The last post made me remember the first time I made tiramisu. I wanted to make sure I could make it right before actually making it for the grad party. I brought all the ingredients and tools I needed to the kitchen. We were still in Cityfood Studio in South Minneapolis at that time. I set everything up, had the mascarpone cheese and ice bath ready for when the time came. The rule of thumb is to make the recipe as is before you change/half it. So I started cracking my 34 eggs for my 34 egg yolks. (I now use pasteurized egg yolks pre-separated). I put the yolks, sugar and Marsala in and mixed with my HAND MIXER over a water bath. I was terrified that the eggs would scramble if I didn't stir them well enough. It was quite a sight with the hand mixer, plugged into the extension cord and trying to keep the eggs mixture from scrambling and keeping the cord from burning by getting too close to the flame. Once the egg mixture was at 180 degrees F, I removed it from the heat and added the mascarpone. Once that was incorporated into the egg custard, I put it on the ice bath to bring it to room temp. once at room temp, I covered it and put it in the refrigerator to chill overnight.
I went back the next day to mix the custard with the whipped cream and then assembled the tiramisu. Coffee mixture- check, lady fingers- check, cocoa powder for the tip-check, custard- check. the one piece of advice from my brother, other than don't scramble the eggs, was to don't leave the ladyfingers in the coffee mixture too long or the tiramisu will be watery. me: "So, if 1 Mississippi, 2 Mississippi?". Brother: "No, in out, not even a full 1 Mississippi". got that done. Now to cover and leave for a week, yes, a week, so the ladyfingers can soak up the coffee mixture.
Here comes the tricky part. I absolutely despise the taste of coffee. I needed to find people to taste it. As luck had it, my brother was in town for a wedding that weekend. I "snuck" the pan of tiramisu into the restaurant where we had a family dinner so he could taste it and let me know if I did it correctly. I watched him take a bite and held my breath until he was finished. two thumbs up!!! I was never more relieved in my life. I did it right! whew! Game on!!! I emailed the parent that we were good to go with the tiramisu.
I no longer use the hand mixer, as I am confident in my whisking skills to not scramble the egg. I am good with the in and out of the coffee mixture and make sure I have plenty of time to make it so it has a week to sit. I've also upped the coffee flavor by using Kahlua and Jameson's cold brew. When cutting the pan, I also add a chocolate covered coffee bean to the top of each piece to finish it off.
If you don't want to order a big pan, small pans (6 x 8 pans) of tiramisu are offered at our Holiday event at Brand Farm in Farmington, MN each December. You can freeze it!
UPDATE: We are plating differently. will post pics when we have them.