Tiramisu

If pizza is the most travelled of Italian dishes, then tiramisu is the country's most famous dessert. Yet its origin is relatively recent. Whilst the cassata (almost as famous) and other special Sicilian icecreams originated in the 1800s, tiramisu was first made last century in the north of Italy in Treviso for a tired traveller in need of a 'pick me up' which is what the name means - 'lead me on' and 'pull me up'.

And in Italy that's just how the Italians themselves treat the tiramisu but usually mid morning rather than as a dessert.

Often their day starts at home with just a caffe latte (a very milky coffee) in which they might have with a biscuit or brioche dunked in the coffee. Then after a couple of hours in the office, they will dash out to a nearby bar. In Italy there are bars, small and large, everywhere conveniently close to hand.

After two hours working with just coffee in their stomach, they need a pick me up to get them through till pasta time at 1pm. For some it might be the time for a toast (often with prosciutto and cheese) but for others, particularly in the north, this is the time for tiramisu.

According to our expert: "Tiramisu is NOT an after dinner sweet. In Italy, nobody serves tiramisu for after dinner, only in the tourist restaurants. Tiramisu is to eat at 11am for Italians. Because Italians don't have much breakfast - just black coffee and go to the office. So mid morning they'll have tiramisu and frangelico. It builds up their strength - 'pulls them up' and keeps them going till 1pm for pasta at home.

"In bars in the north you'll see small dishes of tiramisu dusted with chocolate. So they stand at the bar, eat it with a spoon, a coffee and a liqueur."

Then back to work!

Serves 6

Ingredients

12 Savoiardi* biscuits ( 2 per person)
up to 6 very strong espresso cups of coffee (short not long)
30-60 ml brandy
4 egg yolks
2 egg whites, lemon and a pinch of salt
40 grams sugar
15 ml pure cream
250 grams mascarpone cheese
Droste cocoa powder

Method

Beat yolks and sugar in the mixer for at least 15 minutes till the mix is fluffy and the sugar completely amalgamated.NOTE: some people use caster sugar, it is quicker but the result is better with normal sugar.

Add pure cream and mascarpone and then the brandy

Take a stainless bowl and wipe with a little lemon juice. Dry the bowl and then beat the egg whites with a pinch of salt till firm ( the egg whites are very delicate and to get them firm, as they need to be for tiramisu, it is important to have an absolutely clean, dry bowl.)

Fold the stiff egg whites into the cheese, cream, yolk, sugar mixture.

Mix coffee and brandy together.

Take the biscuits and dip them into the mixture of coffee and brandy. Just hold them down and immerse them completely in the liquid, then lift, shake off excess and lay flat in dish. Do not put too close together so that there is room to cut in between each portion.

With spoon put cheese mix on top of each one.

Layer another dipped biscuit on top pressing down the mixture so that it spreads

Cover all the top with the remainder of mixture making sure to coat all the biscuits.

Put in fridge uncovered, let it get really cold, before serving, sprinkle cocoa powder over.

NOTE: don't soak the biscuits long in the coffee, brandy mixture. They should not soften, just absorb what liquid they can. However some biscuits will absorb more coffee but start with one cup per person. Make more if necessary

NOTE: some people use Strega or Marsala but their flavours are not good with the coffee and mascarpone. The brandy flavour works better.

* note on the Savoiardi brand package there is a recipe for tiramisu which is the same as Silvana's. No one else in Australia that she knows of is doing it her way, that is, not cooking the zabaglione. Everyone here does it with cooked zabaglione - and that way, it is not tiramisu anymore.