TIRAMISU FOR TWO
I just love how that kind of rimes, don’t you? I recently went on a trip to Italy for the first time. Before traveling I made a list of foods that I wanted to try. Apart from the excitement of getting to know a new country, this was a trip we planned for 2020. With everything that happened, we kept pushing the trip until finally being able to go two years later. The list of foods that I wanted to try, became longer and longer and on that long list, was the delicious tiramisu.
Among pastas, focaccia, pizzas and other dishes, tiramisu was high on the list. This Italian dessert is so simple but so delicious. Every time I saw it on the menu, I ordered it. They were all so delicious in their own way. Now, personally, the one that I liked the most was one from a place that only sold tiramisu. The place is called “Pompi” and its entire menu is different flavored tiramisu. I ordered the classic one to truly taste the original flavor of the dessert. It was a treat! Aside from how delicious it was, what I loved was the concept of the dessert place. They had it already made, added cacao powder before serving and it came in a cardboard box. A small place with three tables on the sidewalk and fast service. I loved it! If I return to Rome, well, when I do, I will return to Pompi and try more flavors of tiramisu.
I can honestly talk about the many delicious things we had in that trip but today, we’ll talk about tiramisu.
PARTS OF THIS DESSERT
Before talking about the parts of tiramisu, let’s talk about the dessert in general. My idea was to make a small tiramisu. A perfect dessert to eat between two people. A date night dessert. It’s perfect because if you want to make it for more people you can just multiply the recipe and it comes out just as delicious. Do not worry, keep reading, I will talk about how to make this dessert larger. A dessert for two people full of flavor and too easy to put together.
This dessert has two parts. The lady fingers and the cream. We moisten the lady fingers in coffee and that will be the base and the middle layer of the dessert. Between those layers of lady fingers, we add a sweet mascarpone cream. Once everything is assembled, cacao powder is added to the top. The cacao without added sugar. And done. Pretty simple right?
TIPS FOR A PERFECT TIRAMISU
The coffee: Coffee for this dessert has to be espresso coffee. The strong flavor of the coffee in the dessert comes only from the layer of lady fingers, so the richer the coffee, the better. Now, you have to moisten the lady fingers for a few seconds, nothing more. You don’t need to leave them in the coffee for any longer than that because that way they get too soft. We don’t want them too soft for this dessert. What we want to do is dip them until it’s barely covered in coffee.
The assembly: Assembling tiramisu is quite easy. You can do it in a bowl, in a glass pyrex or in the container that you like the most. Start by putting a layer of soaked lady fingers. Cover the whole base, if you need to break some of the cookies and use some pieces, no problem. The goal is to completely cover the base. It doesn’t matter if you have to use pieces to fill in the gaps where you can’t use full cookies. Cover with cream and repeat the process once more.
Letting it rest: Ideally, let the tiramisu rest for at least 2 hours once assembled. I left it overnight and the next day I add the cacao on top, just before serving. That time in the fridge creates an absolutely amazing texture. Remember to cover it with plastic wrap before placing in the fridge and that’s it.
Want to make it for more people?: This recipe is for two people. Two servings in a small container. Multiplying the full recipe by 3 will give you 6 servings of tiramisu for example. 3 Eggs, 300 gr of Mascarpone cheese, 120 gr of sugar, etc.
EQUIPMENT
Bowls: One for the egg white, one for the mascarpone mixture and another one for coffee. I recommend using a large plate or shallow bowl for the coffee. It makes dipping the cookies easier.
Electric mixer: For the egg white. You can do it by hand but it takes more time and its harder. I used a small hand mixer since I only used one egg. If you are going to make this recipe bigger obviously use a normal mixer, its way more comfortable.
Silicone spatula: You’ll use it in the last step of the mascarpone cream. Aldo when assembling the entire dessert.
Kitchen scale: Weigh all the ingredients in the recipe.
Strainer: To add the cacao powder at the end.
Container: Bowl, ceramic dish or anything you want to use to make your tiramisu in.
Cutlery: Spoons and knives for different steps in the recipe.
Whisk: For the egg yolk and sugar.
TIRAMISU FOR TWO
Ingredients
- 1 Egg
- 40 grams of sugar
- 100 grams of mascarpone cheese
- Cacao powder (for decoration)
- 75 gr lady fingers
- 1 espresso shot + 40 ml extra water.
Instructions
- Separate the yolk form the egg white.
- Whip up the egg white until peaks form.
- In another bowl, add yolk with sugar. Whisk until it completely dissolves and the mixture turns pale. You can do it by hand.
- Add mascarpone cheese and mix well.
- Once that mixture is ready, add egg whites. Mix in with a silicone spatula slowly.
- Dip the lady fingers in coffee until completely covered. Place them in the bottom of the dish until the base is completely covered. Add a layer of the cream and repeat. One more layer of lady fingers and a final layer of cream on top.
- Cover and place in the fridge for at least 2 hours. Add cacao powder on top right before serving.
