Valencia Mocha Tiramisu

The February 2010 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Aparna of My Diverse Kitchen and Deeba of Passionate About Baking. They chose Tiramisu as the challenge for the month. Their challenge recipe is based on recipes from The Washington Post, Cordon Bleu at Home and Baking Obsession.

Just days before this challenge was posted I was telling a friend that I had never had tiramisu.  I was pretty sure that I wouldn’t enjoy the soggy biscuits or the strong coffee flavour.  Even with these doubts I was excited to try my hand at making it.

My Valencia Mocha Tiramisu is inspired by my husband who I think is one of the few people who ever got a valencia mocha at Starbucks.  He loves the flavour combination of chocolate and orange but I am not a huge fan of chocolate and orange.  Because I love him (and I need him to help me eat it) I decided to go with chocolate and orange.

The first element of this challenge was making our own mascarpone choose.  I was happy that I had made cheese before so that it wasn’t a completely new task, although mascarpone is different than the paneer that I made before.  After a bit of struggle getting the milk to heat up I finally decided it was close enough and added the lemon juice to have it start thickening up.  After straining in the fridge overnight I was left with my first batch of home made mascarpone cheese.

While the mascarpone was in the fridge straining I made the zabaglione.  Zabaglione is something I have heard is easy to make but have never actually given it a try.  I decided to make the zabaglione citrus flavour by adding fresh squeezed orange juice instead of the wine or coffee.

For the mocha part of my Valencia Mocha Tiramisu I made chocolate pastry cream.  By adding some cocoa powder and chopped semi sweet chocolate it gave the pastry cream a nice rich flavour.

While all of the elements that needed to be cooled were in the fridge I went to making the savoiardi biscuits.  Having only worked with whipped egg whites on a few occasions I was a bit nervous about folding in flour for fear of over mixing.  The end result were pretty tasting an overall relatively easy.  If I was to make a tiramisu again I would probably make my own biscuits again.

I was a bit worried with the chocolate pastry cream when it was all chilled, because it was very rich but when it was mixed with the zabaglione and the whipping cream it toned down the flavour quite a bit and you were left with a wonderful orange chocolate flavour.

I was pretty happy with this months challenge.  I actually completed the challenge at the beginning of the month but didn’t end up actually blogging about it today, hence the very last blog post in the day.  I look forward to trying different combinations of flavours for future tiramisu in the future.

Mascarpone Cheese

2 cups whipping cream

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

Bring 1 inch of water to a boil in a wide skillet. Reduce the heat to medium-low so the water is barely simmering. Pour the cream into a medium heat-resistant bowl, then place the bowl into the skillet. Heat the cream, stirring often, to 190 F. If you do not have a thermometer, wait until small bubbles keep trying to push up to the surface.

It will take about 15 minutes of delicate heating. Add the lemon juice and continue heating the mixture, stirring gently, until the cream curdles. Do not expect the same action as you see during ricotta cheese making. All that the whipping cream will do is become thicker, like a well-done crème anglaise. It will cover a back of your wooden spoon thickly. You will see just a few clear whey streaks when you stir. Remove the bowl from the water and let cool for about 20 minutes. Meanwhile, line a sieve with four layers of dampened cheesecloth and set it over a bowl.

Transfer the mixture into the lined sieve. Do not squeeze the cheese in the cheesecloth or press on its surface (be patient, it will firm up after refrigeration time). Once cooled completely, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate (in the sieve) overnight or up to 24 hours.

Keep refrigerated and use within 3 to 4 days.

Zabaglione

2 large egg yolks

3 tablespoons sugar

1/4 cup fresh orange juice

1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest

Heat water in a double boiler. If you don’t have a double boiler, place a pot with about an inch of water in it on the stove. Place a heat-proof bowl in the pot making sure the bottom does not touch the water.

In a large mixing bowl (or stainless steel mixing bowl), mix together the egg yolks, sugar, the orange juice, vanilla extract and lemon zest. Whisk together until the yolks are fully blended and the mixture looks smooth.

Transfer the mixture to the top of a double boiler or place your bowl over the pan/ pot with simmering water. Cook the egg mixture over low heat, stirring constantly, for about 8 minutes or until it resembles thick custard. It may bubble a bit as it reaches that consistency.

Let cool to room temperature and transfer the zabaglione to a bowl. Cover and refrigerate at least 4 hours or overnight, until thoroughly chilled.

Pastry Cream

1/4 cup sugar

1 tablespoon all purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 large egg yolk

3/4 cup whole milk

Mix together the sugar, flour, lemon zest and vanilla extract in a medium heavy-bottomed saucepan. To this add the egg yolk and half the milk. Whisk until smooth.

Now place the saucepan over low heat and cook, stirring constantly to prevent the mixture from curdling.
Add the remaining milk a little at a time, still stirring constantly. After about 12 minutes the mixture will be thick, free of lumps and beginning to bubble. (If you have a few lumps, don’t worry. You can push the cream through a fine-mesh strainer.)

Transfer the pastry cream to a bowl and cool to room temperature. Cover with plastic film and refrigerate at least 4 hours or overnight, until thoroughly chilled.

Whipping Cream

1 cup heavy cream

1/4 cup sugar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Combine the cream, sugar and vanilla extract in a mixing bowl. Beat with an electric hand mixer or immersion blender until the mixture holds stiff peaks. Set aside.

Assembling your Tiramisu

Have ready a rectangular serving dish (about 8″ by 8″ should do) or one of your choice.
Mix together the warm espresso, rum extract and sugar in a shallow dish, whisking to mix well. Set aside to cool.

In a large bowl, beat the mascarpone cheese with a spoon to break down the lumps and make it smooth. This will make it easier to fold. Add the prepared and chilled zabaglione and pastry cream, blending until just combined. Gently fold in the whipped cream. Set this cream mixture aside.

Now to start assembling the tiramisu.
Workings quickly, dip 12 of the ladyfingers in the sweetened espresso, about 1 second per side. They should be moist but not soggy. Immediately transfer each ladyfinger to the platter, placing them side by side in a single row. You may break a lady finger into two, if necessary, to ensure the base of your dish is completely covered.

Spoon one-third of the cream mixture on top of the ladyfingers, then use a rubber spatula or spreading knife to cover the top evenly, all the way to the edges.

Repeat to create 2 more layers, using 12 ladyfingers and the cream mixture for each layer. Clean any spilled cream mixture; cover carefully with plastic wrap and refrigerate the tiramisu overnight.

To serve, carefully remove the plastic wrap and sprinkle the tiramisu with cocoa powder using a fine-mesh strainer or decorate as you please. Cut into individual portions and serve.