Probably created in the 1960s, tiramisu ("pick-me-up") as become an international success story. However, even if relatively recent in origin, it was clearly inspired by older desserts with similar characteristics. Now tiramisu can be found on the menus of restaurants all over the world. It is also a very easy dessert to make at home, and lends itself to many interesting variations.
The best base for tiramisu are
, traditional French and Italian cookies that contain no
and soak up liquids very nicely. Most tiramisu recipes call for a rectangular or square dish, but it can be made in a round one, or even by layering the ingredients on a
. Before you start, make some strong
, let it
, and pour it in a
; if you want, you can add a drop of something stronger.
the cookies quickly into the liquid, then arrange them in a
layer into the dish.
To make the filling, rich
is traditionally used, though you can substitute cream cheese, or use a mixture of the two. The original recipe also employs
eggs whisked with
, which some people may want to omit, or replace with
. Some recipes include whipped cream, which does not appear in the original recipe, but makes for a nice (though calorie-rich) addition. When the filling is ready,
a thick layer of it over the cookies, then repeat the layers, ending with filling.
the covered dessert for at least three hours - or, even better,
. Before serving, dust with unsweetened
powder.
Although frowned upon by diehard purists, popular tiramisu variations involve using
or dessert
to soak the cookies, adding fresh or
fruit, or mixing
or chocolate into the filling. You can even find recipes for savoury tiramisu!
