"Proffesional Tiramisu" ?

[Nicholas]

Hi, I've always wondered how hotels or cafe's make those squared tiramisu.
I've always been keen on making one like that.

I'd imagine that the ingredients would be what the general tiramisu recipe calls for and I figured that I should replace the ladyfingers/spongefingers with a sponge cake, cut in to 2 layers.

My question is, how do you make them in neat right angled square shapes?
I don't suppose you make them in a square pan, and tap out the tiramisu, no?

Do you use a square springform pan? Does anything need to be done to make the mascarpone mixture more firm, so that it will hold its own, and not slop out the edges?

I'd appreciate if any of you in the know can share the recipe.

Thanks for reading!

[Headless Chicken]

In class, we used square tin foil containers to keep the tiramisu as a whole in a square shape.

As for keeping it more firm, we mixed in pastry cream (milk, sugar, eggs, corn starch, and vanilla) with the marscapone cheese.

Last weekend, I had visited family in Long Island, NY who made a tiramisu. Her cheese filling was made of ricotta chese and low fat philidelphia but ended up too runny. I had made a pastry cream and mixed the 2 and found it made it very firm that it held. Just don't soak your ladyfingers in too much esspresso syrup though.

[Nicholas]

Hmm, square tin foil containers. How did you then, remove them? Would you care to further explain?
I'm thinking now, of lining the pan with greaseproof paper, and then assemble the tiramisu. When set, I lift the entire thing out?

Thanks for the insight on the pastry cream! Most recipes I've come across didn't mention anything about pastry cream. Do you have a recipe for the pastry cream, or can it be bought?

*EDIT*
I've come across a website showing how pastry cream is done.
http://www.pastrychef.com/htmlpages/...try_cream.html
I guess I've answered myself.
Now I've got to try it.
I'm still curious about assembling in a square tin foil container though.

[baker1]

Most pastry chefs I know just don't bother with the typical recipe for tiramisu, pastry cream is the way to go.
It seems tiramisu, as usual recipes call for it to be made are inferior from the get go.

With a nice sponge and pastry cream as a base you can cut it into perfect squares .

[Headless Chicken]

I was quite careful when plating my tiramisu when cutting it out from the square tin foil.

If your looking for an easier way, do a round tiramisu with a round, flat cake pan, line the outside with acetate and secure with good tape, then assemble.

I agree with Baker1, marscapone cheese is way too expensive to the point where its not worth selling and the cheap stuff just makes a real bad product. A mixture of some cream cheese, ricotta, and a little lime juice is supposedly a good and inexpensive substitute.

[salvatore]

Originally Posted by Headless Chicken

I agree with Baker1, marscapone cheese is way too expensive to the point where its not worth selling and the cheap stuff just makes a real bad product. A mixture of some cream cheese, ricotta, and a little lime juice is supposedly a good and inexpensive substitute.

I"ll usually mix my marscarpone with a very firm ricotta of some creme patissiere. Two thin slabs of sponge (18X21) cut in half (tiers). Going for a more traditional recepe is a little chancy (and costly).

[Nicholas]

I agree that a traditional recipe sets one back, quite a bit.
The next time I try it, I'd probably mix the mascarpone with pastry cream. And I'm going to replace the sponge fingers - another tedious bit of the traditional recipe - with a vanilla spongecake.
I've only done some home baking for family and friends, but I'm getting a clearer picture of cost management, regarding pricey ingredients and what not.

Thanks for the insights!

[fargesh]

I've had no problems making it in a hotel pan and freezing it, and then cutting clean squares. Just trim the edges where the pan is sloped, and all the pieces will be uniform. No crystalization in the lady fingers or marscapone filling as long as its handled well.

The suggestions to use pastry cream are great, I've always used marscapone (and cream cheese in a pinch) but I look forward to trying that.

farg.

[Bill H]

We make massive amounts of -misu. Generally we make it in bowls (approximately 2.5 qts) or, in rectangular frames placed on restaurant sheet pans. When making it in the bowls we place 7 "dipped (coffee/Kalhoa (SP?))" ladyfingers in the bowl followed by the "pudding," then combed. For the sheet pan approach we use either a Swiss Roll as the base (vs. ladyfingers) sprinkled with coffee/amaretto, followed by the pudding, the raked.

The easiest way we found in making the pudding is to whip the heavy cream, dissolve the marsopone cheese in with equal amounts of Bailey's Irish Creme & Kalhoa, dissolve the tiramisu base mix (We use Brauns from Germany). Combine the pudding and cheese mixes then fold in the whipped cream.

We allow the sheeted tiramisu to set overnight in the freezer, the next day we can unmold and cut in to any shape we may need.

Hope that helps.


Bill

[Nicholas]

Hi Bill H, it sounds like we make it the same way where I work at part time. It's all assembled in a sheet pan, with sponge fingers brushed with kahlua first, then the layer of mascarpone with whipped cream, and then a second layer of sponge cake/swiss roll, and so on and so forth. We garnish it with cocoa powder before we serve it.

You mention that you allow the tiramisu to set overnight in a freezer, and then you unmould it. Would you care to share how you unmould it, from a sheet pan? wouldn't the top layer(mascarpone) be messed up?

We let it set in the walk in chiller, cut, and then plate it straight from the pan and garnish with cocoa powder.