ITALY: Tiramisu

By: Jennifer Rainone

It is not only cake; it is heaven in your mouth!

The reason why I chose the recipe of Tiramisu cake is because it has been in my family ever since I can remember. We usually have it every New Years Day because on New Year’s Day, my family and I go to my grandparents’ house for my cousin’s birthday and to celebrate the New Year. Every year, my cousin and I ask our grandmother to bake Tiramisu cake. It has been my cousin’s birthday cake for a while now, and I cannot remember when she ever had a regular birthday cake. It is one of our favorite desserts, and it is an Italian classic! My grandmother bakes it because it is a tradition in our family.

I live in an Italian home, my whole family is Italian, and so we are always surrounded by good food. Whenever I go to my grandparents’ house, my grandmother always tells me to “mangia, mangia”, meaning, “eat, eat”. She thinks that not eating a lot makes someone unhealthy because in Italy, it is very different from Montreal; they always have full course meals. I also chose Tiramisu because I remember not liking it at one point when I was younger. Just that taste of espresso coffee wasn’t very appetizing. But as I grew older, my grandmother kept baking it for every different occasion, and I started tasting it more and more until I finally grew to like it. Now, I cannot wait until the next time I eat Tiramisu cake!


THE RECIPE

Ingredients:
- 3 egg yolks
- ½ cup of sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla sugar/ or a few drops of vanilla extract
- 1 cup of cream
- 500g mascarpone cheese
- 6 cups of espresso coffee
- 4 tbsp coffee liqueur, Kailua, or brandy
- 20 savoiardi biscuits
- ¼ cup cocoa powder

Procedure:
1. In a large bowl, beat egg yolks with sugar until the mixture is thickened and light lemon color.
2. Add the mascarpone cheese and mix thoroughly.
3. In a medium bowl whip the cream until stiff peaks form. Fold the cream into the cheese mixture.
4. Dip the Savoiardi in espresso and line a 9 by 13 inch pan with them.
5. Pour in half the cheese mixture and smooth.
6. Add another layer of the Savoiardi dipped in espresso.
7. Pour the remaining cheese mixture on top and smooth.
8. Chill in refrigerator for 2 hours and dust with cocoa powder before serving.

ENJOY THE TIRAMISU!