Tiramisu is an Italian dessert of ladyfingers, coffee and mascarpone cream. Two failures are typical: mush at the bottom and a grainy, split cream. The first comes from soaking the biscuits too long, the second from over-beaten mascarpone.
What it is made of
Top to bottom:
- Mascarpone cream ×2 · 1.5 cm
The top layer, often dusted with cocoa
- Coffee-soaked ladyfingers ×2 · 1.5 cm
Two layers of biscuits, two of cream. Ladyfingers are dry, porous biscuits that drink coffee like a sponge and act as the “cake”. The cream is mascarpone, cream, icing sugar and eggs: light and thick at once.
An honest note: the classic cream is yolks, sugar and mascarpone, with no cream. This version adds cream, which makes it lighter and more stable and less eggy. Liqueur (Marsala, amaretto) is often added to the coffee or the cream; it is not here, though you can put it in the coffee. Add alcohol to the cream itself in small portions, because it splits the emulsion.
Order of work
Coffee: brew it strong and cool it to room temperature. Hot coffee collapses the biscuits.
Cream: mascarpone and cream must be cold. Eggs: if you would rather avoid raw yolks, whisk them with sugar over a water bath until thick, about 70 °C, then cool, or use pasteurised eggs. Whip the cream separately to soft peaks. Loosen the mascarpone with a spatula until smooth and do not beat it long with a mixer: it goes grainy and buttery fast. Combine gently, from the bottom up.
Assembly:
- Dip each ladyfinger in the coffee for 1 to 2 seconds per side. It should be damp outside and still dry inside. The sign: it no longer crunches but still holds its shape.
- Lay them tightly, without gaps.
- Cream, biscuits, cream.
- Smooth the top.
Resting: 6 to 12 hours in the fridge, covered with film (not touching the cream). The cold sets the cream and the biscuits even out their moisture. A clean slice comes only from a cold cake.
Dust the cocoa on just before serving: on a damp surface it soaks in and darkens in patches.
What can go wrong
- Mushy bottom. The biscuits were soaked too long, or the coffee was hot.
- Grainy cream. Over-beaten mascarpone or mixed with warm ingredients.
- Runny cream. Under-whipped cream or warm mascarpone.
- The cake falls apart. Too little time in the cold.
The verdict
Tiramisu is decided by seconds in the coffee and a cold cream that was not over-beaten.
