It was raining today. So sadly my beach time for today had to be canceled. It was one of those days, that make you want to curl up in the bed or on the couch and watch something. But being lazy is not really what I wanted to do today, so I needed a little pick me up. Luckily rainy days are perfect for some kitchen dancing and I decided to make my mother’s tiramisu. Tiramisu – literally meaning, “pick me up” was just what I needed. This dessert has its origin in a city not far from my home town. Although many people say it originated in Treviso (a city near Venice) in a restaurant called Le Beccherie, where its birth would be around 1970, tiramisu was created 20 years earlier near Trieste, by a partisan cook. The name has a story on its own, well several stories. One of them suggests that the dessert was created for a midnight snack for the ladies of the night, they needed something to keep them going until the morning and the cook whipped this coffee-infused dessert. Some others suggest that it was developed during WWII as a dish made for men to bring with them when sent off to war, to give them more energy. Whatever the origin, this dessert is now known worldwide and one of the Italy’s most popular. My mother’s version is not a traditional tiramisu, that requires soaking savoiardi in coffee and alcohol (I do prefer the Italian name over ladyfingers, since I don’t understand the association between these biscuits and, well, lady fingers), but has instead an incredibly light sponge cake base. So maybe I should call it more a tiramisu cake. It’s also alcohol free, but if you want, go ahead and drown yours in whatever booze you want.
Danes je deževalo. Moji načrti s plažo so zato dobesedno padli v vodo in se dodatno zmočili še potem ko so splezali ven. Bil je eden tistih dni, ki ga z veseljem preležiš na kavču ob gledanju televizije. Žal, mi pa biti lena danes ni bilo po godu, zato sem potrebovala nekaj, da se zbudim. Na srečo so deževni dnevi idealni za poplesovanje po kuhinji, zato sem se odločila, da bom naredila mamin tiramisu. Tiramisu, ki dobeseno pomeni “dvigni me gor”, je bilo prav tisto kar potrebujem. Ta sladica izvira iz kraja nedaleč od mojega doma. Čeprav mnogi trdijo, da izhaja iz 
Trevisa (mesta blizu Benetk) v restavraciji po imenu Le Beccherie, kjer se je pojavil okoli leta 1970, ga je 20 let prej prvi pripravil partizanski kuhar v bližini Trsta. Izvor imena ima veliko razlag. Ena izmed njih pravi, da je bila sladica narejena kot polnočni prigrizek za dame noči, ki so potrebovale nekaj, da jih zbudi in jih “drži pokonci” do jutra. Spet druga pravi, da je bil tiramisu ustvarjen med 2. Svetovno vojno, da bi zagotovil vojakom potrebno energijo, ko so odhajali na fronto. Kakršenkoli izvor, tiramisu je zdaj znan povsod in ena najbolj priljubljenih italijanskih sladic na svetu. Tiramisu moje mame ni tradicionalni tiramisu, ki zahteva namakanje savoiardov (bebe piškotov) v kavi in alkoholu, ampak ima namesto teh rahlo biskvitno podlago in je brez alkohola. Mogoče je to bolj tiramisu torta, ali tiramisu rezina. Kakorkoli ga/jo imenujemo, okus je še vedno odličen in priprava zelo enostavna.
INGREDIENTS for the SPONGE CAKE | SESTAVINE za BISKVIT:
8 eggs / jajc- 300 g confectioners sugar / sladkorja v prahu
- 300 g all purpose flour / moke
- 1 packet vanilla sugar / zavojček vanilijevega sladkorja
- 1 tsp baking powder / 1/2 zavojčka pecilnega praška
Note: this recipe is for one big ass cake. For a normal 25cm springform cake pan, half the recipe.
Opomba: ta recept je za požrešne. Za normalen pekač za torte, premera 25cm, recept razpolovimo.
Preheat the oven to 180°C and butter a 40x30cm baking pan. Separate the eggs. Beat the egg whites until firm peaks form. Add confectioners and vanilla sugar spoon my spoon while continuing to whip untill the mixture becomes stiff and shiny like satin (you are actually making French meringue).
Pečico segrejemo na 180°C in namastimo globok pekač 40×30 cm. Ločimo beljake od rumenjakov. Beljake stepemo v čvrst sneg. Med mešanjem po žlicah dodajamo sladkor v prahu in vanilijev sladkor, zmes postane čvrsta in svetleča.
While mixing on medium speed add egg yolks one at a time. While mixing on slow speed add the flour and baking powder. Mix until just combined not to overmix. Pour the batter into the baking pan and bake for 60 min. The sponge cake is done, when it’s lightly browned and springs back when touched.
Note: only test for donenes in the last minutes of baking, otherwise the sponge cake might not rise properly. Baking time for a smaller cake is shorter (30-40 min).
When the sponge cake is done, take it out of the pan and leave it on the cooling rack to cool.
Med mešanjem na srednji hitrosti dodamo rumenjake. Med mešanjem na nizki hitrosti dodamo moko in pecilni prašek. Mešamo dokler ne dobimo gladke mase, pazimo da ne mešamo preveč, saj sicer ne dobimo rahlega biskvita. Maso prelijemo v pekač in pečemo 60 min. Biskvit je pečen, ko je zlato-rjavo obarvan in prožen.
Opomba: pečico odpiramo le v zadnjih minutah pečenja, saj lahko biskvit sicer upade. Čas pečenja za manjši biskvit je krajši (30-40 min)
Ko je biskvit pečen, ga vzamemo iz pekača in pustimo na rešetki, da se ohladi.
INGREDIENTS for the FILLING | SESTAVINE za KREMO:
8 eggs / jajc- 1 kg mascarpone cheese / mascarpone sira
- 120 g confectioners sugar / sladkorja v prahu
- 2 packets vanilla sugar / zavojčka vanilijevega sladkorja
Note: as mentioned above, this recipe is for a big pan. Half the recipe for the smaller size.
Opomba: kot omenjeno zgoraj, je ta recept za velik pekač. Razpolovite recept za manjšo dimenzijo pekača.
Separate the eggs. Beat the egg whites until firm peaks form. Add confectioners and vanilla sugar spoon my spoon while continuing to whip untill the mixture becomes stiff and shiny. In a separate bowl mix the mascarpone cheese with the egg yolks. Gently fold the mascarpone mixture into the meringue (egg white mixture).
Ločimo beljake od rumenjakov. Beljake stepemo v čvrst sneg. Med mešanjem po žlicah dodajamo sladkor v prahu in vanilijev sladkor, zmes postane čvrsta in svetleča. V drugi skledi zmešamo mascarpone z rumenjaki. Mascarponejevo maso nežno vmešamo v beljakovo maso.
To assemble the tiramisu. Brew 1,5 l of coffee. Pour a third of the coffee in a baking pan where you baked the sponge cake. Place the sponge cake upside down into the baking pan so it soaks in the coffee (you place it upside down, because otherwise the the “crispy” top sticks to the cream and can peel of the rest of the sponge when serving – nothing bad, just not so nice). Pour the remaining coffee all over the sponge cake.
Pred pričetkom sestave tiramisuja skuhamo 1,5 l kave. Tretjino kave vlijemo v pekač, kjer smo pekli biskvit. Biskvit, narobe obrnjen, vrnemo v pekač, da se namaka v kavi (obrnemo ga narobe, saj se sicer zapečena površina zlepi s kremo in se odlepi s površine biskvita med servranjem – nič slabega, le grše izgleda). Preostalo kavo prelijemo po vrhu biskvita.
Spread the filling over the sponge cake. Dust with cocoa powder and place in the refrigerator for a couple of hours or over night. Cut and serve!
Kremo premažemo po biskvitu in po vrhu potresemo kakav v prahu. Sladico postavimo v hladilnik za nekaj ur ali preko noči. Razrežemo in postrežemo!
WARNING: I know it’s tempting, but do not dig in armed with a spoon, to have a taste. You are going to end up eating half of it and feel sick, but hyperactive. Really, don’t. But do enjoy the goodies!
POZOR: Vem, da je zelo mamljivo, ampak prosim, ne poskušat iz pekača, ker se boste kar naenkrat zavedli, da ste pojedli že pol pekača, vi pa se boste počutili slabo in hiperaktivno. Res, ne tega delat. Lahko pa uživate v dobrotah!
Oh the Goodies 
