Tiramisu

Makes one square pan of tiramisu, around 4 servings

Disclaimer – I am no tiramisu expert! I made this recipe because I kept messing up tiramisu recipes that required eggs! I’ll get it right one day…hopefully.

ingredients

• 8oz/226g mascarpone cheese
• 100ml heavy whipping cream
• 4g vanilla extract
• 30g powdered sugar
• 2g salt
• ladyfingers or 1/2 recipe of chiffon cake
• 2-4 espresso shots
  • 2 espresso shots if using chiffon cake
  • 4 espresso shots if using ladyfingers
• Cocoa powder for topping, around 1-2 tablespoons

steps

1. Pull two espresso shots if using chiffon cake as your sponge cake base, or 4 espresso shots if using lady fingers
2. In a large bowl, whip together mascarpone cheese, heavy whipping cream, vanilla extract, powdered sugar, and salt
3. Once the cream mixture is whipped to medium-stiff consistency, set aside
4. If using ladyfingers:
   1. Pour the 4 espresso shots into a shallow bowl and quickly soak one ladyfinger at a time on both sides
   2. Take a square deep dish and place the espresso-soaked ladyfingers until it covers the bottom of the dish. Do this quickly, or the ladyfingers will get mushy and fall apart
   3. Layer the mascarpone mixture on top of the soaked lady fingers until it fully covers the surface
   4. Repeat the previous two steps to fill the dish. There should be at least two layers of ladyfingers and two layers of mascarpone
5. If using chiffon cake:
   1. The chiffon cake should be a relatively thin piece of cake. If the cake is too thick, cut the cake up to make it thin slices resembling ladyfingers
   2. Take a square deep dish and position the pieces of chiffon cake until it covers the bottom of the dish
   3. Use a brush to apply espresso evenly across the cake surface
   4. Layer the mascarpone mixture on top of the soaked chiffon cake until it fully covers the surface
   5. Repeat the previous two steps to fill the dish. There should be at least two layers of cake and two layers of mascarpone
6. Once the dish is filled, with the mascarpone filling as the top layer
7. Set in the fridge for at least 4 hours before serving
8. Before serving, garnish the top by sprinkling cocoa powder on top

notes

• Have the tiramisu set overnight, as it’ll taste much better the next day
• Chiffon cake is much denser than ladyfingers – so if you’d like the dish more caffeinated, feel free to bump up the number of espresso shots you use. I use less espresso for chiffon cake because I prefer that cakey texture in my tiramisu
• Instant coffee or brewed pour-over coffee can be used as substitutes for this recipe, but the coffee flavor won’t be as intense as espresso