by Kate | Sep 3, 2018 |
This is an authentic tiramisu recipe made with layers of espresso-soaked ladyfinger biscuits, cocoa powder and a light, fluffy mascarpone cream.
This tiramisu recipe is legendary in our house – mainly because my husband is an Italian and he’s so darn good at making it. A good tiramisu needs to be light, with the perfect balance of not-too-sweet, bitter and creamy. It’s best made the day before so the flavours can really mellow which makes it the perfect dessert for entertaining. TIP: Don’t skimp on the lashings of cocoa powder in between each layer – it’s the secret to a good tiramisu!
And speaking of tiramisu, I’ve created every version possible from a towering Tiramisu Crunch Cake to stuffing choux pastry with it in these Tiramisu Eclairs or why not try this Frozen Chocolate Tiramisu?!
TIRAMISU
Serves 4
Prep time: 1 hr 30 mins (best served the next day)
Recipe and images created for Food & Home Entertaining Magazine
ESPRESSO SYRUP
45g Natura Sugars Golden Caster Sugar
375ml (1 1/2 cups) strong, freshly brewed coffee
30ml vodka or grappa (optional)
SUGAR SYRUP
110g ((125ml) light brown sugar
60 ml (1/4 cup) cold water
MASCARPONE CREAM
3 large eggs, at room temperature
4g gelatine leaves
250ml (1 cup) fresh cream
250g mascarpone, at room temperature
24 store-bought finger biscuits
The Kate Tin Cocoa Powder, for dusting
METHOD
1 For the espresso syrup, place the castor sugar and the freshly brewed coffee in a medium-sized mixing bowl and stir until the sugar has dissolved. Set aside to cool completely. When cool, add the vodka or grappa, if using, and set aside until needed.
2 For the sugar syrup, place the sugar and 60ml cold water in a medium pot/pan over medium heat and bring to a boil, without stirring, until it reaches 121°C on a sugar thermometer. Set aside until needed.
3 For the mascarpone cream, beat the eggs with an electric mixer until pale and thick. Next, gradually add the hot sugar syrup in a thin stream down the side of the bowl and into the eggs while on whisking high speed. The mixture will lose some its volume – this is normal.
4 Soak the gelatine leaves in a bowl of cold water until soft, about 1 minute. When soft, squeeze the excess water from the softened gelatine and place it in the still-warm pot used for the sugar syrup. Allow the gelatine to melt, before adding it to the egg mixture. Once added, beat the mixture until it is thick and cool to the touch, about 10 minutes.
5 In the meantime, gradually add the cream to the mascarpone, in small amounts, and whisk until soft peaks form. Take care not to overmix the mascarpone or it will split. Very gently fold the cooled egg mixture into the mascarpone.
6 To assemble, dust the bottom of 4 glass tumblers with cocoa powder. Dip the finger biscuits into the espresso syrup and arrange 3 biscuits on the bottom of each glass. Spoon half of the mascarpone mixture over each biscuit layer, then dust again with cocoa powder. Add another layer of 3 soaked finger biscuits and a dusting of cocoa powder. Place the remaining mascarpone in a piping bag fitted with a plain nozzle and pipe the final layer of mascarpone on top. Finish with a dusting of cocoa powder. Keep in the fridge until ready to serve. Eat within 2 days.
TIP Tiramisu is best made the day before serving. This allows for the flavours to develop completely.
by Kate | Apr 27, 2018 |
*This Tiramisu Crunch Cake recipe is SPONSORED content
Lancewood has just launched a hunt for South Africa’s No.1 cake and guys, I don’t need to tell you that we need to win this one. Not me, but YOU! I want to see one of you win the all-expenses-paid trip to New York worth R150 000! I know you can do it!
So, what to bake that will WOW the judges?
First, it needs to be a cake (obvs) – but it can be a sweet or savoury cake! Think cheesecakes, sponge cakes, fridge cake – as long as it’s called a cake and looks like a cake, it counts!
Secondly, make something you LOVE. If you get excited about lemon meringue, then do a twist on that. I am crazy about tiramisu. This is evident in the many ways I’ve twisted it over the years. I’ve stuffed it into éclairs, frozen it, and if I was entering, I thought I’d make it into a cake! This is my Tiramisu Crunch Cake which is a naked cake (inspired by Christina Tosi’s famous Momofuku Milk Bar cake) to prove that even if you’re not great at cake decorating, you can still make a beautiful, drop-dead-delicious cake that’s bang on-trend. It has layers of espresso soaked sponge, a lusciously velvety mascarpone frosting made with Lancewood’s decadent mascarpone. The real surprise factor lies in the crunchy cocoa rubble that is sprinkled in between the layers to add crunch. It’s seriously goooooood!
Thirdly, you need to use a Lancewood product (they have so many to choose from here) and submit a picture of your cake with the product you use in the picture – like this:
The judges (Zola Nene, J’Something and Lorna Maseko) might not be judging you on your photography skills, but I do think a good photo will help set you apart from the crowd (and help you get more public votes). So, here are some tips to take a great photo:
- Set your cake next to a window or door where there’s natural daylight coming from one direction (avoid shooting at night/under fluorescent lights)
- Put it on a pretty plate or cake stand (or a stack of plates) and shoot straight from the side so you can show off those layers!
- Sometimes a cake looks better sliced so you can see what’s inside! Tip to getting the perfect slice? Chill your cake, then place your sharpest knife in a jug filled with just-boiled water to heat up, then wipe the knife with paper towel and slice, cleaning and dipping the knife in between each cut.
- If it needs a wow factor, add a sparkler or drizzle it with melted chocolate (it always works!).
- Use Instagram’s new ‘focus’ feature to blur out the background and make your cake the hero of the shot.
- Edit the photo on your phone by increasing the contrast which makes the colours pop.
Lastly, upload your picture to the Lancewood Cake-Off website here
Good luck, bakers! And let me know what you’ll be baking in the comments below!
TIRAMISU CRUNCH CAKE
Makes 1 large 4-layer 20cm cake that serves 10-12 people
ONE-BOWL VANILLA SPONGE
160g salted butter, softened
560g caster sugar
480g cake flour
30ml (2 tbsp) baking powder
1/2 tsp fine salt
480ml full cream milk, at room temperature
1 tsp vanilla extract
4 large eggs, at room temperature
COFFEE SYRUP
120ml hot espresso
80g caster sugar
30ml grappa or your favourite liqueur (optional)
COCOA CRUMBLE
80g soft brown sugar
60g salted butter, at room temperature
160g cake flour
40g The Kate Tin Cocoa Powder, sifted
30ml whole coffee beans
MASCARPONE FROSTING
140g salted butter, room temperature
1kg icing sugar, sifted
230g Lancewood Medium-Fat Cream cheese, room temperature
230g Lancewood Mascarpone, room temperature
1 tsp vanilla extract
To make the sponge, preheat the oven to 190 degrees Celsius (170 if you’re using a fan-forced oven). Grease and line 4 x 20cm cake tins with baking paper. If like me, you don’t have 4 (who does), you’ll have to reline and bake the cakes in batches (which is perfectly okay).
Using an electric handheld or stand mixer (with the paddle attachment), place the butter, sugar, flour and baking powder in the bowl and mix on low speed until it resembles a sandy breadcrumb texture. Whisk together the milk, vanilla and eggs then, with the speed still on low, gradually pour the liquid into the dry ingredients. Beat the batter until smooth and light – about 2 minutes. Divide the cake batter in between your lined tins (if you’re OCD like me you can weight it so they’re all even – I used 400g in each of my tins). Bake in the preheated oven for 20-25 minutes or until golden, springy to the touch and a wooden skewer comes out clean. Allow the layers to cool completely before levelling them off by cutting off the tops with a bread knife. Allow to completely cool before use.
For the cocoa crumble; combine all the ingredients in a medium bowl and spread out evenly on a lined baking tray. Bake in a 180 degrees Celsius (160 if you’re using a fan-forced) oven for 15-20 minutes. Allow to cool.
To make the espresso syrup; brew the espresso and stir in the sugar until completely dissolved.
For the mascarpone frosting; Using an electric handheld or stand mixer (with the paddle attachment) mix the butter and icing sugar together until it reaches a sandy texture – about 9 minutes. Then add the cream cheese (room temperature) and vanilla extract and mix carefully until smooth. Fold in the mascarpone, don’t overmix. Place the frosting into a piping bag with a plain nozzle.
To assemble the Tiramisu Crunch Cake: make a collar that’s 65cm long and 21cm wide out of acetate (2 x A4 acetate sheets taped together) or double folded baking paper and insert it into the same springform cake tin you used to bake the cakes. Place the first layer of cake in the bottom of the cake tin. Brush generously with espresso syrup (don’t be afraid to really soak it as this is what will make it taste like tiramisu!), pipe a layer of frosting to cover the base and sprinkle with the cocoa crumble. Repeat this process until all the cake layers have been used. Make sure that each layer is pressed down properly. Finish the cake with a layer of frosting and the cocoa crumble. Place in the freezer for a minimum of 6 hours or until the frosting is firm. To unmold, remove the Tiramisu Crunch Cake from the cake tin, peel of the acetate and allow it to come back to room temperature before serving with a dark chocolate sauce.
