Tiramisu

Laura and I made a Tiramisu on the fly, first discussing what we knew about tiramisu, realizing that we knew/read very different things about it. We settled for sabayon, mascarpone and beaten egg whites. I found our creation delicious!

I made ladyfingers from scratch following this amazing baker's recipe She is very precise in her recipes write-up! See the description later in the post.

I also made mascarpone from scratch following her recipe for homemade mascarpone cheese

- I started with 700ml of cream using the juice of half a large lemon.

- Then we made Sabayon with four egg yolks, 3/4 cups of sugar and a generous shot of vanilla infused rhum (homemade cheap version of vanilla extract).
Mix all ingredients in a double boiler whisking constantly until a ribbon forms ("Ribbon: Thickening a sauce enough so that when lifted and poured from a spoon or a whisk, it falls in a wide band") Let cool the sabayon to room temperature.

-beat four egg whites and a small pinch of salt until stiff peaks form

-Once cooled incorporate the mascarpone to the sabayon and fold in the stiff whites.

- soak the cookies in a espresso & rhum concoction. Laura's technique: the bottom layer is only half soaked to hold shape better while the other layers are thoroughly soaked.

- Layer the soaked ladyfingers, creamy mix, powdered cocoa (raw is best), soaked ladyfingers, creamy delish etc...

-Refrigerate overnight and enjoy while still chilled.


Here is the ladyfingers recipe from Vera at Baking Obsession:

" * 3 large eggs at room temperature, separated
* 6 tablespoons granulated sugar, divided
* 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
* ¾ cup cake flour, sifted before measuring
* About 2 tbsp confectioner’s sugar, for sifting

Center an oven rack and preheat the oven to 400F. Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone mat.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the egg yolks, 2 tbsp of sugar, and vanilla extract. Whip with the wire attachment until pale in color and thick (for about good 4 minutes). Set aside. If you don’t have the second stand mixer bowl, transfer the whipped yolks into a large bowl and thoroughly wash the first one.

In another clean grease-free bowl, using another whisk attachment (or thoroughly wash the whisk used for whipping the yolks) beat the egg whites until soft peaks form. Gradually, add the remaining granulate sugar, and continue beating until the egg whites form firm peaks, glossy and smooth.

With a rubber spatula, gently fold about 1/3rd of the whipped whites into the yolks to lighten them up. Spoon about a half of the remaining whites over the yolk mixture, then sift a half of the flour over the whites. Gently fold until the ingredients are barely combined. Spoon the rest of the whites over the yolk mixture, sift the rest of the flour over the whites, and then fold delicately until combined. It is important to fold very gently and not overdo the folding. Otherwise the batter would deflate and lose volume resulting in the ladyfingers which are flat and not spongy.

Fit a pastry bag with a plain tip about ½-inch wide and fill with the batter. Pipe the batter into 4-inch long strips leaving about 1 inch space in between.

Sprinkle half the confectioner’s sugar over the ladyfingers and wait for 5 minutes. The sugar will pearl or look wet and glisten. Now sprinkle the remaining sugar. This helps to give the ladyfingers their characteristic crispness.

Bake the ladyfingers, in batches (slide the first sheet into the oven as soon as you’ve piped), for 7 to 8 minutes, until they puff up, turn lightly golden brown and are still soft.

Cool completely on the sheets on a cooling rack, and then remove the ladyfingers from the baking sheet with a metal spatula (or pry off the parchment, if using).

Store them in an airtight container till required. They should keep for 2 to 3 weeks.

Lemon Almond Ricotta Muffins

A friend tried this recipe for Lemon Almond Ricotta Muffins. They looked delicious, so I tried it.

I changed the ingredients a bit, based on what I had at home.

2 cups whole wheat flour
1 cup (+/-) of almond meal
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup plus brown sugar
1 stick unsalted butter, softened
1 tablespoon finely grated lemon zest (from 2 lemons)
1 cup whole-milk ricotta cheese
1 large egg
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon almond extract (I'm sure I added way more than that)
1/3 cup thinly sliced almonds

I had left over heavy whipping cream, which I whopped with agave and almond extract, and poured over the muffin.

A special thank you to my neighbor who lent me a muffin tray last minute, after realizing I didn't have one!