Tiramisu

Every time I think of Tiramisu, I immediately remember that scene from Sleepless in Seattle,  when Jay (Rob Reiner) is chatting with Sam (Tom Hanks) in a bar and giving him advice on how to get back into the dating scene: 

Sam : What is "tiramisu"?
Jay : You'll find out.
Sam : Well, what is it?
Jay : You'll see!
Sam : Some woman is gonna want me to do it to her and I'm not gonna know what it is!! 

Love this movie! Tiramisu (meaning “pick me up”) is an Italian desert consisting of layers of savoiardi biscuits (lady fingers) dipped into strong coffee and a luscious mascarpone and egg cream. These days, people tend to adapt the recipe no end and add fruit and all sort of different biscuits. Personally, I don’t think you can beat the original version. But then again, as you know by now, I LOVE coffee.

Tried & Tasted Recipe

• 3 large eggs
• 80g sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla extract or a sachet of vanilla sugar (optional)
• 250g mascarpone
• Savoiardi biscuits
• strong black coffee
• unsweetened cocoa or other chocolate

Prepare some strong coffee and pour into a shallow bowl.
Separate the whites from the yolks.
Beat the egg yolks with the sugar and vanilla until the mixture whitens. Add the mascarpone.
Beat the egg whites until stiff and fold into egg mixture and mascarpone. Reserve in the fridge for 1 hour.
Dip biscuits in the coffee and line the bottom of a serving dish, ramekin or glass.
Cover with a layer of cream. 
Alternate layers of wet biscuits and cream.
End with a layer of cream.
Refrigerate for at least 4 hours or overnight.
Before serving, sprinkle with unsweetened cocoa or chocolate chips.
 

Serve with a nice cup of cappuccino and you’re ready to take on the world.