Tiramisu is the most recognized Italian cake. The translation for tiramisu is "carry me up" (or "pick me up"), and many assume the unspoken continuation must surely be "to heaven.". According to Wikipedia, in the original recipe, there was no liqueur as the cake was originally aimed at children and the elderly and the original shape was round. Since my children are my 'customers', I have added only a bit of Kahlua into my cake.
Although most tiramisu recipes consist of biscuits (dipped in coffee, liqueur and mascarpone cheese) this recipe (from Richard Goh) uses a chocolate sponge cake. I started learning from him (in the CCs) since 1999. Due to family commitment, I could not follow him through all his lessons. Recently I have gone back to his classes again, to continue from where I have stopped.
There are some imperfections in my tiramisu.
- The texture of the chocolate sponge cake layers (sandwiched in between the mousse) could be improved. I know the easy way is to use cake improver which I sometimes cheated and used. But in my opinion, the reason for making homemade cake, instead of buying from the stores, is so that my family can have cakes with less chemical content.
- I did not make the mousse smooth enough. There are lumps of white in my cream mixture. I'll have to check with my "shi-fu" when I'm back in class. As he always says, the way to improve is to keep on practicing and learning. On the whole, I'm satisfied with its taste.
Here is a video cum recipe site where you can watch the process of making a tiramisu, by Megan Mills.
