This week’s bake is a Tiramisu Cheesecake from Anna Olson of Oh Yum!. It is made with a ladyfinger crust, followed by chocolate ganache, more ladyfingers and a cream cheese mascarpone filling. It’s topped with whipped cream and a dusting of cocoa !
Tiramisu is a coffee-flavoured Italian dessert. It is made of ladyfingers (savoiardi) dipped in coffee, layered with a whipped mixture of eggs, sugar, and mascarpone cheese, flavoured with cocoa. The recipe has been adapted into many varieties of cakes and other desserts.
The word Tiramisù literally means “pick me up”. It comes from the Treviso dialect, “Tireme su”, Italianised into Tiramisù in the latter half of the 20th century. Historical records state that Tiramisù originated in Treviso in 1800. It is said that this dessert was invented by a clever “maitresse” of a house of pleasure in the centre of Treviso.
The “Siora” who ran the premises developed this aphrodisiac dessert to offer to customers at the end of the evening in order to reinvigorate them and solve the problems they may have had with their conjugal duties on their return to their wives.
This would seem to be the origin of the Tiremesù, a natural Viagra from the 19th century, served to customers in a brothel.
Here is the recipe:
Anna's Tiramisu Cheesecake for a Classic Wedding
Oh Yum with Anna Olson
Ingredients
Crust
1 ¼ cups (310 mL) ladyfinger biscuit crumbs (about 16 ladyfingers)
¼ cup (60 g) unsalted butter, melted
Ganache
¼ cup (60 mL) whipping cream
2 Tbsp (30 g) unsalted butter
3 oz (90 g) dark baking/couverture chocolate, chopped
6 to 8 ladyfinger biscuits
Cheesecake
3 pkg (250 g each) cream cheese, at room temperature
1 cup (200 g) granulated sugar
1 cup (250 g) mascarpone cheese
¼ cup (30 g) cornstarch
¼ cup (60 mL) espresso coffee, cooled
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 large eggs
Topping
1 ¼ cups (310 mL) whipping cream
1 ½ Tbsp granulated sugar
1 Tbsp instant skim milk powder
1 tsp vanilla extract
Cocoa powder, for dusting
Directions
1. Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C). Grease the bottom and sides of a 9-inch (23 cm) springform pan and line the bottom with parchment paper.
2. Stir the ladyfinger crumbs and melted butter together to combine and then press this into the bottom of the prepared pan (using the back of a tablespoon makes this easy). Bake for 10 minutes and then cool on a rack while preparing the ganache.
3. Bring the cream and butter up to a full simmer in a small saucepan and pour this over the chocolate in a small bowl. Let this sit for a minute and then slowly stir the ganache until it is smooth. Pour this onto the baked crust and spread it to cover. Arrange the ladyfingers on top of the ganache, quite closely together - you can break some in half to make them fit, but there is no need to fill every bit of space.
4. Using electric beaters or a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the cream cheese on medium-high speed until fluffy, scraping down the sides of the bowl once or twice. While beating, slowly pour in the sugar, stopping twice to scrape down the bowl. Add the mascarpone and, from this point on, mix the cheesecake on medium-low speed. Beat in the cornstarch followed by the espresso and vanilla. Beat in the eggs one at a time until combined.
5. Pour this into the pan and bake (still at 350°F/180°C) for about 45 minutes, until the outside edges of the cheesecake are set and start to rise a little, but the centre of the cheesecake will still have a jiggle to it. Cool the cheesecake on a rack for an hour and then run a palette knife around the inside edge of the cheesecake (this prevents any cracks from forming later). Cool the cheesecake to room temperature and then chill for at least 6 hours in its pan.
6. For the topping, whip the cream using electric beaters or in a stand mixer fitted with the whip attachment, until they hold a soft peak. Stir in the sugar, skim milk powder and vanilla.
7. Run a palette knife again around the inside edge of the springform pan and remove. Lift the cheesecake up carefully and peel away the parchment paper, setting the cheesecake onto your serving platter or cake stand. Spread or pipe the whipped cream to cover the entire surface of the cheesecake and dust it generously with cocoa powder. Chill uncovered until ready to serve.
Here are some pictures from the bake:
Comments
Post a Comment