Who drank the Tiramisù?
First, a bit of history. I found at least 16 different versions yet, the most viable seems to be corroborated by the place where it was, allegedly, invented: ristorante alle Beccherie.
Story has it that it was created in the 1970’s in the city of Treviso, kilometers up from Venice with the name, in the local language, of “tirame su'”, meaning “pull me up”, due to its extraordinary property to revive us when feeling a bit weak ( a naughtier popular version has it that its name is due to its ability to work as a natural and delicious version of Viagra…). It was born by the hands of Loly Linguanotto as a variation of the zabaione, a classic dessert of Italian cuisine made with egg yolks, sugar and marsala wine. Its place of birth was the defunct-and-reborn ristorante alle Beccherie.
Back to us now! This is a slight variation on the original tiramisu’, although I will also tell you the original ingredients. I find this variation very easy to use to make my tiramisu’ in a cup, which I believe you can playfully surprise your friends with, as I am pretty sure they will believe you are serving them an espresso.
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Per person and to make small cups (as per picture), you need approx:
2 to 3 whole wheat biscuits per person, with a diameter of some 2.5 cm (1 Inch) each. In the original recipe you use lady fingers.
Preferably home-made Mascarpone as you get a totally different texture from industrial ones; it needs to be nice and creamy and smooth (see simple recipe by clicking here); about 100-120 grams per person (3 to 4 ounces). If you do decide to use industrially-made Mascarpone you might need to increase its creaminess by adding some full-fat milk or some cream.
This is not part of the original recipe, yet utterly delicious: a squirt of sweet wine like malvasia del salento, sweet Malaga, Kahlúa, sweet Madeira, sauternes, etc…Ideally, I would recommend marsala or malvasia as they are Italian and give the most original flavor. All the others are just as good yet, they will give a slightly different result
1 egg yolk [ careful; this is per 2 people. If you are making tiramisu’ only for yourself still use one yolk, don’t try to do half…:-) ]
sugar or vanilla sugar (recipe for vanilla sugar coming soon). I prefer brown sugar. You use whichever you prefer; approx two to three tablespoons
An espresso (I mean the drink, not the beans). If you have no contraption whatsoever to make espresso’s, try to percolate or French press as strong a coffee as you can. You really need the contrast in flavors to be intense, otherwise your Tiramisu’ will be too flat and boring…:-). Pour your coffee in a bowl and let it cool down for a few minutes, as your hands will need to go in there.
Cacao powder and a sieve and a few leaves of mint (optional)
With a whisk, or a fork, mix together the egg yolks, sugar and mascarpone, till you obtain a homogeneous, creamy mass. Start with the yolks and the sugar till it is a creamy, thick molasses-like mass, then go in with the cheese.
Add a squirt of the dessert wine to the coffee
Dunk your biscuits (or lady fingers) in the coffee mix, briefly (you don’t want them to get soggy) on both sides, then place them at the bottom of the cup, breaking them according to the size of your cups
Add the creamy mascarpone mix on top, about 1 or 1 1/2 cm high (approx half inch). Place another layer of biscuits and more cream, and so on till you nicely reach the top.
Take the sieve and gently shake some cacao powder on top (and on the plate, I find it nice decoration) of your cups. Finish for color contrast with mint leaves and/or berries. Et voila…who wants to drink a tiramisu’?
