This year for her birthday, my daughter Sarah, asked me to make her Tiramisu instead of a traditional birthday cake. Considering she never really ask for anything, I was happy to accommodate her. The only problem? I have never made Tiramisu before. I had heard of this dessert, but have never even eaten it before either.
So what do you do when you have never made this particular dessert before? You send out an S.O.S to your friends for a tried and true recipe. My friends did not let me down. I received a couple of recipes by the end of the day. The recipe I am using came from a friend who bought the cookbook from Italy. The recipe was in Italian and he translated the recipe for me. I do not know the name of the cookbook, but will add it as soon as I find it out. I will also be substituting almond extract for the amaretto.
Tiramisu
3/4 cup heavy cream (200ml)
5 tbsp sugar
4 egg yolks
1 lb mascarpone
24 ladyfingers
4 tbsp strong espresso coffee
4 tbsp amaretto (could use coffee syrup or something if you don’t want the alcohol) **Used 1/4 tsp of almond extract.
cocoa powder
Beat the cream with 1tbsp sugar until stiff. Whisk the egg yolks with the remaining sugar until creamy. Stir in the mascarpone one spoonful at a time and then, at slower speed, stir in the cream.
Line a flat dish with ladyfingers. Mix the espresso and amaretto and sprinkle over the ladyfingers but do not soak. Spread a layer of cream on top and cover this with a layer of ladyfingers sprinkle with the espresso and amaretto mix and spread the remaining cream on top. Sprinkle with cocoa powder and chill for at least one hour in the fridge.
Tiramisu.
For my first time making Tiramisu, I think I did alright. It had a good flavor to it with the almond extract. Next time, yes there will be a next time, I will use the amaretto that the recipe originally called for.
However, it really didn’t matter what I thought about it. The one that I was worried about, was my daughter, since she had asked for this instead of a birthday cake. Guess what? She loved it! I am really happy that she enjoyed it. Like I said, we will definitely be having this again.
Have you ever had Tiramisu? Have you ever made it? I would love to know if you have used this recipe before!