So easy, so tempting, quick, gluten free Tiramisu (no raw eggs)
Here's the link to my appearance December 15, 2017 on NH's ABC WMUR Cooks Corner with home made gf ladyfingers made into quick Tiramisu.
The recipe is in my ebook - Delicious Gluten Free Cooking, $20 over 70 recipes, full color. I also make English Trifle with these ladyfingers. http://royaltemptations.com/delicious-gluten-free-cookbook.html
Classic Tiramisu is normally made with hard sponge fingers known as Ladyfingers or Savoiardi biscuits in the US and as Boudoir biscuits in UK. Some variations call for making a thin whisked sponge cut into two layers to fit the serving bowl. Additionally the classic recipe calls for whisked raw eggs to enrich the mascarpone cheese layer. Obviously this is not very acceptable to most people. I had noticed in the stores, small custard cup size plastic cups of tiramisu at a disgraceful price. So I decided to take my mascarpone filling and go from there. Mascarpone is a high fat, double cream cheese that is slightly sweet, and rich in both taste and texture. It is highly perishable so it is rare to find imported. It needs to be treated carefully since it is not as stable as Philadelphia cream cheese.
I have also made lemon version with limoncello and lemon syrup, strawberries and amaretti cookies, chocolate almond with amaretto liqueur, amaretti biscuits, chocolate ganache. All added to basic lady fingers and mascarpone quantities. Think up variations you would like, fresh peaches and peach schnapps (if gf) or amaretto liqueur topped with toasted almonds.
1 x my recipe for soft ladyfingers. You will have some left over. ( http://tinyurl.com/y8c3k68e )
¾ c (6 fl oz) strong coffee. Fresh or instant (2 tsp/10ml instant coffee to ¾ cup hot water)
3 tbsp (45 ml) sugar
¼ c ( 2 fl oz, 60 ml) coffee liqueur (Kahlua) or sweet marsala
1 lb (454 g probably sold as 500 g in Europe)) of Mascarpone cheese at room temperature (normally domestic, available in ½ lb tubs in specialist cheese section (Bel Gioioso brand) of store ranging from $4-$8 per lb for the same brand, so shop around and watch for date stamp). Market Basket costs $2.99 per half pound, elsewhere $4+ per half pound.
¼ c (60 ml) powdered sugar
1 c (8 fl oz, 240 ml) liquid heavy or whipping cream (known as double cream in UK)
2 tbsp (30 ml) coffee liqueur or more to taste - called Kahlua or Tia Maria
about 2 tbsp (30 ml) cocoa powder
Using decorative bowl and one layer of fingers and mascarpone filling. Traditional square dish instructions below.
1. Choose a 6-8c attractive serving bowl that is wide and shallow (nice vegetable serving dish will do)
2. Put a layer of soft ladyfingers in bottom of bowl and arrange more ladyfingers standing up against the sides of the bowl like flower petals. Normally rounded side out.
3. Dissolve instant coffee and sugar in hot water or add sugar to made hot coffee. Add liqueur. Taste and see if you want more liqueur or sugar.
4. Spoon/drizzle coffee mix onto lady fingers until they are completely saturated and no longer white looking. Coffee might pool at bottom of bowl, so rotate bowl so fingers absorb more coffee liquid.
5. In a 4 c/1 ltr mixing bowl, whisk 1c cream, ¼ c sugar, and 2 tbsp liqueur until stiff.
6. In separate bowl, gently stir mascarpone with a spatula to soften it. Add cream mix and gently fold into mascarpone until blended. Taste and see if you want more sugar as you don’t want to be eating tasteless cream cheese. I find that at this stage I add up to ¼ cup of liquid heavy or whipping cream to soften the cream/cheese mix more without making it runny.
7. Gently spoon cheese mix into bowl and smooth top.
8. Take one piece of clean computer paper and cut into long ½” wide strips. Place the paper in parallel lines about 1” apart on top of cream cheese. I like to make lines on the diagonal across corners of dish, not in line with the edges. Press the paper slightly into cheese at edges if it won’t stay. Place more strips of paper at almost right angles on top of the first row of paper. Look and see what looks most attractive to you. You are aiming for a lattice work of paper with cheese mix showing through, including at the edges.
9. Place cocoa powder in a fine strainer/sieve(tea strainer is great) and gently tap or stir cocoa to fall onto the open portions of cheese – so you are filling in the gaps with a fine dusting not thick mounds.
10. Carefully lift the cocoa covered paper strips and discard. The bowl should now have little diamonds or squares of cocoa powder alternating with white squares or diamonds.
11. Preferably chill for a few hours to allow flavors to mellow.
12. You can finish dessert with cream piped around edges and ‘scattered’ on open sections of top. Dust with grated chocolate or chocolate curls.
This is very rich so only give small portions. Coffee and liqueur is probably too much for most children.
Traditional way using an 8 x 8 dish. Kahlua syrup topped with cake layer, more syrup so ladyfingers are saturated, cheese layer, moistened cake layer, cheese layer, top with cocoa.
For these two layers of ladyfingers, use 1 cup coffee (1 tbsp of instant coffee -ordinary Folgers) 6 tbsp sugar but same ¼ c kahlua.
