Soft sponge fingers soaked in coffee, topped with a sweet mascarpone cream with a hint of marsala, chocolate shavings and cocoa powder.
Tiramisu is one of those desserts that I had never tried before, which is probably because I am not a fan of coffee, so to think of eating a coffee dessert wasn’t ever my go-to. But since meeting my boyfriend and the fact that it is his favourite dessert, I have now been around tiramisu ever since.
The first time I ever tried it was last year, when we were in Rome. You can’t go to Rome without having the most Italian dessert going, can you? Well… I can, but my boyfriend certainly couldn’t! So, one meal when he had it, I thought I would give it a try. Now, I didn’t like it, which is how I thought it would go, but he said it was one of the best tiramisu’s he had ever had, so when he asked me to make him one for his birthday this year, I admit I was slightly scared. Not only is it a dessert I don’t like myself, but I had never made it before nor do I really know what it should taste like. So, when doing my taste tests of the cream, I didn’t know what it was supposed to be like.
Luckily it is actually very simple to make, in fact, one of the simplest desserts to make. I did get some assistance from his brother to help me make a pot of coffee (as I have never had/made it before myself and didn’t want to fall at the first hurdle!) I created the creamy mixture using double cream, mascarpone, marsala and golden caster sugar.
The hardest part (if there is one) of making a tiramisu, it is trying not to soak the sponge fingers too much in the coffee. I had to do a few tests to get the right dipping time. Some that I tested lifted out very soggy and broke in my fingers. I didn’t know what the fingers should be like in the tiramisu, but I was sure they weren’t meant to be that soggy. No dessert ever wants anything really soggy, right? So, once lightly dipping the fingers into the coffee and layering them across the bottom of the dish, I put a layer of the cream on top.
I then sprinkled some dark chocolate shavings over the cream and then repeated the sponge fingers and cream layers again.
You then have to leave it covered in the fridge for at least a couple of hours to set the cream and also to let the sponge fingers soak in the coffee properly throughout. Before serving, the last thing to add is a dusting of cocoa powder and more chocolate shavings.
For a first attempt at making tiramisu I felt quite proud with how it turned out. I did try some and yet again I did not like it, but I wouldn’t judge how good it is off of my taste because I think it’s safe to say tiramisu is not for me and never will be. But the dish was cleaned out quickly and everyone else had really positive reviews of it, so I must have done something right with it!
Difficulty rating: 2/10
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