Tiramisu

Tiramisu is one of my favourite Italian desserts. It's a little time consuming to make but the effort is so worth it :)

Ingredients

4 eggs, separated (room temperature)
½ cup caster sugar (sifted)
250g mascarpone cheese, softened
1/3 cup coffee liqueur (such as Kahlua)
½ teaspoon coffee essence
200ml thickened cream
4 tablespoons instant coffee powder
2 cups warm water
2 x 250g packets or one 500g packet of sponge finger biscuits
2 tablespoons cocoa powder

Method

1. Place the egg yolks and caster sugar in a mixing bowl, and whisk on high speed with an electric hand mixer until pale and fluffy. Add the mascarpone and on a medium speed, whisk until it starts to thicken.  Be sure not to over mix as you may split the mascarpone.
2. Add the liqueur and coffee essence and mix until just combined.
3. Wash and dry beaters. In another bowl, whip cream to firm peaks. Fold into mascarpone mixture. Wash and dry beaters.
4. Beat egg whites until stiff peaks form. Fold into mascarpone mixture. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
5. Combine coffee and warm water in a shallow dish, stirring until coffee dissolves. Using half the biscuits, dip biscuits quickly one at a time in coffee, turning to coat. (Try not to soak your biscuits all the way through.  There should still be a little portion in the middle that has not been soaked in the coffee). Place, in a single layer, over the base of a 6cm-deep, 18cm x 28cm (base) baking dish.
6. Spread half the mascarpone mixture over biscuits to cover. Sprinkle with a little of the cocoa powder. Repeat layers with remaining biscuits, coffee and mascapone mixture. Cover and refrigerate for minimum 4 hours or for a better result, overnight.
7. Dust top with cocoa powder just before serving.

Tips for when making Tiramisu: 

If you have a coffee/espresso machine, use it instead of the instant coffee powder. I didn't have one so just used strong flavoured instant coffee.

Be careful to not soak the biscuits in the coffee for too long or they'll go soggy.

The flavour of the tiramisu is more intense if you leave it overnight and it sets better.

Dust the tiramisu with cocoa powder just before serving or the cocoa powder will settle into the cream.

Hazelnut & Espresso Macarons

I'm not a big fan of macarons. I'm not a big fan of meringues either but somehow I don't mind pavlova...
Feeling inspired after watching Adriano Zumbo make macarons on his TV show the other day, I decided to give it a go.

Not bad for a first attempt I must say! Would I ever make them again? Probably not. It was way too time consuming- probably took me a few hours to make and prepare and not even a minute to eat!

Recipe from The Dairy Kitchen Cookbook, page 19

Makes 16
Ingredients

1¼ cups pure icing sugar
125g hazelnut meal
3 egg whites, at room temperature
¼ cup caster sugar
½ cup thickened cream
1 teaspoon freshly ground coffee beans
1 teaspoon coffee essence (optional)
200g good quality white chocolate

Method

For the macarons, process icing sugar and nut meal in a food processor until very finely ground. Sift the mixture, discarding any leftovers.

Beat egg whites until soft peaks form, gradually add sugar, beating well between additions until sugar has dissolved and mixture is thick and glossy. Gently fold in nut mixture in batches. The mixture should run slowly down the sides of the bowl when tilted. If the mixture is too firm, add a little more runny egg white.

Using a piping bag with a small plain nozzle, pipe 4cm circles of the mixture onto baking paper lined trays. Stand trays at room temperature for at least 2 hours or until a dry glossy crust forms. Bake at 140°C for 15-17 minutes, until just firm but not coloured. Cool completely before using a metal spatula to carefully remove from trays.

For the ganache filling, heat the cream and coffee in a small saucepan until just simmering, remove from heat and stir in chocolate until smooth and glossy. Refrigerate for 2 hours or until thick. Sandwhich macaron shells together with piped ganache.

Notes & Tips

Assembled macarons will keep for 1-2 days in an airtight container.

For dark chocolate espresso macarons, substitute dark chocolate in the ganache and lightly dust ground coffee over macaron shells before baking.