Tiramisu Piemontese

Tiramisu Piemontese (Piemonte)

To kick off MuchoGusto the blog with a style, I needed a very special recipe with an universal appeal, yet something typically Italian, and something SWEET. After racking my head over some tough choices, I picked Tiramisu for my starter, even though its a classic dessert!

I love desserts and many of my favourite foods are from this department, although my partner Cristiano is much more expert in baking... here is one recipe he taught me, one of the most celebrated italian desserts and and there is no baking required!! yum, yum!
There are several theories as to the origin of Tiramisu, but Cristiano found this recipe from a Piemontese (the region around Turin) cookbook years ago and proved to be a winner!
Tiramisu Piemontese

Ingredients:
700g/ 1,5 lb mascarpone
6 very fresh (essential!!) eggs (5 if eggs are particularly large)
100g / 3,5 oz sugar
half cup of Marsala wine
1 cup (circa, more if needed) freshly brewed coffee (not too strong, slightly diluted) or little more as needed.
600g / 1 lb + 5oz Savoiardi or lady fingers
pure cocoa powder unsweetened
sweetened cocoa powder


Instruction:

Separate eggs. Beat together yolks, sugar, wine and mascarpone until the mixture attains a smooth creamy texture.
Whip the eggwhite vigorously until it becomes solid. (do this patiently with "high energy", if it is not solid enough the end result will be soggy and soupy!)
Carefully fold in the whipped eggwhite into the mascarpone/york mixture, blend them well and evenly.

Mix 2 teaspoonful of sugar into the coffee, then pour in a container large enough to dip savoiardi/lady fingers comfortably. dip each pieces of biscuits into the coffee quickly, (wet the entire surface for a moment but not until it gets soggy all the way through) lay them neatly in one layer at the bottom of a large square/rectangular baking dish (or 2 medium).
pour half of the cream (mascarpone/egg mixture) evenly over the savoiardi, then sprinkle the sweetened cocoa powder to cover the surface.

Arrange another layer of savoiardi on top, repeat with the cream, then top it off with unsweetened pure cocoa powder.

Chill it in the fridge for a couple of hours before serving.