Chef Johns Tiramisu Recipes

Steps:

• Stir espresso and 2 tablespoons Marsala wine together in a shallow bowl.
• Whisk egg yolks, 2 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon sugar, and 1 tablespoon Marsala wine together in the top of a double boiler over simmering water, until thick, pale yellow, and creamy, 5 to 6 minutes.
• Whisk egg yolk mixture, mascarpone cheese, vanilla extract, and salt together in a bowl until completely smooth.
• Beat egg whites in a glass or metal bowl until stiff peaks form. Lift your beater or whisk straight up: the egg whites will form sharp peaks. Gently stir and fold 1/2 the egg whites into egg yolk mixture; fold in remaining 1/2 egg whites.
• Place 1 heaping spoonful mascarpone mixture into a single-serving cup or glass. Dip 2 ladyfinger cookie halves briefly in espresso mixture and turn 3 to 4 times to coat. Place cookie halves in the bottom of the glass on top of mascarpone.
• Fill the glass halfway with mascarpone mixture. Dip 5 ladyfinger halves in the espresso mixture and place vertically along the inside of the glass, dipping and placing more ladyfinger halves as necessary to fit the glass. Place 2 dipped ladyfinger halves horizontally on top of the mascarpone mixture. Fill glass to the top with mascarpone mixture. Repeat for the second serving glass.
• Wrap both glasses in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 8 hours or overnight. Remove plastic wrap and dust tops with cocoa powder and grated chocolate.

Steps:

• Combine the coffee and amaretto liqueur in a bowl or shallow baking dish and set aside.
• Bring a small saucepan with 2 inches of water to a boil over high heat. In a small heatproof bowl that will fit on top of the saucepan, or in a double boiler, combine the egg yolks and 1/2 cup of the whipping cream. Place over the hot water and whisk continuously until the mixture is 160 degrees F and coats the back of a spoon, 5 to 6 minutes. Remove from the heat and whisk for 3 to 4 minutes to cool. Set aside to cool completely, approximately 10 to 15 minutes.
• In a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, add the remaining whipping cream, prepared yolk mixture, and sugar and beat until soft peaks form, 3 to 5 minutes. Add the mascarpone and combine well.
• Place 1 layer of the ladyfingers in a 9 by 13-inch pan; most pans this size fit them in 6 rows of 3. Then, dip both sides of the ladyfingers quickly into the coffee mixture and place back into the pan. Spread half of the mascarpone mixture over the cookies, sprinkle with half of the cocoa powder. Repeat with another layer. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 6 to 12 hours.
• Shave the chocolate over the top for garnish and cut with a sharp thin knife into squares. Serve immediately.

Steps:

• For the mascarpone custard: Add the egg yolks, sugar and Marsala to a medium heatproof bowl and whisk to combine. Set the bowl over a medium saucepan of gently simmering water (do not allow the bowl to touch the water). Whisk constantly until the mixture is pale, hot to the touch and has doubled in volume, 4 to 6 minutes, scraping down the sides of the bowl occasionally with a rubber spatula. (This can be done with an electric mixer to speed up the process.) Remove from the heat and continue whisking until slightly cooled, about 1 minute. Whisk in the mascarpone cheese until combined. Refrigerate until ready to assemble.
• To assemble: Stir together 1 1/4 cups hot water, espresso powder and 3 to 4 tablespoons Marsala in a liquid measuring cup. Evenly divide the mixture between two medium bowls. Dust the bottom of an 8-by-8-inch baking dish with 1 teaspoon cocoa powder.
• Working one at a time, dip half of the ladyfingers into one bowl of the espresso mixture for 2 seconds per side, until soaked but not soggy. Arrange them over the cocoa powder in one layer, breaking up as needed to fill in any gaps. Pour any remaining liquid from the first bowl over the layer of ladyfingers. Spread half the mascarpone custard over the ladyfingers. Repeat the process with another layer of ladyfingers and the remaining bowl of espresso mixture, then spread with the remaining mascarpone custard.
• Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 4 hours or up to overnight. Sift the remaining 1 tablespoon cocoa powder over the top just before serving.

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350°F If you haven't already, take the cream cheese out of the fridge to warm up, and refrigerate the mixing bowl you'll be whipping the cream inches. No, not inches, inches. No, INCHES. Look food.com, I know I'm ending a sentence with a preposition, but that doesn't make it okay to auto-correct me like this. Fine, I give up. Refrigerate the bowl in which you will be whipping the cream.
• Mix the egg yolks with 1/3 cup sugar, and beat until pale and thickened.
• Mix the egg whites with 1/3 cup sugar, and beat until stiff.
• Fold the egg yolks into the egg whites. Fold in flour, 1/3 cup at a time.
• Grease and flour a 13x9 pan, cover the bottom with wax paper. Pour the batter into the pan and smooth out the top.
• Bake around 25 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Overbaking is not much of a problem, as it's going to be soaked in liquor before you eat it.
• Let cake cool for a bit, then dump cake on a rack to cool some more. Wash out the pan.
• When cake is cooled completely, cut in in half across its height, so that you have two layers like a sandwich.
• Mix together all the ingredients listed under "Fuel" and set aside.
• Beat the cream cheese and sugar together until fluffy.
• Add the vanilla, milk, and brandy to the cream cheese, mix until blended and smooth.
• In a separate bowl, beat the whipping cream until stiff.
• Fold the cream cheese into the whipping cream, and set aside.
• Grease the pan the sponge cake was baked in (I like to use peanut oil, but I've used canola or pam in the past, and it hasn't made much difference).
• Put the bottom half of the sponge cake back into the pan, cut side up.
• Pour half of the "Fuel" evenly over the sponge cake, try not to leave any dry spots. It should soak up very well.
• Spread half of the Cream Cheese Mix over the cake. Be careful, as the soggy cake is very delicate, and can easily mix in with the topping! Smooth it out as much as possible. A plastic disposable trowel is great for this, be sure to wash it after you bring it home from the hardware store, and never use it for plaster!
• Use a fine mesh sifter to generously dust the first layer with cocoa powder.
• Lay the top half of the sponge cake on top of the cocoa, cut side up, so that the "Fuel" can soak in through the sponge.
• Layer on the cream cheese mixture as you did before. Get the top layer as smooth and flat as you possibly can, it makes the presentation that much nicer.
• Dust with cocoa powder. A generous dusting hides whatever imperfections you couldn't smooth out.
• Cover the tiramisu, either with the pan's lid, or cling wrap. If you're using cling wrap, you may have to wipe the cocoa powder of the edges of the pan. FOR GOODNESS SAKE, BE CAREFUL! Don't spoil your beautiful presentation. You may want to use toothpicks to hold the cling wrap above the tiramisu, depending on the depth of your pan.
• Chill tiramisu for 6 hours.