Now let’s cook
Tiramisu. Coffee has the day off: the sponge fingers are soaked in strong black tea. Over the cocoa goes talkan, a flour of roasted grain.
Ingredients
- 300 ml strong black teabrewed, with no milk or flavourings: steep it for about 5 minutes so it comes out strong
- 400 ml whipping creamat least 33% fat, for whipping (keep it in the fridge until you whip it)
- 250 g mascarponeuse it cold, straight from the fridge
- 75 ml sugarwhite granulated sugar
- 175 g savoiardifinger-shaped sponge biscuits, also called ladyfingers, which need only a quick dip in liquid
- 2 tsp cocoa powderunsweetened, sifted over the top
- 5 g talkanflour of roasted, ground grain, most often wheat or barley
Method
Brew 300 ml of strong black tea: let it steep for 5 minutes, then strain it and leave it to cool to room temperature.
Put the mascarpone in a large bowl and add the cold cream and the sugar. Beat with a mixer until the cream is smooth and thick, like firmly whipped cream. Stop in time: over-beaten cream turns grainy.
Pour the tea into a wide, shallow bowl. Dip the sponge fingers in batches, turning them for a few seconds so they take up the tea without going soggy. Lay half of them snugly in one layer in a dish about 20 × 20 cm.
Spread half the cream over the sponge fingers. Dip the rest of them in the tea, lay them on top as a second layer and cover with the remaining cream, smoothing the surface.
Cover the dish and chill it for at least 4 hours, or overnight.
Just before serving, sift first the cocoa, then the talkan over the cream through a small sieve. Cut the tiramisu into six portions.
