CLASSIC TIRAMISU’ CAKE RECIPE
Coffee and Cheese Trifle
TIRAMISU CAKE RECIPE
Tiramisu’ is one of the latest additions to “traditional” Italian cooking. Unknown until about fifteen years ago, when it is believed to have been invented in the town of Treviso in northern Italy, in merely a decade it has become a world-renowned dessert, extremely popular from the United States to Japan.
It is considered a semifreddo (a dessert served cold, but not frozen). This dessert has many variations, with the only constant ingredient the mascarpone cheese.
Tiramisu’ can be prepared in advance and kept in the freezer. Remember to remove it from the freezer enough time in advance to serve it cold at refrigerated temperature, but not frozen. Sprinkle it with more cocoa powder before serving.
Tiramisu’ is made in Italy using raw eggs. Today the danger of salmonella is always present, and we prefer to cook the yolks bain-marie and to substitute whipped cream for the egg whites.
for the coffee dip
- 1 -1/2 cups (360 cc) espresso coffee
- 2 teaspoons sugar
for the zabaglione filling
- 4 egg yolks
- 1/2 cup (100 gr) sugar
- 1/2 cup (120 cc) Marsala wine (if not available substitute with other sweet wine like port or Madeira)
- 1 lb (450 gr) mascarpone cheese, at room temperature
- 1 cup (230 cc) heavy whipping cream
for the base
- 10 oz (285 gr) savoiardi (ladyfinger cookies) (approximately 40)
- 2 tablespoons bitter cocoa powder
THE HISTORY OF TIRAMISU’ CAKE
Where and how this famous dessert was invented
The first clue is by the famous Italian gastronome Giuseppe Maffioli. In his book “Il ghiottone Veneto”, (The Venetian Glutton) first published in 1968, he talks extensively about Zabaglione custard. The name of this cream originates from Zabaja, a sweet dessert popular in the Illiria region. It is the coastal area across the Adriatic Sea that was Venetian territory for long time during the golden age of the “Repubblica Serenissima” (The Most Serene Republic) of Venice. Zabaglione was prepared in those times with sweet Cyprus wine.
“The groom’s bachelor friends”, says Maffioli, “at the end of the long wedding banquet, maliciously teasing, gave to him before the couple retired a big bottle of zabajon, to guarantee a successful and prolonged honeymoon”. “The zabajon”, Maffioli continues, “was sometimes added of whipped cream, but in this case was served very cold, almost frozen, and accompanied by the baicoli, small thin Venetian cookies invented in the 1700’s by a baker in the Santa Margherita suburb of Venice”. The addition of whipped cream, the serving temperature, the cookies, all these elements are close to the modern Tiramisu’ recipe. And even the allusion to the energetic properties of the Zabaglione, seem to refer to the Tiramisu’ name.
Later in my research the oldest recipe I could find was in the book by Giovanni Capnist “I Dolci del Veneto” (The Desserts of Veneto). The first edition was published in 1983 and has a classic recipe for Tiramisu’. “Recent recipe with infinite variations from the town of Treviso”, says Capnist, “discovery of restaurants more then family tradition”.
But the final word on the origin of Tiramisu’ is from the book by Fernando e Tina Raris “La Marca Gastronomica” published in 1998, a book entirely dedicated to the cuisine from the town of Treviso. The authors remember what Giuseppe Maffioli wrote in an article in 1981: “Tiramisu’ was born recently, just 10 years ago in the town of Treviso. It was proposed for the first time in the restaurant Le Beccherie. The dessert and its name became immediately extremely popular, and this cake and the name where copied by many restaurants first in Treviso then all around Italy”.
Still today the restaurant “Le Beccherie” makes the dessert with the classical recipe: ladyfingers soaked in bitter strong espresso coffee.