Aunt Enzas Tiramisu Recipes

TIRAMISU

Steps:

• Whisk the egg yolks and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment on high speed for about 5 minutes, or until very thick and light yellow. Lower the speed to medium and add 1/4 cup rum, 1/4 cup espresso, and the mascarpone. Whisk until smooth.
• Combine the remaining 1/4 cup rum and 1 1/4 cups espresso in a shallow bowl. Dip 1 side of each ladyfinger in the espresso/rum mixture and line the bottom of a 9 by 12 by 2-inch dish. Pour half the espresso cream mixture evenly on top. Dip 1 side of the remaining ladyfingers in the espresso/rum mixture and place them in a second layer in the dish. Pour the rest of the espresso cream over the top. Smooth the top and cover with plastic wrap. Refrigerate overnight.
• Before serving, sprinkle the top with shaved chocolate and dust lightly with confectioners' sugar, if desired.
• *RAW EGG WARNING
• Food Network Kitchens suggest caution in consuming raw and lightly-cooked eggs due to the slight risk of Salmonella or other food-borne illness. To reduce this risk, we recommend you use only fresh, properly-refrigerated, clean, grade A or AA eggs with intact shells, and avoid contact between the yolks or whites and the shell.
• Notes: To make espresso for this recipe in your electric drip coffee maker, use enough water for 4 cups of coffee plus 1/3 cup of ground espresso.
• You can find savoiardi and mascarpone in an Italian specialty store.

AUNT ENZA'S TIRAMISU

Steps:

• Prepare the espresso and cool completely. Separate the eggs, discarding the white from 1 of them. Beat 2 egg whites with 1 tablespoon sugar until it forms soft peaks. In another bowl, beat 3 egg yolks with the remaining sugar until thick and pale yellow. Add the mascarpone and Marsala to the egg yolk mixture and blend until well combined. Lightly fold the egg whites into the mascarpone mixture.
• Dip ladyfingers, one at a time, in espresso coffee and line the bottom of a 2 quart bowl or serving dish with about 1/3 of the cookies. Cover with about 1/3 of the mascarpone mixture. Continue building the tiramisù making 3 layers of cookies topped with 3 layers of mascarpone mixture. Dust the finished tiramisù with unsweetened cocoa or chop up some bittersweet chocolate and use it to spell out AUGURI on top. Refrigerate at least two hours.

TIRAMISU

Steps:

• Bring 2 1/2 cups water to boil in a small saucepan. Add the sugar and stir until dissolved. Remove from the heat and stir in the espresso powder and coffee liqueur. Pour into a shallow bowl or dish and let cool completely.
• Beat the mascarpone and confectioners' sugar with an electric mixer on medium speed just until smooth and light (do not over beat, or it will separate), about 20 seconds. Beat the cream on medium-high in a second bowl to form soft peaks. Fold 1/3 of the whipped cream into the mascarpone to lighten it, then gently fold in the remaining whipped cream.
• Working with a couple at a time, dip half the ladyfingers in the espresso mixture until moistened but not falling apart, about 5 seconds per side. Put them snugly in rows in the bottom of an 8-by-8-inch glass or ceramic baking dish.
• Spread half of the mascarpone mixture over the layer of ladyfingers and sprinkle with all of the chopped or shaved chocolate. Repeat soaking and layering with the remaining half of the ladyfingers. Spread the remaining mascarpone mixture smoothly over the top. Cover with plastic wrap and chill at least 4 hours or up to overnight.
• To serve, remove the plastic wrap and smooth the mascarpone cream layer again, if necessary. Dust the top of the tiramisu with cocoa powder. Cut into squares and serve.

NONNA'S TIRAMISU

Steps:

• Brew 2-3 cups of espresso or very strong coffee (I use my Bialetti stove top moka pot). Allow coffee to cool completely and stir in liqueur.
• Pull a 13x9 pan, a large bowl, and a small bowl out of your cupboard.
• Separate eggs, placing egg whites in the smaller bowl and egg yolks in the larger bowl.
• Beat egg white with an electric mixer until stiff peaks form. Do not over beat (or underbeat for that matter) the egg whites as this will ruin the consistency of the cream.
• Leaving the egg whites separate for the time being, add sugar to the egg yolks and beat until well blended. Then, add the mascarpone or ricotta and beat until creamy and well blended.
• Fold egg whites into the cheese mixture.
• Pour coffee mix into a bowl/container with a flat bottom large enough to accomodate one lady finger. I start with a pool of coffee about 1/4 to 1/2 of an inch deep.
• One by one, roll the lady fingers in the coffee. If you oversoak them the cake will be soggy and under soaking could lead to it being crunchy. If in doubt, do a test cookie. Soak the cookie, then cut it in half. If it has been soaked the correct amount, the outside will be brown and soft but the very center (where you have cut it) will still be white and firm.
• As you roll each lady finger in the coffee, line them up in the 13x9 inch pan. When the cookies don't fit comfortably, cut them (after soaking) to make them fit.
• When you have one layer of "cake", spread half of the cheese mixture evenly over it and place a second layer of soaked cookies over the cheese mixture. Top with remaining cheese mix.
• My grandmother garnishes her tiramisu by sprinkling cocoa powder over it but I use grated 60% dark chocolate and sometimes I throw some grated white chocolate on top of that.
• Place tiramisu in fridge and wait at least 6 hours before serving.
• Note: This recipe freezes well so you can save leftovers for later if need be.

EMILY'S FAMOUS TIRAMISU

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Line baking sheets with parchment paper.
• In a medium bowl, whip egg yolks and 1/4 cup of sugar with an electric mixer until thick and pale. In a separate bowl, whip egg whites (with clean beaters) to soft peaks. Gradually sprinkle in the remaining 1/2 cup sugar while whipping to medium stiff peaks. Fold the egg yolk mixture into the egg whites. Gently fold in the flour and 1 teaspoon vanilla. The batter should be thick and pale yellow.
• Trace two 9 inch circles onto the parchment paper using a cake pan as a guide. Spread or pipe batter to completely fill inside the lines of the circles. Batter should be about 1/2 inch tall.
• Load the remaining batter into a pastry bag fitted with a half inch tip or hole. Draw parallel lines onto another piece of parchment that are 3 inches apart. Pipe the batter back and forth just between the lines in a compressed S motion, until you run out of batter. This is the part that wraps around the outside of the cake. (It helps to have it in one piece, but you can pipe individual fingers using the guidelines drawn on the paper, if you prefer.) There may be extra.
• Bake in preheated oven 10 to 15 minutes, until firm but not browned. Remove from the oven and dust generously with confectioners' sugar. Set aside to cool.
• To make the syrup, stir together 1 cup sugar, boiling water, coffee and 1/4 cup rum until sugar is dissolved. Set aside.
• To make the filling, combine mascarpone, 2 cups confectioners' sugar, dark rum and 1 teaspoon vanilla in a large bowl. Whisk together until completely smooth, scraping the bottom of the bowl to remove any lumps. Gradually whisk in the heavy cream. Whip with an electric mixer until soft peaks form. Stop whipping when the mixture shows the first sign of graininess.
• To assemble, line the sides of a 9-inch springform pan with parchment or waxed paper. Place one of the ladyfinger rounds in the bottom of the pan. Brush generously, but do not soak completely, with syrup. Place the 3-inch high ladyfinger strips around the inside edge of the pan, so that the sides are completely covered. Brush generously with syrup.
• Spread half of the filling mixture over the first ladyfinger round in the pan. Place the remaining ladyfinger round on top of the filling. Soak the second ladyfinger round with syrup until it cannot take any more. Spread the remaining filling over that and smooth the top. Sprinkle with grated chocolate. Refrigerate at least 4 hours.
• To serve, remove the sides of the pan and carefully remove the parchment or waxed paper from the outside of the cake. Dust with confectioners' sugar just before serving.

CLASSIC TIRAMISU

Steps:

• Combine egg yolks and sugar in the top of a double boiler, over boiling water. Reduce heat to low, and cook for about 10 minutes, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and whip yolks until thick and lemon colored.
• Add mascarpone to whipped yolks. Beat until combined. In a separate bowl, whip cream to stiff peaks. Gently fold into yolk mixture and set aside.
• Split the lady fingers in half, and line the bottom and sides of a large glass bowl. Brush with coffee liqueur. Spoon half of the cream filling over the lady fingers. Repeat ladyfingers, coffee liqueur and filling layers. Garnish with cocoa and chocolate curls. Refrigerate several hours or overnight.
• To make the chocolate curls, use a vegetable peeler and run it down the edge of the chocolate bar.

ALESSI'S TIRAMISU

Steps:

• Zabaglione Cream: In the top part of a double boiler, beat eggs and sugar together until the mixture is pale yellow in color.
• In the bottom part of the double boiler, bring water to a boil then reduce heat to simmer.
• Place egg yolk mixture over water and gradually add Marsala, beating continously.
• Scrape bottom and sides of pan occasionally and cook 6 to 10 minutes or until soft mounds can be formed.
• Transfer to bowl, cover and refrigerate 30 minutes.
• Whip cream with 2 Tbsp.
• sugar until soft peaks form.
• Fold in Mascarpone and Zabaglione and mix until well blended.
• Cover and refrigerate 1 hour.
• In a separate bowl, mix espresso, 2 Tbsp.
• sugar, Brandy and vanilla.
• Arrange cookies on the bottom of a 9" by 13" pan.
• Carefully spoon about 1 Tbsp.
• of the coffee mixture over each cookie so they are well saturated but not falling apart.
• Spoon 1/2 cheese mixture over cookies and sprinkle with 1 Tbsp.
• cocoa.
• Repeat one more time ending with cocoa.
• Cover and refrigerate at least 5 hours or overnight so that cookies can soften as they absorb moisture.
• Garnish and serve.