My first experience with tiramisu happened in St. John’s. K and I went to a fancy steakhouse downtown, and when we ordered desserts, I chose tiramisu because I had no idea what it was and I was feeling adventurous, and K played it safe with a custard dish. Since I’ve started living overseas, this has become one of my routines. Whenever I look at a menu at a new restaurant, I’ll always go for the undiscovered food. More often than not, I enjoy what comes out of the kitchen. In this case, when the deserts came out, it was clear that we were going to share.

For me, tiramisu was a reminder that we shouldn’t be afraid of the unknown. I believe there is both good fear and bad fear.  Passing up on opportunities or avoiding experiences because of fear and discomfort is something to avoid.  When we spend our lives in the center of our comfort zones, our bubbles, they inevitably shrink. And we are less than we can be. That’s enough philosophy for now, back to the food…

I’ve had tiramisu a few times over the years since that day, and this past year I’ve learned to make it myself. First, during a cooking lesson RS and I took during our trip to Rome, and again using books I bought during the trip. I’ve made two versions, a traditional one, which I’ll be writing about in this post, and one that uses marmalade and chocolate custard, which I’ll be writing about later. This recipe and the other tiramisu recipe both come from Rome: Centuries in an Italian Kitchen. I got this book from the train station in Rome, and it’s since become one of my favourite cookbooks.

Tiramisu
Ingredients 4 eggs, whites and yolks separated 1/4 cup of caster sugar (I used 1/2 cup because it was more in line with other recipes) 12 ladyfinger biscuits (I used 24, seems like a lot, but I just kept going until I ran out of mascarpone mixture) 250 ml cold espresso coffee 1/4 cup Grand Marnier dark chocolate, finely grated Beat the egg yolks with sugar in a large bowl until they’re pale. Whisk in the mascarpone until the mixture is smooth without lumps. Using a hand blender, whip the egg whites until they form stiff peaks. Gently fold the egg whites into the mascarpone mixture and set aside. Mix the Grand Marnier with the espresso. Then soak the ladyfingers in the coffee one at a time for 2-3 seconds, hold it vertically over the coffee, gently squeeze out the excess liquid and place them on a plate. You’ll need at least 6 glass tumblers next.  Break the ladyfinger up so that they fit into the tumblers. Next, place a layer of biscuits along the bottom. Next, add a layer of mascarpone, followed by another layer of ladyfingers, and another layer of mascarpone, which should reach the top of the tumbler. Finish by dusting the top layer with dark chocolate.  Refrigerate for about an hour before serving.