Super Simple, No Egg, Country Style Tiramisu
In March 1999, Will and I had the best tiramisu we’ve ever
had—before and after that date so long ago.
It’s possible, yes, that our excitement about being in London together
during our first year of dating might have contributed something to this rosy
recollection. But bathed in nostalgia as
that memory might be, we can honestly say that other food we had in London that
week didn’t compare nearly so well to what we could get in Chicago. Perhaps there is something to be said for
that tiramisu.
We don’t remember exactly where the restaurant was—though I
vaguely recall that it might have been yet another rustic country Italian
restaurant named Campagnola (aren’t there a frightful lot of them?)—nor even
what we ate for the rest of the meal.
But we do remember that when we ordered tiramisu for our dessert,
someone rolled up a cart next to our table.
A cart? Yes, like a cheese cart,
or when they need to carve up your duck or something like that. But, of course, since we’d only ever had
tiramisu delivered as a rectangular shape on a plate, Will and I were a bit
mystified by the process.
We were further puzzled when we saw a huge half-filled
punch-bowl in the middle of the cart. A
matronly-looking woman then took a large spoon, scooped up a portion, and
plopped it into a bowl. Then—well,
this being England—she picked up a pitcher and poured Crème Anglaise all around
the mound sitting inside the bowl.
Indeed, it turned out to be tiramisu.
Or rather, it smelled like it and tasted like it—though admittedly it
didn’t resemble any tiramisu in our experience.
We loved it. The casual
appearance, the unceremonious plopping onto the bowl (as opposed to the much
more ceremonious “plating” we were used to), the creamy texture that was more
ice cream-like than the usually more cake-like tiramisu we’d had. It is still our fondest tiramisu memory.
So, when I found in Gordon Ramsey’s Fast Food cookbook a recipe for “Easy Tiramisu” that could possibly
be converted to approximate my memory of that London tiramisu, I got to
work. I use heavy cream instead of his
light cream (for a little extra "body," for substance), only 12 ladyfingers, and I make a whole batch and serve it in scoops—to be
more “country style.”
Here is the recipe I’ve come up with, modified from Gordon
Ramsey’s.
Ingredients to serve 4-6:
For the cream portion:
2/3 cup heavy (whipping) cream
3 T powdered sugar
1 cup mascarpone
1 t vanilla extract
1 T Kahlua or other coffee-flavored liqueur
To dip:
¾ cup strong coffee or espresso at room temperature
1 T powdered sugar
2 T Kahlua or other coffee-flavored liqueur
12 ladyfingers
Unsweetened cocoa powder (no more than 1 teaspoon is needed)
Directions:
Blend 3 T powdered sugar and the 2/3 cup cream just until
evenly combined, and then add mascarpone, vanilla extract, and the 1 T
liqueur. Whip until you reach the
consistency of a fairly stiff whipping cream.
In a shallow bowl, blend the 1 T powdered sugar into the
cooled coffee, and then stir in the 2 T liqueur.
Dip 4 ladyfingers in the coffee mixture, turn to soak from
the other side, and then layer vertically in a rectangular 6x6 container. Spread about 1/3 of the mascarpone mixture
over the top, being careful not to scrape the delicate dipped ladyfingers.
Dip another 4 ladyfingers in the coffee mixture and then lay
down horizontally on top of the mascarpone layer (like the picture above). Yes, you just want to layer in the opposite
direction to reduce unevenness in layers.
Then layer another 1/3 of the mascarpone mixture. Repeat with the third layer of ladyfingers,
drizzle any remaining coffee mixture on top, and then cover with the remaining
layer of mascarpone.
Dust the top evenly with cocoa powder.
Cover the container and refrigerate at least 1 hour.
When ready to serve, bring out plates or bowls, take a large
serving spoon (long enough to reach the bottom of the container) and scoop out
a desired-sized portion. Try to lay it
down such that you would be presented with the layers of cream and ladyfingers. (No need for any crème anglaise!)
Happy Valentines Day!--weekend, month. . .
Happy Valentines Day!--weekend, month. . .
Comments
Post a Comment