Tiramisu - Daring Bakers

This was the first tiramisu I have ever prepared in my life! In fact, I wanted to make tiramisu since years, but I never had the opportunity to do so. Strange, huh? The plan has always been, that I bake the ladyfingers myself and so on. Now with this month's challenge the time has finally come to make it! Tiramisu is one of my all time favourite desserts. I prepared this challenge twice, and not only because there was enough homemade mascarpone left. This recipe is fantastic¨! One bite makes you speechless and you want more and more! Heaven on a plate - as the hosts of this month wrote, when they announced the challenge.

Tiramisu
(Recipe source: Carminantonio's Tiramisu from The Washington Post, July 11 2007 )
This recipe makes 6 servings
Ingredients:
For the zabaglione:
2 large egg yolks
3 tablespoons sugar
60ml Marsala wine (or port or coffee)
1/4 teaspoonl vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
For the vanilla pastry cream:
55gms sugar
1 tablespoon all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 large egg yolk
175ml whole milk
For the whipped cream:
235 ml chilled heavy cream
55 g sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
To assemble the tiramisu:
470 ml brewed espresso, warmed
1 teaspoon rum extract (optional)
110gms sugar
75 g mascarpone cheese
36 savoiardi biscuits
30 g unsweetened cocoa powder
Method:
For the zabaglione:
Heat water in a double boiler. If you don’t have a double boiler, place a pot with about an inch of water in it on the stove. Place a heat-proof bowl in the pot making sure the bottom does not touch the water.
In a large mixing bowl, mix together the egg yolks, sugar, the Marsala, vanilla extract and lemon zest. Whisk together until the yolks are fully blended and the mixture looks smooth.
Transfer the mixture to the top of a double boiler or place your bowl over the pan/ pot with simmering water. Cook the egg mixture over low heat, stirring constantly, for about 8 minutes or until it resembles thick custard. Let cool to room temperature and transfer the zabaglione to a bowl. Cover and refrigerate at least 4 hours or overnight, until thoroughly chilled.


For the pastry cream:
Mix together the sugar, flour, lemon zest and vanilla extract in a medium heavy-bottomed saucepan. To this add the egg yolk and half the milk. Whisk until smooth.
Now place the saucepan over low heat and cook, stirring constantly to prevent the mixture from curdling.
Add the remaining milk a little at a time, still stirring constantly. After about 12 minutes the mixture will be thick, free of lumps and beginning to bubble. Transfer the pastry cream to a bowl and cool to room temperature. Cover with plastic film and refrigerate at least 4 hours or overnight, until thoroughly chilled.
For the whipped cream:
Combine the cream, sugar and vanilla extract in a mixing bowl. Beat with an electric hand mixer or immersion blender until the mixture holds stiff peaks. Set aside.
To assemble the tiramisu:
Have ready a rectangular serving dish (about 8" by 8" should do) or one of your choice.
Mix together the warm espresso, rum extract and sugar in a shallow dish, whisking to mix well. Set aside to cool.
In a large bowl, beat the mascarpone cheese with a spoon to break down the lumps and make it smooth. This will make it easier to fold. Add the prepared and chilled zabaglione and pastry cream, blending until just combined. Gently fold in the whipped cream. Set this cream mixture aside.
Now to start assembling the tiramisu.
Workings quickly, dip 12 of the ladyfingers in the sweetened espresso, about 1 second per side. They should be moist but not soggy. Immediately transfer each ladyfinger to the platter, placing them side by side in a single row.Spoon one-third of the cream mixture on top of the ladyfingers, then use a rubber spatula or spreading knife to cover the top evenly, all the way to the edges. Repeat to create 2 more layers, using 12 ladyfingers and the cream mixture for each layer. Clean any spilled cream mixture; cover carefully with plastic wrap and refrigerate the tiramisu overnight. To serve, carefully remove the plastic wrap and sprinkle the tiramisu with cocoa powder using a fine-mesh strainer or decorate as you please. Cut into individual portions and serve.

Savoiardi biscuits
(Source: Recipe from Cordon Bleu At Home)
This recipe makes approximately 24 big ladyfingers or 45 small (2 1/2" to 3" long) ladyfingers.
Ingredients:
3 eggs, separated
75 g granulated sugar
95 g cake flour, sifted (or 95 g all purpose flour + 2 tbsp corn starch)
6 tablespoons /50gms confectioner's sugar,
Method:
Preheat your oven to 350 F (175 °C) degrees, then lightly brush 2 baking sheets with oil or softened butter and line with parchment paper.Beat the egg whites using a hand held electric mixer until stiff peaks form. Gradually add granulate sugar and continue beating until the egg whites become stiff again, glossy and smooth. In a small bowl, beat the egg yolks lightly with a fork and fold them into the meringue, using a wooden spoon. Sift the flour over this mixture and fold gently until just mixed. Fit a pastry bag with a plain tip and fill with the batter. Pipe the batter into 5" long and 3/4" wide strips leaving about 1" space in between the strips.
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. Hold the parchment paper in place with your thumb and lift one side of the baking sheet and gently tap it on the work surface to remove excess sprinkled sugar. Bake the ladyfingers for 10 minutes, then rotate the sheets and bake for another 5 minutes or so until the puff up, turn lightly golden brown and are still soft. Allow them to cool slightly on the sheets for about 5 minutes and then remove the ladyfingers from the baking sheet with a metal spatula while still hot, and cool on a rack. Store them in an airtight container till required. They should keep for 2 to 3 weeks.


The February 2010 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Aparna of My Diverse Kitchen and Deeba of Passionate About Baking. They chose Tiramisu as the challenge for the month. Their challenge recipe is based on recipes from The Washington Post, Cordon Bleu at Home and Baking Obsession.

Kohlrabi Soup

For almost ten years I haven't had a purple kohlrabi in my kitchen, at least not here in Switzerland. To me kohlrabi is purple, I grew up on them, as they were always part of the Sunday's bouillon during my childhood. In fact the green ones were totally strange to me, though you can buy those all the time. So I was more than happy when I discovered the purple ones some days ago in a shop in Germany. I wouldn't recommend to eat a purple kohlrabi raw, but cooked they are lovely.


I decided to perpare a simple soup. If you ask yourself what's that on the top of the soup, well it is not a scallop, but a slice of kohlrabi with a bit of cheese on top.


Ingredients:
350 g kohlrabi
500 ml vegetable or chicken stock
1 onion
1 garlic clove
1 bay leaf
1 tablespoon olive oil
salt, cayenne pepper

Peel and cut kohlrabi in thin slices. Chop onion and garlic. Heat olive oil, add onion, garlic and kohlrabi, sautee for about 10 minutes. Pour stock into the pot, add bay leaf and cook for 10-15 minutes. Puree (without the bay leaf), season and if you want it smooth sieve then serve.

Potato, apple and liver

Actually, this dish is inspired by two liver meals I've posted earlier: the Swiss classical and an old improvisation of mine. From the first one I took the rösti and the sauce basis. From the other one the blue potatoes, sage and the fruit part, that turned out in the form of caramelised apples. But let's start at the begining.


First I fried the liver in olive oil among fresh sage, then I put it to the preheated oven (70°C) and left it there. I cooked the potatoes already the day before, so I left the rösti to fry over medium heat, while I started to make the shallots. Just peel and slice the shallot and fry it in the same pan, where you fried the liver before. Add some cognac and brown veal stock, reduce and season.



Melt sugar in a saucepan, add with the lemon sprinkled apple slices and coat it well with the caramel. Pour some lemon juice and water or some cidre over it, reduce and season with a touch of sumac. As soon as the rösti is ready, season liver with salt and pepper and serve it among the sauce and the apples. That's it!

Creamed Radicchio

Everything started with a bunch of leftover chives. I knew, that I am not going to use it in anything in the coming days, so I decided to prepare chive oil, according to the recipe by Michel Roux. Simply heat 100 ml olive oil to about 80°C, add the chopped chives and cover the saucepan. After just turn off the heat and let it stand until it is completly cool, then blend for some seconds, sieve and fill into a bottle. This is going to keep for several days in a cool and dark place. I thought, why not serve a fried fish with the oil, just like Roux recommends. I had two fillets of seabream in the freezer and those seemed to be perfect for this dish. I took some sunchokes, and cooked them half through in salty water. Before serving I fried them in olive oil. To support the nutty taste of the sunchoke I decided to serve some roasted hazelnut among it. In order to bring another texture to the dish, I prepared some creamed radicchio as well. The result was a light and delicious lunch, that brought bright colours into (hopefully) the last days of winter!


Ingredients:
2 radicchio ( e.g. Rosso di Chioggia)
1 tablespoon cane sugar
1 teaspoon salt
150 ml double cream

Half radicchio and cut it in thin slices. Heat a saucepan and melt cane sugar, add radicchio and sauté for 3-4 minutes. Add double cream and cook it until it is reduced by half, season and serve.

Gyros

Gyros was originally introduced to Greece from Thessaloniki. There are several stories regarding its origin and many variations exist all over the world. I remember when I first read the word gyros, I was about 10 years old, and I was totally confused about it. There is the Hungarian word gyors, that means fast. And I thought it must be a typo, though the rest of the text has never made sense. This word was a mistery to me until I tried my first gyros and all of a sudden it was all clear. Besides it was love at first sight, ehm I mean bite. Unfortunatly, it is so difficult to find a good quality gyros or kebab nearby, so usually I prepare it myself. After the gorgeous Daring Cook's pita recipe I just had to make it again. Usually, I marinate the meat like the Dutch girl does (especially if I use pork), with the change, that I use fresh onion, garlic and herbs instead the powder and dried ones. This time I halved the meat and marinated it two ways in order to test it. As I love to serve it with lamb, now I tried a more simple marinade for it. Only garlic, olive oil, fresh oregano and thyme. I must say it was great that way, because the herbs supported the flavour of the lamb very well. Instead of a traditional tzatziki, I served it with a light yoghurt sauce, just because it is not cucumber season yet. But at least I found beautiful, juicy and amazingly sweet Raf tomatoes, that are in season until May. The salad? Well, that is a small "faux pas", but seasonal chicory and co. would have been too bitter.


Ingredients:
150 ml yoghurt
150 ml kefir
2 tablespoons mixed herbs (mint, chervil, parsley)
1/4 teaspoon dried dill
cayenne or chili (optional)
salt, pepper


Chop fresh herbs and mix it with the rest of the ingredients. Season and serve.

Chestnut Flour Pasta

Looking back on the passed 2 years as a food blogger, I realize that I went through a couple of big changes as far as cooking is concerned. If I browse through my old posts, I discover dishes, that now I would prepare completly different, or some I probably wouldn't even think of to cook. As this post is about pasta, let's see how my habits of cooking pasta changed. First of all, now I always prepare fresh pasta, unless I use spaghetti or conghilie, - that is my absolute favourite pasta shape. If I look at those posted Bolognese, I always smile and say, yeah nice try girl. Since long I am aware that actually there is no such thing like Spaghetti Bolognese in Italy, only ragu Bolognese and that there are as many ragus as regions. For example in Bologna there is no milk or cream in it, but if you travel about 30 kms to Modena you find it. In no way there is garlic in it and so on and on. I guess I have read and watched enough about this delicious dish, that I could talk about it for hours. Just like Carbonara! Everytime I see recipes for Carbonara with cream it shakes me. No problem, if one cooks it that way, but then do not call it Carbonara. Well, I am kind of going for tradtion in cooking and before I cook something I do a lot of research. I just love to read about food. Another change is that, I hated cooked tomatoes in the past, so no pasta with sugo di pomodoro for me. Not so long ago, I found out that sugo can indeed be delicious! Now I love it and can't get enough. After all, I missed this dish for years! The same applies to garlic. Meanwhile I use loads of garlic, and I even have more than one type in my pantry ( for example the pink garlic of Lautrec, the Italian Alio Rosso di Nubia and the smoked garlic from France) and some fresh garlic growing on my window ledge.


What became more and more important to me during these years is to cook with seasonal products and buy them directly from farmers or small manufactures, at least as far as it is possible. I rather buy less, but good quality. So enough "blabla", let's go back to the chestnut flour pasta that I served among a porcini coulis à la Roux.



Ingredients:
100 g chestnut flour
100 g whole grain flour
2 eggs
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 tablespoon olive oil

Whisk whole grain flour, chestnut flour and salt together. Make a hole in the middle, add the eggs and the olive oil and with a help of a fork mix it together. When the dough is getting viscous knead it with your hands until it is smooth. Let it stand for 1 to 2 hours in room temperature. Roll out with the help of a pasta machine and cut in any shape you desire.

Cinnamon Doughnuts

No carnival holiday may pass by without baking doughnuts. Actually, I am not a carnival fan at all, but doughnuts are a must, besides that is the only time in the year when I make them. This time I decided to try another recipe, and picked the one by Pierre Hermé's father. In the book it is called Berliner, though a classic Berliner looks just like those Hungarian carnival doughnuts I made last year. These here are round balls filled with chocolate ganache and rolled in cinnamon sugar. They were just perfect for such a cinnamon fanatic like me.


Ingredients:
5 g fresh yeast
180 ml water
275 g flour

Crumble yeast into a bowl, add lukewarm milk and wait until it is dissolved. Stir in the flour, mix well and let is stand for 1 1/2 - 2 hours.


250 g flour
10 g salt
65 g sugar
5 egg yolks
60 g fresh yeast
60 ml milk
65 g butter

Add the ingredeints to the poolish and knead until the dough separetes from the sides of the bowl. Cover and let is stand until it has doubled its size. Cut the dough in 25 pieces and form balls and let it stand until they have doubled their size. Heat oil to 160°C and bake the doughnuts for 10-12 minutes. Fill it with chocolate ganache or marmalade and roll in cinnamon sugar.