With cream or mascarpone cheese, without eggs, with fruit, or Nutella: tiramisu is one of the most popular Italian desserts in the world, and it has many variants.
In this article we’ll show you the tiramisu recipe with Pontevecchio’s coffee, that enhances the taste of the coffee and makes your taste buds rejoice!
The tiramisu is a very simple dessert to prepare, so a lot of variants were born over the years. This is the reason why it is difficult to know the origin of this dessert and its creator.
The original tiramisu recipe requires few ingredients; coffee, eggs, sugar, mascarpone cheese and savoiardi biscuits.
However, despite the simplicity, it doesn’t take much for the cream to be liquid or the biscuits to be too soaked.
The tiramisu preparation is an art that requires patience and manual skills.
The first step is the coffee extraction. However, you should not be satisfied of a simply dark drink and prepared with little attention. Coffee is the key element to give personality and taste to the tiramisu. Therefore, you must choose your high-quality coffee blend and use a coffee machine that allows you to extract a tasty drink with untouched organoleptic characteristics.
The mascarpone cheese is a sore point even for the most experienced cooks. Sometimes it is too much liquid, making tiramisu lose any identity.
The choice of biscuits is a point of discussion throughout the peninsula: pavesini or savoiardi biscuits?
It is also important to manage properly the soaking of biscuits. They should not be too crunchy but not too wet, so you need to get the hang during its preparation.
Finally, you must start thinking about its decoration, and you must choose what kind of chocolate you want to put on the top: bitter or sweet cocoa, chocolate flakes or powder?
Let’s solve all doubts with our coffee tiramisu recipe.
Who invented tiramisu
It is one of the most loved spoon desserts by gourmands and known worldwide. In addition to the original version, it has been made in many ways, so, it is possible to find tiramisu among the flavours of ice-cream, in miniature pastry shops, prepared with strawberries, pineapple or orange juice. So, there’s a tiramisu recipe for everyone.
There is no certain information about whom the inventor of this recipe was nor where it originated.
It seems to have been experienced for the very first time by Sienese pastry chefs, in honour of the Gran Duke of Tuscany, Cosimo de’ Medici.
The ingredients were chosen to reflect the characteristics of the duke: simple and important. But the particularity that made Cosimo De’ Medici appreciate it was, actually, its gluttony. It was well known that the duke loved desserts, and, in this case, it was completely amazed.
The recipe of the “zuppa del duca” (Duke’s soup), this was its first name, arrived first in Florence and conquered the whole peninsula in a very short time.
The name has been modified by the nobles, who called it tiramisu due to its exiting and aphrodisiac properties.
A second version, instead, tells that this dessert was born in Turin. The legend says that a well-known pastry chef prepared the tiramisu to encourage Camillo Benso Count of Cavour.
But the tiramisu stories do not end here. Some say that the tiramisu is of Venetian origin and given to bawdy houses customers. It seems that in Treviso, there was a restaurant next to the house, called “el Toulà” (the Barn) in which the dessert was created.
So, there is no certain information of the fatherhood of the most famous Italian spoon dessert and, it probably doesn’t matter. The important thing is to keep the recipe.
Where was tiramisu born
According to what have been said before, we have no certain information to certify the place of origin of tiramisu.
It may have been invented in Tuscany, in Piedmont, in Friuli-Venezia Giulia or in Veneto. The thing is that it has become one the symbols of italianness, like the most important of its main ingredients: espresso coffee.
Why is it that sometimes the tiramisu cream is liquid
One of the problems that affects novices when they try to make a tiramisu is the preparation of the mascarpone cream. It happens, in fact, that due to some oversights it might become too liquid and that it disassembles easily.
You should pay attention to every single step in order not to start from the beginning, wasting ingredients and obtaining a too limp dessert.
Reasons of a liquid cream:
- wrong ingredient dosage, this happens when you don’t use a scale;
- little attention while preparing the cream;
- choice of not fresh ingredients;
- too cold eggs;
- too low temperature of the mascarpone.
To avoid a too liquid cream, therefore, we suggest you smash the egg yolks and the sugar for a long time, so that the mixture is perfectly mixed and voluminous (the secret is to stop when the sugar grains disappear).
The use of the electric mixer is essential because the cream incorporates the right amount of air and swells.
Eggs must be at room temperature to let sugar dissolve easily. And the mascarpone must not be too cold and must be taken out of the fridge 30 minutes before.
We explain how to thicken the mascarpone cream
For a mascarpone cream with a perfect consistency, some suggest following the “rule of 5” to dose ingredients: 5 eggs, 5 tablespoons of sugar, 500 grams of mascarpone.
Actually, to prepare a tiramisu cream thick at the right point you must follow each step very carefully, so that eggs don’t fall apart, and the mascarpone cheese does not make lumps.
The cream is fundamental to have a soft but compact dessert, that suits perfectly with soaked biscuits and coffee.
Let’s see how to thicken the mascarpone cream in a few steps:
- Use only fresh eggs;
- Take them out of the fridge to let them reach room temperature;
- Separate the egg whites from the yolks, making sure there are no residues;
- Use an electric mixer to whip the egg whites and yolks;
- First whip the egg yolks with half sugar;
- When the mixture becomes of a light colour and increases in volume, add the mascarpone cheese, so that it incorporates slowly;
- Stir until the mixture becomes compact and smooth;
- Set the cream aside and whip the egg whites with the rest of the sugar.
Remember that is very important to wash the whips very well before starting to beat the egg whites in order to have a dense cream. Furthermore, sugar should not be added all at once.
To know when the cream is ready, just try to overturn the bowl and the cream should not move.
Pavesini or Savoiardi biscuits… what the original tiramisu recipe says?
This is one of the most critical points while discussing the tiramisu recipe. Classic indications prefer the tiramisu with savoiardi biscuits because they are more versatile biscuits and make the dessert more compact.
Savoiardi biscuits, furthermore, can be soaked very well, and they don’t tend to flake off like pavesini biscuits.
However, they are not suitable for single portions and for some they may be too heavy to digest.
The tiramisu with pavesini biscuits can be considered as the light version. They are light and easily soaked biscuits, so they can be prepared quickly, and they fully absorb the coffee. They suit perfectly with single portions because it is not necessary to cut them.
For our recipe, instead, we prefer savoiardi biscuits, due to its consistency that reminds of grandma’s desserts. They keep their structure for a long time without altering the consistency of the dessert, and the next day they make it even more satisfying.
The taste of the eggs and sugar balance the bitterness of the coffee, giving an appetizing and balanced result.
Pontevecchio’s tiramisu recipe
Pontevecchio’s tiramisu recipe starts with the most classic ingredients, which are: mascarpone cheese, coffee made with a Pontevecchio lever coffee machine, sugar, eggs, and cocoa.
As they are just few ingredients, our advice is to buy high-quality products.
Each of those ingredients are of vital importance so that the taste of the dessert is perfect.
The eggs must be fresh and of controlled origin. Buy a mascarpone cheese away from the expiration date and make sure it has been well stored.
And, also for the savoiardi biscuits, focus on products you know, and which remain intact and fragrant.
But, first of all, make a coffee artfully with our lever coffee machines. Choose a rich blend, coming from certified crops and stored away from external agents.
With a Pontevecchio professional coffee machine for home you can have a high-quality espresso, in a short time and without waiting for the water to heat up every time.
With the traditional methods, actually, preparing coffee for desserts is always a pain and the result is never the same. The lever coffee machine, instead, is an appliance able to preserve the hints of coffee and enhances the taste in every single cup. So that the taste of the coffee will not be hidden by all the other ingredients, and it will match perfectly with everything else.
Pay attention to the process and follow each step, so you won’t risk having a liquid cream and a dessert with an unbalanced taste.
Ingredients
- 4 medium-size fresh eggs, at room temperature;
- 100 grams of granulated sugar;
- 500 grams of fresh mascarpone cheese to be taken out from the fridge in advance;
- 300 grams of savoiardi biscuits;
- Iced coffee without sugar;
- Bitter cocoa or chocolate flakes.
Procedure
Let’s talk about its preparation. Remember that it is not difficult to make a tiramisu, but you must follow the steps properly, respecting the doses and paying attention to each step.
- Take out the eggs from the fridge.
- Take the mascarpone out of the fridge at least half an hour before.
- Prepare the coffee and let it cool.
- Take two large bowls and separate the egg whites from the yolks.
- Start adding sugar to the egg yolks and whisk everything with an electric mixer.
- Once the mixture is almost white and very voluminous, add the mascarpone a little at a time.
- In the bowl with the egg whites, start beating and add the remaining sugar slowly. Beat the egg whites until stiff and make sure they are compact.
- Put together the mascarpone cream and the yolks with the whipped egg white and mix. Be careful not to disassemble the eggs.
- Take a baking dish or a platter and cover the bottom with the cream.
- Soak the savoiardi biscuits into the coffee in both sides and put them on the bottom of the platter covering the cream.
- Make a compact layer with the cookies and then roll out another layer of cream until they are covered.
- Put the savoiardi biscuits next to each other, completely covering the cream.
- Cover them again with a layer of cream.
- Finally, cover the dessert and let it rest in the fridge for at least three hours.
Before serving, take a strainer or sieve and sprinkle the tiramisu surface with cocoa powder. If you wish, you can add some chocolate flakes (bitter, milky, or white) or garnish with coffee beans.
Can it also be made without eggs?
From the very first recipe, many variations were developed both to offer greedy and fresh alternatives and to remedy any allergies or dietary needs.
This kind of tiramisu is a very appreciated variant, both because it’s easy to prepare and avoids using eggs.
Its process is quite similar to the classic tiramisu, but cream is used instead of eggs.
Therefore, you should get the ingredients we listed earlier, except for the eggs (savoiardi biscuits, cold coffee, sugar, bitter cocoa powder)
As for the amount of cream, consider that you can replace the eggs with a 500-milliliter pack of cream.
In this case, you only have to whip the cream, so, pour it in a large bowl and whip it together with the sugar (you can also use powdered sugar).
Add the mascarpone to the whipped cream, until you get a compact mixture.
Then you can proceed in the same way as the classic tiramisu, alternating a liver of cream with one of soaked biscuits.
The use of cream is widespread and very popular among those who love the sweetest and most intense tastes.
The Pontevecchio’s tiramisu with coffee recipe, instead, remains faithful to tradition. So, no cream and go ahead with eggs.
We have already seen that the secret of the goodness of tiramisu is in the choice of ingredients. These are high-quality products and assembled with extreme care.
The coffee is essential for every spoonful of dessert to be a real pleasure extract. To prepare a good espresso coffee you need a top-quality coffee machine, so as to save time and fill up on flavour.
If you want to make a tiramisu with Pontevecchio’s recipe, discover our lever coffee machine models. You will realize that is enough to change an element to make a dessert very special.
