Ingredients
- 500 g mascarpone
- 5 egg yolks
- 3 egg whites
- 100 g sugar
- 50 ml Marsala
- 150 ml espresso
- 400 g savoiardi / ladyfingers
- 40 g cocoa
Cooking method
⠀Step 1
Put yolks, ½ sugar in a bowl and beat until they become white. Gradually adding mascarpone with a spatula, mix it with the yolks until smooth. In a large bowl, add the egg whites and the other half of the sugar and beat until stiff. Combine the whites with the yolks and mascarpone, gently stirring the mass with a spatula from bottom to top.
Step 2
Pour coffee into a wide container, add Marsala, stir. Put 1/3 of the cream into a baking dish, then a layer of savoiardi, after dipping each cookie for 2 seconds in coffee. Repeat the process. Add the last layer of cream and refrigerate for 3 hours. Sprinkle the tiramisu with cocoa and serve.
My tips and tricks:
To eat tiramisu is like eating tenderness itself, slightly tampered with bitter cocoa. To make it exactly like this, use a special technique of mixing whites into the dough – “folding”. This technique is essential for airy desserts such as tiramisu, mousses, soufflés, and biscuits. It allows you to keep as much air from the egg whites as possible: you need to put a lighter mass into a heavier one, folding it in a certain way. To do this, take a large, wide bowl, transfer a heavy mass into it, put ¼ whites on top and stir intensively but gently with a silicone spatula. Some of the air will “escape”, but the mass will become thinner and lighter, which will help you mix in the remaining whites. Then lay out the remaining whites, use a spatula to “cut” the mass vertically in half and fold the left half of the mass from the bottom up to the centre of the bowl. At the same moment, rotate the bowl counter clockwise with your other hand if you are right-handed. Again “cut” the dough in half and repeat the movement, carefully folding the next portion of the mass. Repeat until the mixture is smooth. Be careful and take your time trying to preserve as much as possible the amount of whipped air.
- 500 g mascarpone
- 5 egg yolks
- 3 egg whites
- 100 g sugar
- 50 ml Marsala
- 150 ml espresso
- 400 g savoiardi / ladyfingers
- 40 g cocoa
- Put yolks, ½ sugar in a bowl and beat until they become white. Gradually adding mascarpone with a spatula, mix it with the yolks until smooth. In a large bowl, add the egg whites and the other half of the sugar and beat until stiff. Combine the whites with the yolks and mascarpone, gently stirring the mass with a spatula from bottom to top.
- Pour coffee into a wide container, add Marsala, stir. Put ⅓ of the cream into a baking dish, then a layer of savoiardi, after dipping each cookie for 2 seconds in coffee. Repeat the process. Add the last layer of cream and refrigerate for 3 hours. Sprinkle the tiramisu with cocoa and serve.