Most people swear on chocolate to be their pick-me-up of good mood.. My (un)lucky self never found that much pleasure in plain chocolate, therefore I was destined to find different, more creative ways to make a cranky day into a good one.. or at least fool myself for enough time into it so it would pass as quickly as possible.. Of course, there`s those who are cranky every day and, no matter what they get, they can never find enough pleasure in it. But for those people, not even my "Tira mi sù" would ever help.
So this recipe is in fact for all you girls (and boys) in PMS, and with absolutely no patience to spend an hour fixing up and baking a chocolate cake just so you could eat its heart out in about 15min time. Coz when we are talking about bad mood- nobody feels like waiting..
So before we get to the recipe.. let me admit what is the secret reason for me making this right now.. (apart from the pick-me-up part)
All those who have read (and tried) the last posted recipe, must have about 400g mascarpone sitting at the fridge, waiting for the next opportunity to arise for using it. As this ingredient goes bad very quickly, this is one of the best ways to use it up .. I think..
Tiramisù
4 eggs
4 tbs sugar
400g mascarpone cheese
lady fingers
a cup of coffee (or nescafe) with a bit of rum (or other yummie liquer)
YES! It`s that simple! Who would ever guess? And another hint- I assume you noticed the number 4 repeating itself in the recipe. That would also mean this recipe is so simple to adjust to your needs. Say you have just 300g mascarpone... you just put 3 eggs, 3tbs sugar.. and you are ready to go..
The how and what section starts now. To make it easier on you, i am posting instructions along with photos!
So, lets start by separating the eggs. In the first (red) bowl put the yolks, and in the second (blue) bowl put the egg whites.
Add sugar into the yolks and start mixing.. for about 5-7 minutes (till the hand aches.. except if you are the owners of a KitchenAid, you lucky people ).
When the yolks and sugar turn into a tick "pasta" texture, add in mascarpone and mix on the slowest speed, just till the mixture is even.
Wash and dry well the mixer wires and than get to mixing the egg whites till they form firm, stiff peaks and the mixture holds well together.
So than, you should have two bowls like these in front of you.
Add the egg whites in the egg & mascarpone mixture, fold it in slowly and gently (never by a mixer!). The final mixture should be a beautifully, lightly fluffy yellow cloud of perfection (and that's just the way it tastes).
Apart from this mixture, you will also need coffee+rum mix in which we will drown the ladyfingers. Make coffee as strong as you wish, but don't fear its taste, even if you don't usually drink it (just like me). The stronger coffee+rum taste is there for reason, and works just perfectly with the sweet fluffy cloud we will eat it with. Without this combination, this dessert would be plain and too sweet. I am sure you dont want that!
And so finally, we are ready to create our cake. I know you are all so used to the classical form of Ladyfingers but look out for new forms that may make this creation easier. I found these round shaped ladyfingers in Lidl, identical by taste, but so much simpler for me.
So, the process of arranging works like this- you drown the ladyfingers into the coffee+rum mixture, just for about 5sec. You put the cookie on the bottom of the cup you are using. Than you spread a spoonfull of egg+mascarpone cream over it. And we continue with the cookie and cream process all the way till the top of the cup. We end with the layer of cream which we straighten with a sharp knife.
The final touch of the cake is sifted (unsweetened) cocoa powder on the top. Its easiest to spread it with a little sifter which will break all the possible lumps that would have otherwise ended up on top of our cake.
And thats all folks.. After this, a cake should sit in the fridge for about an hour.. That is, if it survives.. But hey, who will ever know.. It will do its purpose with or without the fridge, right?
Another tiny deail.. This is the original italian recipe for the tiramisù in which you do not put whipping cream or other similar ingredients to make it stiff and possible to cut. This cake is not meant to be cut or served in a form of a rock solid block, but only for eating out of a cup it has been prepared in.
For all you in a need of a (legal and) quick pick-me-up, i wish you a lot of good will, happiness and optimism. And may there be as less as possible of those who cannot be picked up not even with this dessert.
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