Tiramisu...for breakfast?

Tiramisu......that name rolls off my tongue so languidly as I sit here relishing every single bite. It is 6:20am. I am having Tiramisu for breakfast. Yes, this very morning. Phong Hong!!!! Crazy, ah??? Aren't you supposed to lose some weight? Aih, that can wait, I am in no hurry wah? That must be the rum numbing my senses and all the creamy comforting cream cheese lulling me into a sense of complacency. What's a few extra pounds? If I want to eat Tiramisu, I eat Tiramisu.

My first taste of Tiramisu (I had heard so much about it) was a few years ago at El Cerdo. It was Chinese New Year and my brother and his family took me, my partner, my other brother and my parents for dinner at El Cerdo. There was lots of food as it was my brother's style of ordering many dishes so that everyone can try a bit here and a bit there. That's not quite my preferred style of dining because eating small portions of different dishes leaves me unsatisfied as I cannot make a proper impression of each dish. I prefer to choose one dish and have it all to myself. When it came to dessert, again there was the tasting of a little bit here and a little bit there. And I couldn't even remember what the Tiramisu tasted like.

Fast forward to September 2012, I made a lunch date with my youngest brother (he is my occasional makan kaki) and we headed out to El Cerdo on a quiet Sunday for lunch. You can see what we ate here. When it was time for dessert, without hesitation I asked for Tiramisu. Finally, I can taste Tiramisu properly. And yum! It was delicious!

It did occur to me that I could make my own Tiramisu but I wasn't motivated enough. Until one day in July this year, I thought of making Tiramisu for a family gathering. My parents were flying in from Terengganu for a holiday and when they are here, one of the things I look forwards to is cooking for our family gathering.

Sprinkle with chocolate shavings.

I thought Tiramisu would be a nice dessert to serve after dinner. My first quest was to look for sponge biscuits. At Cold Storage, I was delighted to find one packet of Savoiardi Sponge Fingers. Since it was the last packet, I quickly grabbed it. 

I watched the video on Joy of Baking a few times before I was confident enough to venture out on my own. The Tiramisu filling I used was not the traditional one and since I was too stingy to buy can't afford Mascarpone cheese, Philadelphia Cream Cheese would do just fine. 

What I did was double the filling recipe from Tiramisu Cake and it was just nice for two loaf pans. Each loaf pan could accommodate 16  sponge fingers. Which meant that I had some leftover sponge fingers which I stored in an airtight container.

Assembling the Tiramisu was not difficult at all. I did not bother to line the loaf pans. When dipping the  sponge fingers into the coffee mixture, do not linger for too long. Dip and remove the sponge finger immediately or else you will end up with very soggy  sponge fingers. That was what happened to me. When I ate the Tiramisu, I could feel that the  sponge fingers were very wet and oozed coffee. Not good. But overall, it tasted very good as the filling was creamy and delicious.

I prepared the Tiramisu one day in advance. To serve, I simply sliced the Tiramisu and removed the slices using a cake server. The first slice was difficult to remove but thereafter, it was quiet easy.

Since I had leftover sponge fingers, I decided to make Tiramisu again :) This time, I made half recipe and used a deep square plastic container. I made sure I did not dip the sponge fingers for too long in the coffee syrup. And just for research, I froze the Tiramisu. I read from the internet that Tiramisu can be frozen but there are mixed opinions. Of course, fresh is best as freezing can alter the quality and textures of foods.

I read from Sonia's blog that she did not have a good experience with Tiramisu at an Italian restaurant (in Italy!!) as the Tiramisu was watery with iced water. Apparently it was frozen and thawed before serving. I froze the Tiramisu for 3 weeks and thawed it in the fridge the night before. So what was my verdict with frozen Tiramisu? 

My breakfast. Naughty huh???

Yesterday morning, I sliced the Tiramisu and had a taste. Obviously, the Tiramisu was not completely thawed as I chewed on icicles in the sponge fingers. It was later in the afternoon that the Tiramisu was fully thawed and tasted almost as good as when it was freshly made. From this experience, I can safely conclude that Tiramisu can be frozen but make sure that you thaw it in the fridge at least 24 hours before serving. And this morning, it was still good!

Tiramisu
Recipe source : Adapted from Ms Su Chan's Tiramisu Cake here.
This recipe is enough for 2 loaf pans.

Ingredients :

Filling :
- 500g cream cheese
- 200g castor (superfine) sugar
- 6 eggs yolks (please use pasteurized eggs for your safety)
- 2 tbsp rum
- 400ml double (heavy) cream, whipped
- 200g chocolate shavings
- Cocoa powder for dusting

Coffee Syrup
- 1.5 tbsp instant coffee granules
- 1 tbsp castor (superfine) sugar
- 300ml hot water
- 1 tbsp rum

Ladyfingers
- I used 32 Savoiardi Sponge Fingers (16 per loaf pan)

Method :

For Filling
- Beat cream cheese and sugar in a mixing bowl until light.
- Add egg yolks one by one.
- Add rum and fold in whipped heavy cream.

For Coffee Syrup
- Dissolve coffee granules and sugar in water.
- Cool, then add sherry and set aside.

To assemble the Tiramisu :
- Dip each  sponge finger briefly in coffee syrup (don't dip for too long)
- Arrange the  sponge fingers in a single layer in the pan.
- Top the  sponge fingers in each pan with 1/4 of the filling.
- Sprinkle with chocolate shavings to cover the top of the filling.
- Continue dipping  sponge fingers in coffee syrup and arrange in a single layer on top of the filling.
- Top the  sponge fingers with the the remaining filling, dividing equally between the two pans.
- Dust with cocoa powder to completely cover the surface of the topping. 
- Cover pan with cling film and chill in the fridge overnight.

To serve :
- Take the pans out of the fridge and slice the Tiramisu.
- Use cake server to remove from pan and serve.