Tiramisu

Ingredients

• 450 g Mascarpone cheese
• 1 pack Ladyfinger biscuits
• 350 ml Cooled concentrated coffee
• 4 Sterilised eggs
• 50 g Caster sugar
• 10 g Cocoa powder
• 35 ml Rum

Method

Tiramisu hinges on tempering-eggs: raw yolks and whites must be whisked separately to create an emulsion stable enough to hold mascarpone without breaking or weeping. This isn't about pasteurisation—your eggs are sterilised—it's about mechanical aeration and the lecithin in the yolk binding fat and air into a smooth, mousse-like base.

Whisk the egg whites with 10 g caster sugar until they hold stiff peaks; the whites should look glossy and dense, not dry or grainy. In a separate bowl, add the remaining 40 g sugar to the yolks in three additions, whisking continuously until the mixture is pale and ribbons of yolk fall slowly back into itself—roughly two minutes per batch. The friction and air incorporation emulsify the yolks; this is what allows the mascarpone to fold in without splitting.

Add mascarpone in three stages to the yolks, folding gently rather than stirring to avoid overworking the base and pushing out the air you've already built. Once smooth, stir in the rum; alcohol acts as both flavour and a mild preservative, and the ethanol actually helps stabilise the emulsion slightly. Now folding|fold the whipped whites into the yolk-mascarpone mixture in two or three additions, cutting down through the centre and turning the bowl as you work. Stop as soon as you see no white streaks; overfolding collapses the whites and makes the final texture dense and heavy.

Dunk each ladyfinger no more than half a second on each side in the cooled coffee—they will continue to absorb moisture as the tiramisu chills. Too long and they slump into pudding; too quick and they remain biscuit-hard. Layer: biscuits first, then cream, then biscuits, adjusting the number of layers to your vessel. The cream-to-biscuit ratio should feel balanced; if you have leftover cream, the final layer is purely cream. Refrigerate for at least four hours, though eight hours is better—the coffee flavour develops and the structure firms as the cocoa butter in mascarpone resets at cold temperatures.

Dust the surface with cocoa powder just before serving. Use a fine sieve and hold it 15 cm above the dish; this gives an even, light coating rather than clumpy patches. Serve cold.