Tiramisù

Savoiardi dipped for a second, under a cooked yolk and mascarpone cream.

Egg. Not vegetarian — contains mascarpone whose setting agent the source does not name.

Ingredients

• 500 g mascarpone, at room temperature
• 6 egg yolks
• 150 g caster sugar
• 60 ml water
• 300 ml strong espresso, cold
• 300 g savoiardi
• cocoa powder, to finish
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

Method

1. Heat the sugar and water to 118C.
2. Whisk the yolks with the salt, then pour the hot syrup in down the side of the bowl, whisking, and keep going until the mixture is pale, thick and completely cool. COOKING THE YOLKS IN SYRUP rather than leaving them raw gives a cream that holds for three days and is safe to serve to anyone.
3. Beat the mascarpone loose with a spatula, then fold the yolk mixture through in three additions. Stop as soon as it is even — overworked mascarpone splits into grains and whey.
4. DIP EACH SAVOIARDO IN THE COLD ESPRESSO FOR ONE SECOND A SIDE. One. They are dry and porous and will take up far more than they can hold: a biscuit left in for three seconds collapses into sludge and the whole dish weeps.
5. Lay a layer of dipped biscuits in a dish, spread half the cream, then a second layer and the rest.
6. REFRIGERATE 6 HOURS AT LEAST, overnight for preference. The biscuits have to finish softening from the cream rather than the coffee, and before that it is a bowl of separate things.
7. DUST WITH COCOA ONLY WHEN YOU SERVE IT. Cocoa put on early draws moisture and turns to dark paste.

Our own recipe. This one was written for this site rather than taken from anywhere, so there is no source to point you at. The quantities and the order of the steps are choices, not the only way to do it.

Filed under Italy · All recipes