Lockdown distractions: How to make a tasty tiramisu

One thing I have been telling myself over the last week is that there is no single way to cope with uncertainty.

There is no one-size-fits-all fix for making yourself feel better.

Most of us are probably trying some combination of walking and exercising, scrolling, video-calling, making a paranoid trip to the supermarket, cooking intricate recipes, eating, and so forth. L

Last night, I made tiramisù (full recipe below).

The origins of the dessert are mysterious. Some believe it was invented in the 1960s by a confectioner named Roberto Linguanotto, owner of a restaurant in Treviso, north-east Italy.

A 2015 Eater article, however, attributes the dish to fellow Italian chef Speranza Garatti, who first served it in a cup, calling it “coppa imperiale”.

The Accademia Del Tiramisù, a very serious organisation that disseminates facts about “Italy’s patriotic dessert”, says it is a natural aphrodisiac served in brothels. Perfect if you’re locked down with your new crush!

Anyway, you will need four eggs, half a pack of ladyfingers, coffee, 500g of mascarpone, and four spoons of sugar.

My local Lidl had run out of pasta, like most places these days, but it did have another Italian wonder: savoiardi, the Italian name for sponge fingers.

I have tried making tiramisu with other biscuits before but it just isn’t as good.

So if you have ladyfingers in your cupboard, or happen to spot some while shopping for essentials, go for it. Bonus points if you find savoiardi!

For the purpose of this recipe, I went as far as changing the language settings on my web browser to see where the Italian version of Google would take me when I typed ‘tiramisu’.

The answer is the same as in English: there is no single way to make tiramisu.

Some people only use the egg yolks, others only the whites, and others still add double cream. It’s confusing. But it’s also liberating!

Here is a dessert that lets you experiment, test things out, see what you like.

I used all the parts of my four eggs because I wouldn’t have known what to do with the leftover whites!

Ingredients:

• Four eggs
• More coffee than you’d usually drink (four to five cups)
• Approximately 28 ladyfingers (half a pack from Lidl)
• Four tablespoons of sugar
• 500g of mascarpone
• Cocoa and/or chocolate sprinkles

Method:

• Take the mascarpone out of the fridge to let it soften a bit. Make sure you make enough coffee! You don’t want to run out of it halfway through making the dessert (like I did).
• Separate the yolks from the whites, and beat the yolks with the sugar.
• Ideally you’ll have a blender or mixer, but if you don’t, beating egg whites by hand is possible (but hard). Beat them until they’re stiff and firm. I did this while listening to trance music – not a requirement, but I found the melodramatic genre really fit the mood. Plus the beat matched the rigorous motion of the whisk. 

• Usually, I turn the bowl with the beaten whites upside down to check if it’s ready. Hold it over your head for a bit of added tension. If the contents don’t end up in your hair, you’re good.

• Using a large spatula, gently fold the whites into the yolk mixture. Whisk until they have completely combined and have the consistency of a thick cream.
• By now the coffee should be cold! Dip in a few ladyfingers at a time, turning for a few seconds until they are nicely soaked, but not soggy!
• Layer them into the dish and spread half of the creamy mixture over them. 

• Grate some dark chocolate or sprinkle some cocoa over the creamy layer. Then repeat the layers (I had four in total).
• Cover and refrigerate for at least six hours. If you can resist, I’d leave it in the fridge for 24 hours. It’s even tastier the day after making it!

• Finally, and most importantly, enjoy!