A Torte is typically a dense & rich cake which contains little or no flour or leavening agent and usually uses many eggs. That is why you can see Tiramisu is usually made and served directly from a tray / low height container not more than 2.5" in height and is wider.
My tiramisu is not the typical type which usually contain mascarporne cheese, espresso, liquor: possibly Kahlua, Tia Maria, Amaretto, Marsala,Dark Rum or Brandy. Since my family members do not like liquor, and my sister does not like coffee, I have decided to tweak the recipe according their taste :
- mascarporne cheese with cream cheese and whipping cream;
- reduce esppresso with concentrated 3in1 coffee or milo
- omit liquor; or can be substituted with Tiramisu compound sold in store.
- add dark chocolate & hazelnut ganache to give extra flavour
A Non-alcoholic Tiramisu using cream cheese instead of mascarpone cheese . A very light version.
1) Egg Yolk Mixture
Egg Yolk x 4
Castor Sugar x 3 tbsp
2) Millac Cream Mixture
Millac Cream x 500g
3) Cream Cheese Mixture
Cream Cheese x 250g
Vanilla Essence x 2 tsp
Thick Coffee x 2 tbsp
Liquor: 2 tbsp Kahlua/Brandy/Irish Cream/Tiramisu compund (optional)
4) Egg White Mixture
Egg White x 4
Castor Sugar x 4-7 tbsp
5) Gelatine Mixture
1 tbsp of gelatine : 3 tbsp of hot water
6) Layering Procedure
Thick Instant Coffee: Preferably Old Town brand / Super Charcoal Roast White Coffee / Espresso. 40g pack x 2 : 180ml hot water x 2. Set aside to cool.
Soak sponge fingers / sponge layer in cool coffee. Lay in baking tray.
Spread a layer of chocolate ganache (optional)
Sprinkle toasted nuts.
Dust a layer of cocoa powder.
Spread a layer of cream mixture. Tap on table to even it.
Repeat the process.Garnish with nuts or icing for decoration.
Layering the Mother's Day Tiramisu
1.Chocolate Sponge Layer
2.Spread with Chocolate Ganache
3.Soak in concentrated coffee
4.Sprinkle with crushed pistachio nut
5. Spread a layer of final cream mixture
6. Vanilla Sponge Cake
7.Spread with Hazelnut Ganache
8. Soak in concentrate Milo mixture
9. Spread a layer of final cream mixture
10. Sprinkle crushed pistachio nut
11. Leave it freezer to set.
12. Dust with cocoa powder when the cake is set.
13. Get ready to DEVOUR the fattylicious Tiramisu.
Tiramisu is my favourite dessert. I don't remember when did I eat my first tiramisu, but it certainly "pick me up" like what it's name suggest. Back then, all I know about tiramisu was it consist of cream, cheese, coffee, something like cake layer in between. Since then, I have been trying to figure out how to make a tiramisu but never really do any research on the recipe. I guess, back then, even my best friends weren't really aware that I love Tiramisu.
Several years ago, perhaps in year 2005 ... I decided to try a make the first cake in my life, an Oreo Cheese Cake. I won't consider it successful as the cake end up too rich with cheese. I bought too much cream cheese and i hv to find a recipe to use it. Bro happened to buy some Tiramisu that was ready pack in a cup and enjoyed it very much. hmm... so i thought i shall "learn" to make Tiramisu for him and for myself too since i love it very much.
I decided to do an intensive research on the recipes so I can come up with something that is close enough to a real Tiramisu. I have read through alot of Tiramisu recipes on the internet, screened and selected about 10 recipes and compared all the ingredients & the procedure of making a tiramisu.
I finally make my 1st attemp to make a tiramisu. IMHO, i think it did turn out pretty good.. I was very excited about it. Bro ate it but he commented that he does not like liquor in it. I added 2 tbsp of brandy to the recipe.
I offered to my 2 best friend to try it. Eileen declined to sample my tiramisu. She said she ate Tiramisu before and does not like the taste of it. Disappointed >.<" It's such a wonderful dessert... how can one not like it. I was eager to get some feedback about it. Next person will be Josephine but she was at work. I happened to be around her work area so i decided to drop by her offfice with a big piece of Tiramisu.
At the end of the day, Jo told me she shared the tiramisu with her colleague. They commented that the taste is good and almost as good as those sold in store. Jo even encourage me to turn my baking interest into a part time income source. Her company will be my 1st customer as her company needs to get a birthday cake for employees' birthday party every month. This is indeed a great boost to my confidence but still i quivered at the idea of supplying birthday cake every month for her company... That was only the 2nd cake that I had made & how can a novice like me supply monthly birthday cake for her company :D I convince Jo that I am certainly not up to it yet. I don't even have the most basic baking equipment. Mixer & Oven. All I've got is a broiler oven. i continued to make Tiramisu using the hand whisk to whip up the cream and egg white. It was definitely a straining excercise for my arms but its worth it when i eat the tiramisu. My tiramisu taste different each time. I guess it was due to my tendancy to tweak and test difference amount of ingredients to find out ways to fine tune it.
However, I still think my tiramisu wasnt good enough. Traditional Tiramisu is typically has more cream than sponge layer, typically contained within a serving tray/mould and is scoop out to serving in a plate. It is not like a cake so it can't stand up alone like those "Tiramisu" CAKE that we saw in the store. Those contain more cake than cream. My tiramisu also tends to melt too fast after it is out of freezer. I had to find a way to make it sustain in room temparature at least for quite a little while. I finally learnt a little trick after attending several baking workshops....>>>GELATIN.
Finally in 4th quarter of 2008, I started attending baking workshop and decided to get myself a blender. During 2008 Christmast Dinner at Josephine house, I brought along my favourite Tiramisu. I knew her mum loves moist and dense cake. Indeed i made the right choice. Jo's mum seems to like it. It's flavourful yet not too rich :D Even Jo commented that it taste better than my earlier Tiramisu. Eileen only scraped her portion of cream to me & ate only the sponge layer. She commented it taste good but the cream was too gelate for her.
Mother's Day is approaching. Eileen needed my hands-on help to teach her how to make Tiramisu. Honestly I was really surprised when i heard it. I always thought she is one who does not appreciate Tiramisu. Eileen explained that she intended to make 2. one for her mum and another for her mum-in-law. ok then i shall make one for my mum as well. My sis also wanted one. Ok so i have to review my recipes and carefully type out a "safe" recipe. I can't be too adventurous on the recipe this time. We can't afford to fail so many Tiramisu at one go. Soon "almost" all the ingredients is ready. I did not get the sponge fingers as i was too lazy to make a trip out. So i decide to bake the sponge layer instead since i want to finish up the some left over sponge mix. I am shortage of baking tin as well. i have only 2 good baking tin/ring with loose base that is meant for cheese cake.
So this day, Eileen came over my house. Actually i was a little worried i might not hv sufficient ingredient but bleh...i was too lazy to go way out to get ingredient. I might be a little short on the vanilla extract...Anyway i can always omit/ substitute any insufficient ingredients for Ky's & my Tiramisu. So we will make Eileen's tiramisu first to make sure her cake has all the ingredients. In total we had 4 tiramisu done on the same day and left it freezing overnite in my fridge.
The 1st tiramisu that we made was for Eileen's mum-in-law. Eileen chose to set the tiramisu in a 6"x6"x3.5" square spring form baking tin with sweet round sides. Eileen want this cake to be less sweet and reduced some sugar. I keep insisting that she has to add a little more else it won't taste good. Afterall, dessert are meant to be sweet. LOL. ok she added another tablespoon of sugar. The tiramisu sets beautifully in the bake tin. Our only problem occurs when removing the tiramisu from the base of the tin to a cake board. It hard not to touch the sides of the cake when transferring the cake to to cake board. >.<" as such some sides were "defaced". Feel so glad that this cake was a hit among her in-laws family.
The 2nd tiramisu that we made was for Eileen's mum on a 7" x 3" round baking ring. Removing it wasnt really that problematic. We hv to push the cake up from base through the ring and place it on the cake board. So glad that her family love this cake. It was a hit.
The 3rd tiramisu that we made was for Ky's bf's mum. I found an old 7"x7"x3.5 baking tin with a missing cake base. I think the cake base was thrown away in the bin long time ago when I first bake a failed cheese cake.anyway, it should work fine except it might cause some problem when removing the cake from the ring.
The 4th cake that we made was meant for my mum. I decided to set it in a 8"x8"x3" Square Box. I guess that is the best way to set a tiramisu since tiramisu is so soft and creamy. This cake turn out tasting more like a rich & flavourful chocolate cake more than a tiramisu. Perhaps its due to the lack of coffee & liquor. Anyway just like every said it taste like ice cream cake. My family members love it. Overall remark abt this cake is i would add more cream cheese, add coffee & liquor if i want to make it more tiramisu.
The 5th cakethat i made was meant for my 1st Aunt Lee Ying. It was 6"x2.5" round baking tin with a fixed base. My aunt is a very helpful and nice lady. She always drop by my house. She is also the one who taught me how to cook Braised Coca Cola Pork Leg. I hope to make her a cake to show my appreciation for her. I am sure she will be happy to receive a cake for Mother's Day. Unfortuanately I forgot to take a pic of the cake. >.<"
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