Traditional Tiramisu Cake

My Traditional Tiramisu (with Philadelphia Cream Cheese)

Mention Tiramisu and it will remind me of an amiable dear friend of mine who kindly brought and shared a whole tupperware of Tiramisu cake made by her chef-brother during one lunch hour. It was heaven to the taste and I couldn't forget the taste of the refreshing dessert! That day made one of my college days memorable.

Lately however, my interest piqued again when I suddenly craved for Tiramisu. Buying one is quite costly in my area. So I took the liberty to make one, and honestly, it is the easiest cake I'd ever made;no baking needed.

I did not follow according to the original recipe but instead, I made a few ammendments during the making of this cake and turned it into my own version. The signature of the Tiramisu include the Savoiardi biscuits (lady fingers) dipped in strong, black coffee, Mascarpone cheese, eggs, and cocoa.

Several sources (from Vin Vineto) claim that Tiramisu was invented at Le Beccherie restaurant by the god-daughter and apprentice of confectioner Robert Linguanotto, Francesca Valori, whose maiden name was Tiramisu. Other sources reported that the creation of the cake was originated in the city of Siena in honor of Cosimo III on the occasion of his visit to the city.

Well, either way, this still is a cake to try to put your hands on. Frankly, I went a long way in making a Mascarpone cheese substitute as I discovered that the price of the cheese was over my budget!

So, instead of using Mascarpone cheese, I used cream cheese, with a home-made whip cream and yogurt. Still, my cake turned out gorgeous to the taste.

Here are the ingredients you will need:

Savoiardi biscuits (lady fingers)

A large bowl of strong black coffee with sugar

Cocoa powder

250g Philadelphia cream cheese

1 tablespoon plain yogurt

For Self-made whip cream:

1/2 cup icing sugar/confectioner's sugar

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

3/4 cup milk powder

1/3 cup butter, melted

* you can purchase a whip cream at your local store instead of making one.

Directions:

A. For Mascarpone cheese substitute:

1. Mix cream cheese with an electric mixer or a whip until soft.

2. For self-made whip cream, combine melted butter and milk powder. Beat until a heavy

cream is formed. Add in vanilla extract and icing sugar. Mix well.

3. Pour whip cream into the cream cheese little by little and mix well. Next, add in the plain

yogurt and mix again.

B. Cake

1. Soak Savoiardi biscuits with black coffee and arrange first layer of cake on a desired dish.

2. Layer the soaked biscuites with the cream cheese mix and repeat for the next layer.

3. Finally, top the last layer with cream cheese mix (in this case, there are only 2 layers).

4. Dust cocoa powder on top of cream cheese mix.

5. Refrigerate for about 4 hours or overnight.

To make this recipe simple, all you need are Savoiardi biscuits, cream cheese + whip cream+ yogurt/sour cream for Mascarpone cheese substitute, black coffee,and cocoa powder.

There are many versions of making this cake and they vary greatly. Today, many Tiramisu cake recipes include liquor or brandy. Some with walnuts and pecans.

Recipes using Mascarpone cheese require egg whites and egg yolks, beaten till fluffy. You can find more versions of Tiramisu recipes here.

that's my half-eaten cake!

Liquor or no liquor, eggs or no eggs,the most important is the cheese is rich and perfect to taste; the Savoiardi biscuits soaked in strong espresso or coffee. Then you shall enjoy your Tiramisu (literally meaning "pick me up") and get pulled into the sinful taste of the cake!