Tiramisu
By Laura Orlando
Everybody knows that Tiramisu’ means “pick-me-up” in Italian, for the high energetic content (eggs and sugar) and the caffeine of the strong espresso coffee. There are many legends around the history of tiramisu.
The first has Tuscany in the lead role, and says that tiramisu was invented in Siena during a visit by the Grand Duke Cosimo III de Medici: at that time the dessert was called “zuppa del duca” (the Duke’s soup).
This recipe eventually landed in Torino in Piemonte, where it's said that this dessert was invented for Camillo Benso, the count of Cavour, and then arrived in Emilia-Romagna via Forlì writer Pellegrino Artusi, who describes a similar recipe in his book “Kitchen science and the art of eating well”, published in 1891, although the mascarpone is replaced by butter.
However, these attempted claims were not considered credible, and the real dispute was between the regions of Veneto and Friuli Venezia Giulia, in the areas of Treviso and Udine respectively.
In 1960 a famous restaurant in Treviso called Le Beccherie, transformed a typical Venetian dessert, the Sbatudin, a mixture of egg yolks whipped with sugar, into “Tiremesù”
Friuli Venezia Giulia, on the other hand, claimed its own version of this dessert with the name “Tirimisù” at hotel-restaurant Roma in Tolmezzo (Udine) during the 1950s, and it is this latter story that has the upper hand.
The Ministry of Agriculture and Food Resources has actually assigned the paternity of tiramisu to Friuli, adding the dessert to the Friulian list of PAT – Traditional Agrifood Products.
Here is our version of this dessert. Have fun making it!
Serves: 6 people
Ingredients:
1 pound Mascarpone cheese
4 large eggs
1 box Farinolio lady fingers
½ cup granulated sugar
About 2 cups espresso
cocoa powder to cover
Directions:
1-Preparare l’espresso: Make the espresso and poor it into a bowl to let it cool.
2-Sbattere le uova con lo zucchero: In a large bowl, using an electric mixer with whisk attachment, beat egg yolks and sugar until creamy and pale, about 10 minutes.
3-Aggiungere il mascarpone: Add mascarpone cheese and mix well until blended. Set aside.
4-Montare gli albumi a neve: In a medium bowl, beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form. Fold beaten egg whites into the mascarpone mixture. Blend it together.
5-Inzuppare i savoiardi nel caffe’: Quickly dip lady fingers into espresso for only 2 seconds per side, then place them in a 13 by 9 inch baking dish. Don’t let the ladyfingers soak too long otherwise they’ll fall apart. Break them in half if necessary in order to fit the bottom.
6-Preparare gli strati: Once you made the first layer of ladyfingers, spread half of the mascarpone cream over it. Arrange another layer of soaked ladyfingers and top with remaining mascarpone mixture.
7-Cospargere di cacao: Cover with cocoa powder and refrigerate for at least 4 hours before serving.