Tiramisu (eggless)

Today, 27th August, is my MIL's birthday. D and myself would like to wish her a very very happy birthday and we are grateful for her ever present love and affection and for everything that she represents! We celebrated in absentia the occasion with a homemade eggless Tiramisu and it turned out really tasty! We just wish we were able to share it with her.

    

The Tiramisu version that I made, is eggless and made with mascorpone cheese. D loves it a lot, and more so because the coffee flavor is his favorite Breakfast blend!

Tiramisu is made with layers of ladyfinger biscuits and a mascarpone- whipped cream mix.And I made the following changes to my Tiramisu  from the traditional recipe :


1. I replaced the egg in the mascarpone - whipping cream mixture with custard . Custard, just like eggs would help in firming up the cheese and cream.
2. Instead of using lady finger biscuits ( sponge cake with eggs ) i made my own eggless sponge sheets.
3. The traditional Tiramisu recipe uses dessert liquor ( like Marsala wine, Rum, Brandy, Kahlua ). You can instead use unsweetened grape juice.

I referred to Sanjay Thumma's eggless video for Tiramisu, he has used strained yogurt whereas i made my own mascarpone cheese.

I hereby present the full recipe

Ingredients :

For the sponge cake thin sheets :

All purpose flour - 1 cup
Sweetened condensed milk - 7 ounces /198.5 gms [ half can ]
Melted butter - 1/4 cup
Baking powder - 1 tsp
Baking soda - 1/2 tsp
Water - 1 cup

Heavy whipping cream - 8 ounces / 227 gms
Mascarpone Cheese - Refer the recipe by clicking on it
Strong brewed coffee - 1.5 cups
Unsweetened grape juice - 3 to 4 tbsp
Sugar - as per taste ( i used about 1/4 to 1/2 cup )
Cocoa powder - 1/2 cup ( or more as per taste )

For the custard :

Milk - 1/2 cup
Custard powder - 1 tbsp

For Garnishing:

Cocoa powder
Chocolate ( I used mildly sweet Hershey's dark chocolate )

Procedure :

Sponge cake cookie sheets :

Preheat the oven at 350 F and grease a sheet pan ( cookie tray).
In a small bowl mix melted butter, condensed milk and water.
In another big bowl mix all purpose flour, baking powder and baking soda, make a well in between and pour in the condensed milk - butter mix and mix properly.
Pour this batter on the greased tray and spread evenly so that when its baked , we will get a thin sheet of sponge cake.Take a knife and cut it into small strips ( Similar to the ladyfinger biscuits ).

Mascarpone, whipped cream and custard mixture (MWC mixture) :

How to make whipped cream

Take the heavy whipping cream in a bowl, add a tbsp of sugar and whisk  till soft peaks are formed. This should take about 20 mins of heavy whisking.

How to make custard

In a small pan heat milk. Take custard powder and mix it in 3 - 4 tbsp of milk.  When the milk comes to a rolling boil add the custard mix and stir continuously till it thickens. This would take few seconds. Cool the custard.

In a big bowl take mascarpone cheese and mix 3-4 tbsp of sugar and whisk till the cheese becomes soft. Add the whipping cream and custard and mix them well till you get a smooth  mixture . To this mixture add 2-3 tbsp of brewed coffee. Check for sugar , If you want to make your cheese more sweeter, add some more sugar.

Preparing the coffee liquor:

In a bowl mix the strong brewed coffee and 2-3 tbsp of unsweetened grape juice ( or Wine, Rum or Brandy if using ).

Chocolate Shavings for garnishing:

Take the big bar of dark chocolate and with a vegetable peeler shave off to make the chocolate shavings.

Assembling the cake :

Take a serving bowl ( preferably square or rectangle ) in which we will assemble the Tiramisu layers.

1st layer 

Dip the sponge sheets into the coffee liquors ( give a quick dip, like for a second or two. Over dipping would turn the cake soggy and break ) and line them into the serving bowl. Fill out the empty spaces with small pieces of sponge sheets if necessary.

2nd layer

Pour half of the MWC mix over the sponge sheets gently.

 

  

Evenly spread the cocoa powder over the MWC layer with the help of a tea strainer.

 
3rd layer

Take the sponge sheets and give a quick dip in the coffee liquor and line them over the cocoa powder .

4th layer

Pour some more MWC mix over the sponge sheets.

Sprinkle the cocoa powder over the MWC layer with the help of a tea strainer and decorate with chocolate shavings.

Cover with a saran wrap ( plastic wrap ) and refrigerate for 6-7 hours.

Serve chilled . Cutting and serving the tiramisu can be little tricky as the cake is very spongy and creamy. So cut carefully and serve.

Happy b'day again to my mother-in-law!!!!