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I Miss You Tiramisu (A Recipe for the Broken-Hearted)

By Vicki Witt

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1. Fill large bowl with ice water.

When doing this you can just add ice to a bowl of cold water. The first few times I made this recipe I didn't quite get the meaning and actually let a bowl of ice melt into water. It still works but takes a lot longer, but if it's the method you prefer, go for it!

2. Whisk eggs and 1/3 cup sugar in medium metal bowl set over saucepan of simmering water.

Make sure to use some oven mitts here!!! Recipe books never tell you stuff like that.

3. Whisk constantly until thermometer registers 160°F, about 10 minutes.

4. Set custard over bowl of ice water and whisk until cool.

Making custard is very difficult and I've found a simpler method. Now I just buy eight packs of vanilla pudding cups and empty them into a bowl. It's kind of the same and much faster. I now read the labels very carefully when I buy the pudding, because once I bought banana by mistake. Whoops!

5. Mix in brandy.

This is my favourite part. Now originally the recipe called for 5 tablespoons of brandy, but honestly, you can hardly taste it that way. Take my advice and throw in a good amount. The dessert may lose any sort of structure and mine has been described as having a consistency similar to soggy cereal, but I like to think that I'm bringing a classic recipe up to date. This is the 21st century after all, if it isn't new and edgy, who cares? Sometimes I toss in some multicolour sprinkles to give it sex appeal. Anyway, I'm pretty sure that brandy doesn't keep that well once opened, so I usually finish up the bottle while cooking. Tiramisu is simply delightful when you have a hangover.

6. Whisk mascarpone in another large bowl to loosen.

Incidentally, mascarpone is soft cheese (like cream cheese) and can be obtained at speciality Italian stores or probably cheese boutiques if you can't find it in your regular supermarket. Using the right cheese does make a difference. The first time I made this I tried using some grated parmesan cheese. I figured.come on, it's Italian, what's the difference? But ooooooohhhh.boy, do not try to use anything but that mascarpone because it just doesn't work with the parmesan.or even those processed cheddar cheese squares - which I melted first so I could whisk them in. God, that was a mess. I'm learning a lot more about cheese now. Did you know that some people eat cheeses made from the milk of goats? Gross!! Ew!! It's called Chevrolet, so if you ever see it on a menu DON'T ORDER IT! Who knows what diseases those things have.

7. Fold in custard.

If you want you can add some more brandy, just for fun!

8. Bring 1 1/2 cups water to simmer in medium saucepan.

9. Add 1 cup sugar and espresso powder; whisk until sugar dissolves.

10. Mix in chilled whipping cream.

Don't be fooled by these instructions like I was. Regarding myself as something of a perfectionist in the kitchen, I decided to whisk the cream by hand for that "rural taste". This took me about 3 hours because my arms kept getting tired so I had to take breaks every ten minutes and of course I had to watch The Young and the Restless. Then, right in the middle of one of my really fast stirring sessions, I fractured a nail on the whisk. That resulted in half an hour with a nail file. I got the cream whipped though, and added it, and I don't think the dessert came out quite right. Next time I used the stuff in the aerosol can and the Tiramisu still came out very sludgy. One day Ethan came over while I was making what was by now an old favourite and pointed out that the cream shouldn't actually be whipped. The recipe says whipping cream not whipped cream, you see? This is why I'm here for you - the amateur cook. To make sure you understand the nuances and language of cooking. Nobody ever teaches you this stuff, it's like, you're supposed to figure it out all by yourself.

11. Refrigerate until cold.

12. Submerge 3 cookies in chilled espresso-cream mixture for 5 seconds. Place cookies on bottom of 13x9x2-inch baking dish. Working in batches, repeat with enough remaining cookies to just cover bottom of dish.

You can see how hard this would be with whipped cream out of a can. Okay, now, I thought ladyfinger cookies were, like, slang for proper teatime biscuits. I used these thin lemon biscuits and it didn't seem to make a difference because the whipped cream-espresso mixture stuck right to them. Now I've learned that Ladyfinger Biscuits are these thick, sort of longish, cookie things. Just do what I do. When you go the store, show a little leg and get one of those teenage clerks to follow you around and find whatever you need. It helps a lot especially since I always forget what aisles things are in.

13. Spread half of mascarpone mixture over cookies. Repeat soaking process with remaining cookies, placing them in single layer atop mascarpone mixture. Spread remaining mascarpone mixture over cookies.

14. Refrigerate until set, about 2 hours.

15. Whisk cocoa and powdered sugar in small bowl to blend.

I threw my whisk out in a fit of rage after the broken nail incident and I just use a fork now, but it seems to work just as well.

16. Sift sweetened cocoa over top of dessert. Cover and refrigerate at least 2 hours. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Keep refrigerated.)

And that's it!!

Ethan still tells me that what I've made looks nothing like Tiramisu. I think what he means, if I can paraphrase here, is that with my touch I can create something that tastes much better than what you'll buy in a store, even if it doesn't quite look the same. The original recipe says that this making Tiramisu should take about 5 hours including refrigeration time, but it usually takes me 8 or 9 hours. That's nothing new for me though, because when you're make new steps in old ground, it requires extra hard work and you can't rush innovation. However if I'm rushed I'll mix the espresso and brandy in a blender and it still tastes pretty good, with the added bonus that it's completely fat free!

©2001 Ian Roberts

About the author:

Ian Roberts is a recent graduate from Dalhousie University and an unabashed film snob. He is currently living in Toronto and cooking as much as he can. He often contributes reviews to www.halifaxatthemovies.com

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