Tiramisu
with homemade mascarpone and spongecake "ladyfingers"Mascarpone:
2 cups heavy cream (I did use ultra-pasteurized, and it seemed to turn out fine)
~1/2 tsp citric acid (some recipes call for lemon juice, but I find it leaves a very lemony taste)
Heat the cream to a simmer. Add the citric acid. Continue heating until the cream reaches 190F. Cook at that temperature for about five minutes, stirring gently. The cream will thicken. Cool to room temperature, then strain overnight (6-8 hrs). I used paper towels in a colander. Once made, the mascarpone should keep for a week.
Spongecake:
Adapted from Julia Child's Butter Spongecake.
Preheat the oven to 350F
2/3 cup sugar
4 egg yolks
2 tsp vanilla extract
4 egg whites
pinch of salt
2 Tb sugar
3/4 cup flour
Combine the sugar, egg yolks and vanilla extract, beating until the mixture is thick, pale, yellow, and forms the ribbon - several minutes.
Beat the egg whites until somewhat stiff. Add the sugar and salt and beat until quite stiff.
Combine the egg whites, batter, and flour in sections, folding in gently.
Bake at 350F for 30-35 minutes (I think I did for less). When cooled, cut into sections the size of ladyfingers.
Zabaglione:
6 egg yolks
1/2 cup sugar
1/3 cup marsala
mascarpone (about 2/3 of the above recipe - 8 oz seems standard in most recipes)
1 cup heavy cream
Cream the yolks and sugar together in a double boiler. Add the marsala and continue and whisk until nearly double in size and the mixture has begun to thicken. Remove from heat and stir in the mascarpone.
Whip the heavy cream until stiff. Fold the cream into the mascarpone mixture.
Sauce:
1 1/2 - 2 cups strong coffee
2 ounces dark chocolate chips (~ 1/4 cup)
1/3-1/2 cup marsala
2 tsp vanilla
Combine the coffee, chocolate, marsala, and vanilla and heat gently until the chocolate is melted. Chill until cool (the doorstep in a frozen tundra is a great quick-chiller).
Assembly:
Dip the "ladyfingers" one by one in the sauce, removing immediately before they crumble. Place in a (greased?) glass baking pan, side by side. When the bottom of the pan is covered, spread the mascarpone mixture over. (I made this in a medium-sized baking pan and had only enough cake and mascarpone to make one layer. I understand this is typically at least two layers.) Sprinkle with powdered cocoa. Refrigerate for 2 hours.
