Proper Italian Tiramisu

Lauren Caris Short

By Lauren Caris Short

Updated

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Since moving abroad we have met an abundance of amazing people from all over the globe. We have been exposed to more cultures in the last year than ever before and it’s totally amazing. I recently had the amazing opportunity to go and make Tiramisu with our friends Marco and Rachel’s mother. Marco’s mother, Mariateresa comes from Castrignano del Capo in Italy, a beautiful place in the very Southern part of Italy. We spent the evening cooking, laughing, eating pasta and Tiramisu and it was perfect.

Proper Italian Tiramisu - Lauren Caris Cooks

I have always loved Italian food, like if I could live on pasta I really would. In fact, I think this tiramisu has made my list of things I would take on a desert island with me. Seriously, a chunk of this and I’m made for life. This traditional Italian dessert is almost ALWAYS on the dolce menu of an Italian restaurant, but I wanted to find out how REAL Italians make it. And believe me… it was epic! If you need a pick-me-up, tiramisu is quite literally it. The word translates roughly as “Tirami” – Pull me “Su” – Up! I can live with that!

Proper Italian Tiramisu - Lauren Caris Cooks

A tiramisu recipe is typically passed down through generations of a family. Mariateresa learned from her mother, and then adapted it to make her own special recipe once she was married. This makes it an extremely personal dish, so of course the recipe is top secret!

Proper Italian Tiramisu - Lauren Caris Cooks

I was interested to learn that Italians would not make a tiramisu for other Italians; it is something you make at home for your own family on special occasions. This just goes to show how personal this sweet, smooth dessert really is. Italians take their food seriously… I think I’d make a good Italian.

First, coffee is brewed and cooled with a dash of added alcohol. Mariateresa used Disaronno but added that anything else you like would work too, it’s all down to preference. Egg whites were then whipped with mascarpone and icing sugar. Icing sugar is also called “veil sugar” in Italian as it forms a veil where it is dusted – isn’t that just adorable? I think we should always call icing sugar veil sugar.

Proper Italian Tiramisu - Lauren Caris Cooks
Proper Italian Tiramisu - Lauren Caris Cooks

The delicious cream mixture is then layered (in no more than two layers) with the lady fingers which are briefly dipped in the coffee mixture and then chilled to perfection, before receiving a generous dusting of cocoa powder. Guys, this was HEAVEN.

Proper Italian Tiramisu - Lauren Caris Cooks

While the tiramisu was chilling, Mariateresa made us the most beautiful pasta dish. I mean this thing had zucchini, pepper, tomato and pasta and I swear I can NEVER make those basic ingredients taste that good. I suppose the fact that the pasta came from Italy, the olive oil is squeezed from the olives of the 400 year old trees in the local olive fields and the pepperoncini’s are grown and dried in the sunshine on their doorstep has something to do with it. Come to think of it, that probably has everything to do with it. In Italian food, quality prevails. Over dinner we sipped on a wine from Puglia, the region that their family lives in in Italy and discussed their agricultural life. Food, friends and wine makes for a perfect Wednesday evening.

Proper Italian Tiramisu - Lauren Caris Cooks
Proper Italian Tiramisu - Lauren Caris Cooks

Can we also just take a moment to appreciate the view from the kitchen window? Yeah, let’s do that.

Proper Italian Tiramisu - Lauren Caris Cooks

Once dinner was done it was time to dust the tiramisu with cocoa powder and more importantly… eat it! I cannot even begin to explain how creamy the cream was and how rich the coffee flavor was. The cream was light due to the lack of egg yolks, but rich enough because of the mascarpone, and just the right amount of sweet. The ladyfingers had absorbed all the rich flavor from the coffee and Disaronno without becoming even slightly soggy. There wasn’t as much talk around the table while the tiramisu was being eaten, only noises of appreciation.

Proper Italian Tiramisu - Lauren Caris Cooks

It’s the whole package with the Italian culture, the food, the weather, the art, the family, the sharing. It’s like a big warm hug of a country. It offers so much comfort and yet so much fine history. Everything about Italy amazes me and I hope to have many more trips there in my lifetime.

Proper Italian Tiramisu - Lauren Caris Cooks

Images by Lauren Caris Short.