March Anxieties & Irish Coffee Tiramisu
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| Irish Coffee Tiramisu |
There must be such a thing as the March Anxieties. You know – like the Winter Blues, where seasonal depression rates suddenly skyrockets. With March comes the reminders of income taxes, annual OPDQ cotisation, drug & dental insurance plan fees (I shouldn’t have taken those student benefits for granted – had I known personal health insurance was so harsh I’d have had my dentures and prosthetics crafted 50 years in advance), Amazon Prime renewal fees (a necessity, of course), annual gym membership…
Sigh. Adult life.
It’s been a bit of a crazy month. Peering into my head right now is probably akin to looking into a paperweight of clouded glass - like falling into a storm. I’ve been busy with multiple projects that have picked up pace lately, and as I’m wrapping up the final pieces I feel like I’m accidentally shipping off pieces of my sanity (and sleep reserves) too. Alongside a major work project, I’ve just presented my last sports nutrition workshop (for the time being – hello public speaking anxiety, my old friend), and finalized the preparations for my trip to Japan. They were all quite big bites to chew on but I feel so accomplished now that it’s done. Except that I still have the tingles (and the hypothetical stress ulcers). It’s just not fair; when Peter Parker gets the tingles people hail it as his “Spidey Sense”, but when I do it’s caffeine withdrawal.
As I was working both at the office for my day job, and continued at home to finalize my workshop’s presentation, I took to keeping two stashes of coffee around me at all times. I had a small jar of instant espresso that I lugged around in my backpack, and a little coffee nook that permanently established itself on a side of my kitchen table. One evening, as I was going for my 9 o’clock cuppa Joe – and when I say 9 o’clock I mean 21:00 – I found a bottle of Bailey’s in the fridge that had completely slipped my mind since the Holidays. So, evidently, the natural course of things happened. …Don’t judge. Someone, somewhere, was bound to have been celebrating St. Patrick.
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| Instant espresso. The buoy of life. |
Bailey’s as a coffee creamer is so good. So good, in fact, that I could probably speak with an Irish brogue for a decent hour after. Following the advice of the wise Reddit council, I also added a drop (who am I kidding – a drop?) of Kahlua. Late-night PowerPoints weren’t all that bad from that day forward.
So when I was asked to try my hand at making a tiramisu, which is essentially a spiked coffee disguised as a dessert, it just made sense to try to recreate my Baileys’ coffee cocktail. I am a firm believer in the classic form of good things: old but gold, eaten and proven. But. I do like to tweak around recipes so that, when it comes down to the bite of cake, there is something extra going on.
The original recipe for Irish coffee actually comes from young Irish chef Joe Sheridan and involves a liberal shot of Irish whiskey rather than Baileys'. It originates from the events of a cold and stormy night at an airport near Limerick. To warm up passengers who had been delayed overnight by the storm, Sheridan decided to concoct a special brew with a splash of hot whiskey and brown sugar. He even composed a couple of poetic lines about it:
Cream; Rich as an Irish Brogue
Coffee; Strong as a Friendly Hand
Sugar; Sweet as the tongue of a Rogue
Whiskey; Smooth as the Wit of the Land
You could say it’s almost a… limerick. (Heh).
So.
All this to say that I added whiskey to my tiramisu (I told ya. I do believe in the classics). That, in turn, lead to a tiramisu which, according to a few weaklings constructive feedbacks, may have been too boozy. In the posted recipe, I have decreased the amount of total alcohol, but just slightly. I'd recommend tasting the coffee dipping mixture beforehand to make sure that it's at your taste (Psst. Demerara sugar and a dollop of cream enhances the tasting... accuracy. *wink*).
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| Slice of Irish Coffee Tiramisu |
Servings: 1 x 22 cm/8 1/2 inch square pan; OR 1 x 18 cm/7 1/8 inch diameter round pan (~10-12 servings)
Ingredients:
Irish Coffee Dipping Mixture:
350 ml very strong coffee or instant espresso, lukewarm
2 tablespoons Bailey's
2 tablespoons whiskey
400g / 2 x 7oz packages Savoiardi biscuits / Italian ladyfingers (you won't be using all of them. I think I used a little more than one package, but that's because a few were broken and I used a couple for the dip/soak test)
Mascarpone Bailey's Cream:
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
60ml heavy whipping cream
1 large eggs
75g Demerara or dark brown sugar
45ml Bailey's
1 tablespoon Kahlua
475g mascarpone cheese
Cocoa powder for garnish
Preparation:
1. In a bowl large enough to fit the length of a savoiardi ladyfinger, mix the lukewarm coffee, 2 tablespoons of Bailey's and 2 tablespoons of whiskey. Set aside and let it cool to room temperature (if you dip the ladyfingers in while the coffee is still hot, they will get soggy at a much faster rate).
2. Dip the ladyfingers in the Irish Coffee mixture, one at the time, about 1 1/2 second - 3 seconds on each side, depending on how hard your biscuits are to start with. Some brands of savoiardi ladyfingers may be softer than others, so adjust accordingly. I'd suggest having 2-3 ladyfingers on the side to test how fast the dipping time should be to achieve the desired texture. Line the bottom of a 22 cm square glass dish, or a 18 cm diameter square round glass dish. The bottom of the dish should be completely covered with a layer of soaked ladyfingers.
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| Italian Ladyfingers (Also known as Savoiardi biscuits) |
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| Dipping the ladyfingers in the Irish Coffee Mixture |
3. In a large bowl, whip the heavy whipping cream until stiff peaks are just about to form. Beat in the vanilla and keep beating until stiff peaks (as the amount of whipping cream is so little here, hand-whisking may be easier than using an electric mixer, and starting with a chilled mixing bowl may help with the whipping process). Cover and chill until required.
4. Separate the egg, dropping the yolk into a large bowl. Whisk vigorously or beat with an electric mixer the yolk and the brown sugar together until the mixture thickens and slightly pales.
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| Yolk-Sugar Mixture |
5. Beat in the Bailey's and the Kahlua. Keep beating until the liquors are well incorporated.
6. Using a stand-mixer, add the mascarpone in three parts and beat on medium-high speed, making sure to mix well between each addition. Keep beating until the mixture is well combined and starts to become moussy.
7. In a separate bowl, use a whisk to hand-whip the egg white to medium-soft peaks. Fold it into the mascarpone cream mixture.
8. With a large silicone spatula, fold in the chilled whipped cream.
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| Mascarpone Bailey's Cream |
9. Uniformly spread half of the mascarpone Bailey's cream mixture on top of the first layer of ladyfingers.
10. Repeat the ladyfingers dipping process and form the second layer. Top with the remaining mascarpone Bailey's cream mixture. If you want to decorate it like I did in the picture, spread a smooth, thin layer of mascarpone mixture first, and keep 1/2 cup-2/3 cup to pipe ontop of that thin layer.
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| Assembling the Irish Coffee Tiramisu |
11. Cover with cling film and chill overnight. Right before serving, sift some cocoa powder to dust the surface.
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| Cocoa dusting (my favourite part!) |
12. Nom!
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