…satisfactory but missing a key ingredient
The first time I met the ever so wonderful Emily, it was as my new roommate when we both worked in Northern Lebanon years back, and it has been a blossoming friendship ever since. From weeknight rituals of exercise and New Girl episodes, to weekend outings to the beach and Beirut bars, we shared more than just four walls and a bathroom. Even going for years without seeing each other, we easily pick up from where we left off – lots of giggles, lots of chats.
Emily has kindly written not only one, but two stories to Feasting Hearts, both with very different dispositions. The story below has all the elements of that special dish from a favourite loved one – the anticipation when you see the ingredients out in preparation, or when you come home and it is sitting on the kitchen counter ready for tomorrows lunch. And while you can do your best to replicate it on your own, as Emily reminds us, there is often a special touch that cannot be found in even the most descriptive of recipes.
This is a story of a coffee laced dessert, familiar crockery, and matriarchal mastery.
A smiling Emily preparing the tiramisu
The best tiramisu for me has always been my mums. Mum is 100% English and dad is from the north of France. I have zero connection to Italy, only the lovely Italian friends.
My mum has been making tiramisu for as long as I remember. Whenever I came back from university for holidays, or from working aboard in the Middle East and Africa, she’ll have one prepared. Always using the same cake dish too – white, round, heavy with a raised side and a rice like symmetrical patterns around the rim.
Mise en place, the start of something delectable
The few times I've ordered a tiramisu in an Italian restaurant, it has always been disappointing. It's either too sweet, too much coffee, not enough creaminess. It's just never that good. As I moved back to Europe, no longer living the expatriate life, I now have access to all the ingredients, including the key one: mascarpone!
The first time I prepared it myself, it was for a recipe book that was going to be shared as a wedding gift for a friend. My mum doesn’t actually have the recipe written, she just knows it by heart so she dictated and I wrote it down. I was surprised by the simplicity of the recipe. However, the result.....well, it was satisfactory but missing a key ingredient. And that is my mums pleased look and my family’s anticipation that comes with it when she announces she made one. Or the excitement when you find it hiding cooling at the back of the fridge waiting to eat it later.
There are no secret ingredients to this recipe. It is probably not be the official Italian way of preparing, but it’s my favourite. And as with any kind of recipe, it tastes best when someone has lovingly prepared it for you.
Too good to wait for a photo!
Not so Italian, Italian Tiramisu
Ingredients
1 bowl of coffee (morning coffee will do)
1 box of Lady Finger biscuits
200g of mascarpone
600g of "fromage blanc" (not cottage cheese – don’t follow the online translation) like Greek yoghurt but not so heavy
2 eggs - separate white from yellows
100g of caster sugar
Some vanilla
Bitter cocoa powder
Method
Mix the fromage blanc with mascarpone, it doesn't matter if there are a few lumps.
Add egg yolks, sugar and vanilla to the cream mix.
Beat egg whites until fluffy, slowly incorporated to the mixture.
Quickly dip the biscuits into the coffee one at a time (best if you pour some coffee into a shallow bowl or plate) and lay at the bottom of the cake dish.
Cover the biscuits with half the cream mix.
Repeat steps 4 and 5, one layer of biscuits one layer of cream.
Put in the fridge for the night (or 3hrs minimum, but 24hrs is best)
Dust generously with cocoa powder, just before serving, to avoid getting it too wet.