Dessert
Nonna's Tiramisu
Prep time: 15 min / Chill time: 4 hr / Total Time: 4 hr 15 min
Why do you think most restaurants and places that sell desserts have Tiramisu on their menu? It’s quite easy, affordable and very delicious.
Ingredients
- 370 g lady fingers (equivalent to 2 packages)
- 4 eggs (separated)
- 100 g granulated sugar (divided)
- 2 tsp rum essence (divided)
- 450 g mascarpone
- 400 ml strong coffee
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- cocoa powder (for dusting)
Instructions:
1. Brew the coffee then pour it all in a large shallow bowl, add a teaspoon of rum extract, and set them aside.
2. Separate the eggs – egg whites in a bowl with 50g sugar, egg yolks in another bowl with the remaining 50g sugar.
3. Use a mixer (or whisk) and whip the egg whites until you get stiff peaks (approx 3 minutes with the mixer). Set aside.
4. Now use the mixer for the egg yolks and sugar and mix until you get a brighter egg colour (approx 3 minutes).
5. Add mascarpone, vanilla extract and 1 teaspoon of rum to the egg yolk mixture and mix well.
6. Now gently add the whipped egg whites into the mixture and fold with a rubber spatula until homogenous. Do not overmix as it can cause the egg whites to deflate!
Quick tip – it helps if you smear a bit of mascarpone mix on the bottom of your tray to keep everything from moving.
7. Dip both sides of the lady fingers in coffee and start assembling your first layer of tiramisu. We dip around 2-4 seconds, you will feel the sponge get soft quickly, but too much absorbed coffee is not ideal here.
8. Smooth half the mascarpone mixture on top of your first lady finger layer. Repeat another layer of lady fingers dipped in coffee and finish with the rest of the mascarpone mixture.
9. If you prefer to decorate your tiramisu, use a piping bag to form ‘kisses’ on the last layer. Finally, dust with cocoa powder on top.
10. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours (ideally overnight) to allow the flavours to work their magic before serving. Enjoy!
Grazie, Italia
It all started around Treviso, a northeastern city in Italy, which also has a dialect with the same name – Treviso. Somewhere in the 1800s, in the name of love, one house of pleasure in the centre of the city started developing this aphrodisiac dessert in order to be handed out to customers at the end of the evenings. The reason was to reinvigorate the men and help them return home full of energy, instead of being tired – smart thought.
This story was hidden for almost 200 years and only brought back around the 1980s due to a veil of popular prudery sweeping the world.
The other origin story is a lot cosier and family oriented. Are you able to recall the food which grandmothers or great-grandmothers used to cook for you? The richness of flavours in their kitchen, with the simplest ingredients, the same ones we use today, is a dear memory for many, but somehow we can’t get anywhere near grandma’s cooking.
Before electricity and refrigerators were widely available, these desserts did not last too long if not consumed and it is said that the ladies have developed this recipe from what the Treviso farmers used to call ‘sbatudin’, which is a mix of egg yolk and sugar, beaten together and commonly used as a restorative for newly-weds.
Even today, the world is aware of traditional cuisines, but most people get nostalgic when talking about their grandmothers or grandfathers who still have their old ways of cooking. Italian food has a unique place in many hearts and personally, I am one of those people. Let’s just say that if humans could survive with pizza and tiramisu, I’d live a happy life, but we all need just a bit more than that, unfortunately.
I’ve tried this recipe recently and it didn’t disappoint at all ❤️ I’m definitely gonna make it again, and I highly recommend it for everyone who wants to make a quick, super easy and extremely tasty tiramisu! Thank you for the recipe guys, and keep up the amazing work! X 🫶🏻
Love to hear this, Boro! ❤️
So happy you enjoyed it! Thank you for all your support! 🫶🏻