The February 2010 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Aparna of My Diverse Kitchen and Deeba of Passionate About Baking.
They chose Tiramisu as the challenge for the month. Their challenge
recipe is based on recipes from The Washington Post, Cordon Bleu at
Home and Baking Obsession.
Well these Daring Bakers do indeed keep me in line. 4 months ago I arrived home from our vacation in Italy. I wanted to share my travel experiences with you. Told you I would in fact. Time crept along, there was a wedding and a cake, visitors, and before you knew it, it was Christmas and then it was 2010. I hadn't kept my promise and for that I felt guilty and also a little sad that time had gotten away from me. After 3 months, could I still share it with you? Would you still care? It felt like old news.
Then a few weeks ago I found out the February Daring Bakers challenge was to be Tiramisu- that molto Italian dolce. And with that I was reminded that sharing that Italian experience was something I could do months later. This challenge brought me back to Italy and to one of the most memorable days of our time there. On a warm, sunny day in Venice we had a 3 hour lunch on a canal side patio at the Ristorante Riviera. The setting certainly helped make this afternoon special, but the good food, specifically the dessert, stood out. Tiramisu is a Venetian specialty, said to have been invented close by. Being a traveler who seeks out regional specialties, I knew that Tiramisu would have to be one many things I would have to sample here and it did not disappoint.
Tiramisu is not a dessert that impresses me. I can't remember the last time I ordered it at a restaurant and its not something I bother to make myself. Usually versions of this dessert are too sweet and over done. This Tiramisu at Ristorante Riviera changed my mind about this famed bit of Italian cuisine. It was restrained, simple and perfectly balanced- a proper Italian dish. Since that perfect Venetian day I've been thinking about Tiramisu- that Tiramisu I should say.
Tiramisu is a simple dessert, usually. It consists of long crispy cookies called Saviordi, or ladyfingers, which are dipped in an espresso syrup and layered with a sweetened mixture of mascarpone, an Italian cream cheese, and whipped cream. The entire top is topped with a generous grating of dark chocolate or cocoa and refigerated. Packaged Savoiardi cookies are cheap and readily available in Italian markets and usually what are used.
For this challenge we were to make the lady fingers AND the cheese. Since I've caught the cheese making bug and have been making ricotta cheese almost weekly, as well as trying my hand at cream cheese and mozzarella, mascarpone was a cinch to make. As easy as warming milk really. The homemade ladyfingers were full of flavour and freshness and managed to keep their texture and shape in the finished dessert better than store bought. This version includes a Zabaglione, which is a sweet wine and egg yolk custard similar to the French, sabayon, that added lovely depth of flavour with the Marsala wine. Added to the mixture was as a basic pastry cream. This recipe is definitely more involved than most versions of Tiramisu, but I think they were worth it because I'm finding my spoon dipping into the dish more than I expected.
I mentioned recently, I cook to recreate a place in time. This challenge brought me back to a day, a place, a moment of pure relaxation. I'm thankful for another successful challenge and a chance to relive such a happy day and meal. As you can see, Italy is back on my mind. Ciao!
Recipe Notes:
- Full recipes used for this Tiramisu can be found at our hosts sites found at the top of this post.
- Overall I was pleased with this recipe. There are a few changes I would make in the future, however:
- Given the beautiful Mascarpone cheese I made, I would increase it to 2/3 cup.
- I would decrease the whipped cream to about 1 1/4 cups.
- To top it, I would choose grated bittersweet chocolate over the cocoa.
- Inspired by my Venetian Tiramisu, I would prefer a thinner version made with 1 or 2 layers of ladyfingers, as opposed to 3.
