Saturday, February 27, 2010

Raspberry Amaretto Tiramisu Daring Bakers February 2010 Challenge

Collage for Tiramisu The February 2010 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Aparna of My Diverse Kitchen and Deeba of Passionate About Baking. They chose Tiramisu as the challenge for the month. Their challenge recipe is based on recipes from The Washington Post, Cordon Bleu at Home and Baking Obsession.

From the moment I read the recipe, I thought of my mom and her love of Tiramisu. I don’t LOVE coffee, and when I do drink it I have to have 90% flavored creamer and 10% coffee. My husband and parents tease me all the time! I knew that I needed to modify this recipe to make it something that I had a strong desire to make, not something that was just a challenge to make. So, I decided that with my love of raspberry and amaretto, I was going to do a fruity liquor tiramisu instead of the standard coffee recipe. I made my tiramisu in a Trifle dish and froze it for when we have company! With the extra cream mixture I spooned it on plates and topped it with lady fingers and raspberry/amaretto sauce…don’t worry mom, the kids had “Virgin” Tiramisu! The husband, kids and neighbor gave it the thumbs up. I don’t know that I would ever go through all the time and effort to recreate this recipe again, but it was fun and I learned a lot. I never thought that I could make cheese at home…it saved me like 10 bucks too!

RECIPE SOURCE:
Mascarpone Cheese – Vera’s Recipe (Baking Obsession) for Homemade Mascarpone Cheese.
Savoiardi/ Ladyfinger Biscuits – Recipe from Cordon Bleu At Home
Tiramisu – Carminantonio's Tiramisu from The Washington Post, July 11 2007 )

DSC00292 edit 
TIRAMISU:
2 cups brewed espresso, warmed
1 teaspoon rum extract (optional)
1/2 cup sugar
I OMITTED THE FIRST THREE INGREDIENTS AND USED RASPBERRY SAUCE THINNED WITH AMARETTO TO SOAK THE LADY FINGERS IN, INSTEAD OF THE ESPRESSO, RUM EXTRACT AND SUGAR!
1/3 cup mascarpone cheese
36 savoiardi/ ladyfinger biscuits (you may use less)
2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder (Optional, again I didn’t use this with my Raspberry version, but you still could)

Method:
For the zabaglione:DSC00121
Heat water in a double boiler. If you don’t have a double boiler, place a pot with about an inch of water in it on the stove. Place a heat-proof bowl in the pot making sure the bottom does not touch the water.
In a large mixing bowl (or stainless steel mixing bowl), mix together the egg yolks, sugar, the Marsala (Amaretto), vanilla extract and lemon zest. Whisk together until the yolks are fully blended and the mixture looks smooth.
Transfer the mixture to the top of a double boiler or place your bowl over the pan/ pot with simmering water. Cook the egg mixture over low heat, stirring constantly, for about 8 minutes or until it resembles thick custard. It may bubble a bit as it reaches that consistency.
Let cool to room temperature and transfer the zabaglione to a bowl. Cover and refrigerate at least 4 hours or overnight, until thoroughly chilled.

For the Pastry Cream: DSC00123Mix together the sugar, flour, lemon zest and vanilla extract in a medium heavy-bottomed saucepan. To this add the egg yolk and half the milk. Whisk until smooth.
Now place the saucepan over low heat and cook, stirring constantly to prevent the mixture from curdling.
Add the remaining milk a little at a time, still stirring constantly. After about 12 minutes the mixture will be thick, free of lumps and beginning to bubble. (If you have a few lumps, don’t worry. You can push the cream through a fine-mesh strainer.)
Transfer the pastry cream to a bowl and cool to room temperature. Cover with plastic film and refrigerate at least 4 hours or overnight, until thoroughly chilled.

For the whipped cream:DSC00130
Combine the cream, sugar and vanilla extract in a mixing bowl. Beat with an electric hand mixer or immersion blender until the mixture holds stiff peaks. Set aside.

MASCARPONE CHEESE DSC00225
(Source: Vera’s Recipe for Homemade Mascarpone Cheese)
This recipe makes 12oz mascarpone cheese
Ingredients:
2 cups heavy whipping cream (36 % Fat)
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
Method:Bring 1 inch of water to a boil in a wide skillet. Reduce the heat to medium-low so the water is barely simmering. Pour the cream into a medium heat-resistant bowl,DSC00125
I used a Stainless Steel bowl in order for the heat to conduct better!
then place the bowl into the skillet. Heat the cream, stirring often, to 190 F. If you do not have a thermometer, wait until small bubbles keep trying to push up to the surface.
It will take about 15 minutes of delicate heating. Add the lemon juice and continue heating the mixture, stirring gently, until the cream curdles. Do not expect the same action as you see during ricotta cheese making. All that the whipping cream will do is become thicker, like a well-done crème anglaise. It will cover a back of your wooden spoon thickly. You will see just a few clear whey streaks when you stir.
Remove the bowl from the water and let cool for about 20 minutes. Meanwhile, line a sieve with four layers of dampened cheesecloth and set it over a bowl. Transfer the mixture into the lined sieve. Do not squeeze the cheese in the cheesecloth or press on its surface (be patient, it will firm up after refrigeration time). Once cooled completely, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate (in the sieve) overnight or up to 24 hours.
DSC00126
Vera’s notes: The first time I made mascarpone I had all doubts if it’d been cooked enough, because of its custard-like texture. Have no fear, it will firm up beautifully in the fridge, and will yet remain lusciously creamy.
Keep refrigerated and use within 3 to 4 days.

LADYFINGERS/ SAVOIARDI BISCUITS DSC00148 (Source: Recipe from Cordon Bleu At Home)
This recipe makes approximately 24 big ladyfingers or 45 small ladyfingers.
Ingredients:
3 eggs, separated
6 tablespoons granulated sugar
3/4 cup cake flour, sifted (or 3/4 cup all purpose flour + 2 tbsp corn starch)
6 tablespoons confectioner's sugar

Method: Preheat your oven to 350 F (175 C) degrees, then lightly brush 2 baking sheets with oil or softened butter and line with parchment paper.
Beat the egg whites using a hand held electric mixer until stiff peaks form. Gradually add granulate sugar and continue beating until the egg whites become stiff again, glossy and smooth.
In a small bowl, beat the egg yolks lightly with a fork and fold them into the meringue, using a wooden spoon. Sift the flour over this mixture and fold gently until just mixed. It is important to fold very gently and not overdo the folding. Otherwise the batter would deflate and lose volume resulting in ladyfingers which are flat and not spongy.
Fit a pastry bag with a plain tip (or just snip the end off; you could also use a Ziploc bag) and fill with the batter. Pipe the batter into 5" long and 3/4" wide strips leaving about 1" space in between the strips.
Sprinkle half the confectioner's sugar over the ladyfingers and wait for 5 minutes. The sugar will pearl or look wet and glisten. Now sprinkle the remaining sugar. This helps to give the ladyfingers their characteristic crispness.
Hold the parchment paper in place with your thumb and lift one side of the baking sheet and gently tap it on the work surface to remove excess sprinkled sugar.DSC00136
Bake the ladyfingers for 10 minutes, then rotate the sheets and bake for another 5 minutes or so until the puff up, turn lightly golden brown and are still soft.
Allow them to cool slightly on the sheets for about 5 minutes and then remove the ladyfingers from the baking sheet with a metal spatula while still hot, and cool on a rack.
Store them in an airtight container till required. They should keep for 2 to 3 weeks.DSC00146
To assemble the tiramisu:
Have ready a rectangular serving dish (about 8" by 8" should do) or one of your choice—I used a Trifle dish!

Mix together the warm espresso, rum extract and sugar (OR Raspberry/Amaretto Sauce)in a shallow dish, whisking to mix well. Set aside to cool.
In a large bowl, beat the mascarpone cheese with a spoon to break down the lumps and make it smooth. This will make it easier to fold. Add the prepared and chilled zabaglione and pastry cream, blending until just combined. I used my kitchen aid with whisk to completely smooth the mixtures! Gently fold in the whipped cream. Set this cream mixture aside.

Now to start assembling the tiramisu.
Workings quickly, dip 12 of the ladyfingers in the sweetened espresso (Amaretto/Raspberry Sauce), about 1 second per side. They should be moist but not soggy. Immediately transfer each ladyfinger to the platter, placing them side by side in a single row. You may break a lady finger into two, if necessary, to ensure the base of your dish is completely covered.
Spoon one-third of the cream mixture on top of the ladyfingers, then use a rubber spatula or spreading knife to cover the top evenly, all the way to the edges.
Repeat to create 2 more layers, using 12 ladyfingers and the cream mixture for each layer. Clean any spilled cream mixture; cover carefully with plastic wrap and refrigerate the tiramisu overnight.
To serve, carefully remove the plastic wrap and sprinkle the tiramisu with cocoa powder using a fine-mesh strainer or decorate as you please. Cut into individual portions and serve. DSC00239DSC00235 DSC00236 DSC00242 DSC00246 DSC00261DSC00258

15 comments:

Deeba PAB said...

Thank you for doing the challenge so beautifully and for your detailed pictures...Bravo!! I like the idea of raspberry and amaretto too. WOW! It was a pleasure to host this challenge!

Anonymous said...

Nice step-by-step pictures. And your tiramisu looks great, too!

shelley c. said...

LOL - I drink my coffee the same way (I usually call it coffee-flavored sugar-milk, rather than coffee...), and definitely get comments from my husband and in-laws, too! :) Beautiful job on the challenge - the brightness of the raspberry is stunning!

Mary said...

It looks fantastic! Glad you liked the raspberry and Amaretto flavour! I especially like your photo of the mascarpone 'tower'.

Anonymous said...

Lovely tiramisu. Very nicely done.

Jen @ My Kitchen Addiction said...

Yum! Your Tiramisu looks so tasty - love the raspberry amaretto twist, too.

Aparna Balasubramanian said...

INterseing flavour there and a nice Tiramisu as well.
Thanks for baking with us.

Kel said...

Well done on your tiramisu - it looks wonderful! I've decided I need to try the raspberry amaretto combination! :)

Angelica said...

Hi lori, the recipe got the limoncello recipe from http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/giada-de-laurentiis/limoncello-recipe/index.html but the only thing i did differently was that i kept it seeping for 2months.

Love your raspberry tiramisu btw! And they look lovely served in a trifle bowl. And yes, this mascarpone recipe is a money-saver. Will definately try it again in the future!

Beth said...

I loved making the mascarpone from scratch for the cost savings, too. Glad you were able to modify to suit your tastes!

innBrooklyn said...

I'm really enjoying seeing all the variations of tiramisu -- your raspberry amaretto sounds delicious.

Eyes Bigger Than Belly said...

Oh my gosh - your Tiramisu is absolutely gorgeous!! I love that you used Raspberries - it would have been just divine and gone so well with the Marscapone!! YUM!! :)

Unknown said...

Ohhh, your tiramisu sound wonderful. Great flavours! Nice blog, too. Thanks for popping over to my blog because now I found yours!

Lisa said...

I LOVE LOVE LOVE the amaretto-raspberry flavor and the way you presented it so elegantly! I don't have any trouble with how I like my coffee because well..I don't drink it..lol However..when I drink tea (when sick)..it's like your coffee..sugar-milk tea lol

Unknown said...
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