Aside from cupcakes, I have another obsession.
I love tiramisu.
But I guess you know that already, don't you?
It's the only dessert that I like that's not overly sweet. The tangy flavor of the mascaropone cheese and the rich taste of espresso complement the sweet essence of Kahlua and Marsala.
I love tiramisu. If I can eat it everyday, I would. But I already said that of mint and chocolates, didn't I? I guess there are a lot of sweet treats I can eat everyday, tee hee!
Since this is a re-cake, I tried to make it differently from the tiramisu I made before. This time, I used Italian Sponge Cake from scratch and pulled out all the stops by generously adding Kahlua and Marsala wine for the much needed pick me up.
First, the Italian sponge cake must be made, cut up into three layers, then I proceeded using Megan's Tiramisu recipe, substituting the lady fingers with the sponge cake.
Italian Sponge Cake
adapted from The Golden Book of Desserts
1 cup (150g) cake flour
¼ teaspoon salt
6 large eggs, separated
1 ¼ cups (250 g) sugar
½ vanilla pod,
Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees F
Butter a 10-inch spring form pan, line with parchment paper.
Sift the flour and salt into a medium bowl.
Combine egg yolks and sugar in a large bowl. Split vanilla pod into two, scrape beans and add to the egg-sugar mixture.
Beat egg yolks, sugar and vanilla beans with an electric mixer at high speed until pale and very thick.
Beat the egg whites in a large bowl until stiff peaks form.
Use a large rubber spatula to fold the dry ingredients into the egg yolk mixture. Carefully fold in the beaten whites.
Working quickly, spoon the batter into the prepared pan
Bake for 35-45 minutes, or until springy to touch and the cake shrinks from the pan sides.
Cool the cake in the pan for 5 minutes. Loosen and remove the pan sides. Invert the cake onto the rack. Loosen and remove the pan bottom. Carefully remove the paper. Turn the cake top-side up and let cool completely.
Ingredients List:8 large eggs yolks (or 9 smaller yolks)
½ cup Caster Sugar + 2 tbsp (Caster sugar is just fine white sugar)
1½ cups Marsala Wine - Creamy
750g Mascarpone Cheese
500ml Cream
2 cups strong Espresso Coffee
3 tbsp Kahlua (or other liqueur that you like)
2 packets Savoiardi Sponge Finger Biscuits
Cocoa
Large Lasagne Dish
Note: Cups used are metric - 250ml. The tablespoon is 15ml.
Zabaglione:
Whisk the egg yolks and ½ cup caster sugar together until pale and thick.
Over simmering water in a double boiler slowly add ½ cup Marsala to the yolk/sugar mixture. Keep on stirring until it thickens like custard (this takes about 7-8 minutes). Set aside to cool and whisk it occasionally as it cools so it is thick and creamy. I have some cold water ready in the sink so I can dip the bowl in it and stop the cooking quickly once the zabaglione is ready.
Tiramisu Cream
Stir (but do not beat) the mascarpone until well blended and smooth.
Whip the cream until thick - just past the soft peak stage.
Fold together the mascarpone, whipped cream and zabaglione one at a time (for example, add zabaglione to the mascarpone, and then add the cream to that mix).
A variation on this recipe keeps each of the three ingredients above separate and layers them up individually on top of the dipped biscuits. Try it both ways!
Dipping Mixture
Mix together the coffee, 2 tbsp of caster sugar, 1 cup of Marsala wine and 3 tbsp of Kahlua. Make sure the sugar is completely dissolved.
Assembly
Dip Savoiardi sponge finger biscuits into the cooled dipping mixture until they are moist but not sodden and line the bottom of the dish with them. The time varies due to variation in the sponge fingers.
Layer half of the Tiramisu Cream over the top of the biscuits.
Repeat another layer of dipped Savoiardi biscuits and Tiramisu Cream. Bang the dish firmly to make the Tiramisu Cream settle into the gaps between the biscuits. Cover and chill overnight.
Just before serving dust liberally with cocoa. If you want to be more lavish some grated chocolate is nice too.
Happy Cupcaking!
Aikko
