If, When, How

I woke up the other morning, worked out, then made the 25-minute walk to school to sit through 1.5 hours of Professional Responsibility.  (To be fair, I really enjoy this class.)  Then I made the 25-minute walk back to my house and drove to legal aid.  I worked at legal aid for several hours and drove back home to park my car so I could, once again, make the 25-minute walk to school.  (I tried to ride my bike, but I have a flat.  Great.)  I endured almost 2 hours of Written Advocacy.  (I’m just going to leave the wording like that.)  And finally made the 25-minute walk home.  I was so tired. 

But I needed to make tiramisu as promised. 

I agreed to make tiramisu for a meeting about a reproductive rights group called "If, When, How."  If, When, How is a group that's "lawyering for reproductive justice."  We are starting a student chapter at Brandeis.  This is the good stuff.  Feminism has become stagnant and we need to remember that we are not finished.  We are not yet equal.    

Anyhow, I love both the ladies that were going to the dinner and the cause so I needed to make tiramisu.  

Motivate.   

I thought about taking a short cut and buying ladyfingers from a local bakery, but I couldn’t justify it.  I not only live on a student’s budget, I write a baking blog.  

Truth.  Ladyfingers scared me.  I mean . . . I’m not scared they’re going to jump out from around the corner and scream “Boo!,” but their light fluffiness is incredibly intimidating when completely exhausted. 

Time to tackle my fear.

Guess what?!  They’re not terrifying! 

Ladyfingers

Borrowed from Joy of Baking (Always a solid go to for new recipe building.)

5 large eggs

2/3 cup granulated white sugar; divided

1 teaspoon vanilla extract (This has to be the real thing.  If you have imitation vanilla, please throw it out.)

1 cup cake flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar

1/3 cup powdered sugar

Separate the eggs while they are still cold and cover the whites and yolks with plastic wrap to prevent a film from forming on the egg yolks and to keep the whites from drying out.  Let the yolks and whites reach room temperature before using (about 30 minutes).

Preheat the oven to 400 and line two baking sheets with parchment paper.  Have ready a large pastry bag fitted with a ½ in. plain round tip.  (Or put it in a Ziplock bag and cut off a corner . . .but this is the lazy method.)  At this point, the original recipe draws lines on the parchment paper to help outline where you will eventually pipe the batter for the ladyfingers.  I didn’t do this.  I am making tiramisu.  No one will see the ladyfingers.  But you should check it out if you care about the shape of your ladyfingers.  You should also not use my lazy lazy batter in a Ziplock method!

Ok.  Enough of the prep.

Now, in your electric mixer, fitted with the paddle attachment (if you have one and your very favorite mixer that you’ve never been able to use isn’t dead), beat the egg yolks and 1/3 cup white sugar on high speed until the mixture becomes thick and pale yellow.  (When you raise the beaters, the batter should fall back into the bowl in a slow ribbon.)  (This will take between 5-10 minutes.)  Beat in the vanilla extract.  Sift the cake flour and salt over the batter, but do not fold in.

In a clean bowl, with the whisk attachment (if you have one and your very favorite mixer that you’ve never been able to use isn’t dead), whip the egg whites and cream of tartar on medium speed until soft peaks form.  

Gradually add the remaining 1/3 cup white sugar and whip until stiff peaks form and the whites are glossy.  Fold the whites into the egg yolk and flour mixture in three additions, mixing only until incorporated.

Transfer the batter to your pastry bag (… or… Ziplock bag... don't do this, but it's what I did) and, holding the bag at about a 45 degree angle to the baking sheet, pipe the batter into 3 in long ladyfingers with about 1 inch in between.

Note:  Using an actual pasty bag will make your ladyfingers prettier than mine.  ;o)

When you have piped all the cookies, place the powdered sugar in a fine strainer, and lightly sift the sugar over the tops of the cookies.  Bake for about 8 minutes or until the ladyfingers are firm but barely brown and are still soft and spongy when lightly pressed.

Remove the baking sheets from the oven and immediately slide the parchment paper (with the ladyfingers - if that wasn’t implied) from the baking sheet onto a wire baking rack.  Let the ladyfingers cool for a minute and then remove the lady fingers from the parchment paper using a flat spatula or knife.  Please note:  remove the ladyfingers while they are still warm or they will likely stick to the parchment paper.  Let them cool.  These ladyfingers are meant to be used the day they are baked.  If you must keep them longer, freeze them.  (To freeze, place in a plastic bag between layers of wax or parchment paper and freeze up to one month.)

This makes about 40 3-in. ladyfingers.

(This is just barely enough ladyfingers to make the tiramisu in the recipe that follows.)

Tiramisu

Borrowed and adapted from Tyler Florence

7 egg yolks

1/2 cup sugar

1/3 cup sweet marsala wine, plus 2 TBSP.

1 pint heavy whipping cream

1 cup brewed espresso (or super strong coffee) (But NEVER EVER instant espresso.  Gross.)

1 ounce dark chocolate

1/4 cup spiced rum

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

48 ladyfingers

Put a glass bowl in the fridge.  (Easy step!)

Cream together egg yolks and sugar in a heatproof bowl set over a pot of simmering water.  Add 1/3 cup of the marsala wine and continue to whisk until mixture is thick and doubled in volume.  This is basically a zabaglione.  Remove from heat.  Stir in the mascarpone until completely blended.

In the chilled bowl, whip the heavy cream to soft peaks.  Fold the whipped cream into the mascarpone mixture to lighten.

In a small saucepan, combine the espresso (or super dark and over powering coffee), chocolate, rum, vanilla, and remaining 2 tablespoons of marsala wine.  Heat gently and stir to dissolve the chocolate.  Once dissolved, chill the mixture to cool it down (about 15 minutes).  Once cooled, quickly dip each ladyfinger in the chilled coffee mixture and arrange in a single layer on a 9 x 13 glass baking pan (or you can use a disposable aluminum pan because you have every intention of dropping off the tiramisu at a dinner party and not allowing a drop of it back into your house.  Really… use whatever you want.  Be a rebel!)  DO NOT SOAK THE COOKIES.  This tiramisu leans more towards a traditional tiramisu and is wet enough on its own.  Soaking the cookies would turn it into tiramisu soup – which sounds amazing, but is not the goal!

Spread 1/2 of the mascarpone cream evenly with a spatula over the layer of the dipped ladyfingers.  Repeat with a second layer of dipped ladyfingers and remaining mascarpone cream. 

Whip the rest of the heavy cream to soft peaks and spread over the entire pan.  Then sprinkle the top with cocoa powder.  You can be creative here...  

I put a stencil of a lotus blossom on my tiramisu.  A lotus flower grows from muddy water and becomes one of the most beautiful flowers on earth.  Its petals open one by one and fall off.  The next day, the lotus grows again.  To me, this flower is a symbol of life, beauty, and resilience.  Anyhow, it seemed fitting for the cause and beautiful!  So I cut a stencil and placed it on my tiramisu before I "sprinkled the cocoa."

Sprinkle.....  So this recipe taught me a few things: 

1. I'm tired.

2. My sifter is the worst sifter in the world and I really need a new one.  

3. I am now looking for a new sifter and all suggestions are welcome!  (Or gifts.... gifts are welcome too!)

Ahahaha...  Whatever.  It tasted amazing!