link-Sharing The Flavor- Tiramisu
Photo by Marianna OLE on Unsplash
Coffee Lovers Rejoice
In this episode we explore the history and technique of my favorite dessert, Tiramisu. Being a fan of all things coffee this is a simple and elegant dish that elevates coffee using Mascarpone cheese.
This history is linked to the Savoiardi (lady fingers) cookies as well as the egg yolk custard ingredients but the Tiramisu as we know it today was created in the 1960's in Treviso. The city of Treviso is in the region of Italy called Veneto near Venice. The restaurant claiming fame for the dessert is called Le Beccherie. Check out the restaurant online.
After chastising me for cooking Chicken Parmesan (which is not Italian by any means), we talk about the history and simple technique of creating Tiramisu. For funny reactions of Italians to American Italian cuisine, check out this YouTube video.
We also talk about making great espresso using a Moka. My favorite award winning barista/YouTube creator, James Hoffman has an great technique for making great coffee using the Moka
George Clooney made Nespresso popular in Italy with these commercials. The one with Danny Devito is hilarious.
For homemade Savoiardi cookies, check out this recipe
If you want really fresh Mascarpone, try this technique
…and, considering the day:
“Thus do I pine and surfet day by day,/ Or gluttoning on all, or all away.” Sonnet 75, William Shakespeare
Shakespeare’s Tiramisu Sonnet recipe is part of what food critics term the “Good Food” recipes in which Shakespeare exalts the value of traditional preparations and fresh, quality ingredients. In “Tiramisu” he proclaims the ability of a simple, “sweetest” dessert to brighten his outlook after a crap - filled day.
When stuck in traffic after a bad day,
I alone am really, really pissed-off,
Victim of political office play,
Thinking of the boss I’d like to tell-off,
Dreaming I had more money in the bank,
A cooler car, a bigger house, a Wii,
Wishing I looked much cooler in a tank-
Top, leaner, with less body hair to see,
And just in general feeling like crap,
I say to myself, screw it, at least when
I get home I’ll go to the fridge and snap
Open last night’s tiramisu and then
With that sweetest, fresh dessert so creamy,
My loser’s life’s a bit less unseemly.
*First appeared in Alimentum.
Tiramisu