Spoiling myself with Tiramisu

Another spoilt night of homemade dessert, tonight its the tiramisu. A simple yet delightful dessert that will leave everyone smiling in their sleep.

Serves 2

Ingredients:
6 savoiardi biscuits sponge fingers
1 tablespoon caster sugar
200 gr mascarpone
1 cup of freshly brewed coffee, cooled
1 tablespoon of Kahlua (optional)
1 teaspoon cocoa powder to serve

Method:

Beat the mascarpone and sugar until fluffy. Set aside.

Cut the savoiardi into smaller pieces to fit into the glass.

Dip each savoiardi in the bowl with the coffee (or mixture of the coffee and Kahlua). To get the right amount of coffee on the savoiardi, pull it out before they become too soft.

Arrange a layer of dipped savoiardi across the bottom of the glass. Then spoon a layer of mascarpone mix across the layer of savoiardi.

Dip another layer of savoiardi and lay them on the mascarpone mix. Put the remaining mascarpone mix on it.

Refrigerate for at least 4 hours before serving, preferably overnight.

Once you are ready to serve, dust top with cocoa powder.

This is an easier method compared to my Orange & Green Teamisu which uses cream cheese mix instead of mascarpone. 

Homemade Orange & Green Teamisu

Ever since our Japan trip late last year, I have to come appreciate green tea even more. We brought back some green tea 'matcha' powder and I have been using it for green tea ice-cream, macarons, and now tiramisu.

Being a dessert lover, I have always wanted to make my own dessert. However, I have come to terms with the fact that I am not very talented in that area.

Therefore this recipe is for the 'Dummies' out there, a quick 15 minutes prep and you are ready to indulge yourself.

Serves: 2

Ingredients:
4 tablespoons of orange juice, preferably from fresh orange
4 savoiardi biscuits sponge fingers
1 egg (separated)
1 tablespoon sugar
150gr cream cheese
50ml pure cream
1 cup boiling water
1 tablespoon green tea powder
1 teaspoon green tea powder to serve

Directions:
Place 1 tablespoon green tea powder into shallow flat bowl and pour boiling water, stir well and let it cool down.

Mix the cream cheese and pure cream until soft. This is an alternative option, most tiramisu recipes use mascarpone cheese. Therefore, if you are able to get hold of mascarpone cheese you can skip this step.

Separate egg yolk and white. In a mixing bowl, beat egg yolk and sugar until creamy quite white, then whip in the cream cheese mix(or mascarpone) and mix gently.

In a second mixing bowl, beat egg white until stiff and fluffy.

Gently fold beaten cream cheese(mascarpone) mix with egg white and orange juice just to blend.

Cut the savoiardi into smaller pieces to fit into the wine glass. Skip this step if you are using a normal flat pan.

Dip each savoiardi in the bowl with green tea. To get the right amount of green tea on the savoiardi, pull it out before they become too soft.

Arrange a layer of dipped savoiardi across the bottom of the glass. Then spoon a layer of egg/cream cheese(mascarpone) across the layer of savoiardi.

Dip another layer of savoiardi and lay them on the cream cheese(mascarpone) mix. Put the remaining cream cheese(mascarpone) mix on it.

Refrigerate for at least 4 hours before serving, preferably overnight.

Once you are ready to serve, dust top with green tea powder.

Enjoy!

Chillin' at Brunetti City Square, Melbourne

Our second & last night in Melbourne, and after a long drive to the Great Ocean Road we've decided to do the dessert hunting around our hotel in Melbourne CBD. We head down to Brunetti City Square on 214 Flinders Lane, famous for its wide selection of cakes, chocolates, crepes, and gelatos to name a few. It was a warm night and we enjoyed sitting outside...chilling.

Some of the cakes that I managed to capture, unfortunately unable to try...

Strawberry & Ricotta Cheesecake

(A baked ricotta and strawberry cheese cake with a layer of chocolate sponge)

Mud Cake

(A decadent moist chocolate cake with marsala liqueur, ground almond meal and topped with a rich chocolate ganache)

Captivated by its beauty, I failed to note down the name of the cake

Torta

(Vanilla sponge, strega liqueur, one layer of chocolate custard and one layer of vanilla custard)

Black Forest

(Chocolate sponge, kirsch liqueur, blackcurrant jam, fresh chocolate cream and cherries)

After seeing all the cakes, I settled with the Tiramisu $5.40. The serving was small and to be honest it tasted like any other tiramisu, nothing out of the ordinary. I was hoping that Brunetti serves its own signature style tiramisu.

However, my disappointment was lifted by the tasty Rum Baba Mignon. Sponge fingers soaked in rum and apricot, the rum was definitely a kick for this petit size cake.