"Proffesional Tiramisu" ?

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.

sloppy

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 .

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.

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).

freezing

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.

Different approach

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

I can't imagine tiramisu without mascarpone, it kind of takes away it's quality as tiramisu - it becomes sort of a zuppa inglese if it's mostly pastry cream (though, hopefully, without the dread alkermes). 

To make it hold its shape better, AND to prevent feeding raw eggs to your guests, i make an italian meringue with the whites, though my daughter does the same procedure also for the yolks - she likes it with yolks, i don't care, and kind of prefer the whiter version.  The boiling sugar syrup cooks the eggs. 

Then i fold in the mascarpone. 

Lady fingers are firmer than spongecake and that's why i prefer them. 

coffee.  No liqueur (come on guys, this is probably the only italian desert that doesn't use EITHER lemon or liqueur, i prefer to keep it that way, but everyone has their preference)

i like grated chocolate on top as an alternate. 

but cocoa works well

 

Used to do trays and trays and trays of it.  Get a flat 18 x 26 sheet pan and get a sheet pan "Collar" or square metal ring that sits iwthin the lips of the pan.  Line this with silicone paper, and make sure the paper extends up the walls of the collar.  I usually add a bit of gelatine to the mix, and made my own ladyfingers, with a mix of 50/50 mascarpone and cream cheese, lightened with beaten eggwhite.  Set overnight, cut, slide a clean burger flipper between the tirimisu and the paper and remove. 

Oh, Nicholas, forgot to tell you, this was made for "Coffee Club" a chain of coffee houses.  "My time" there were 5 locations, I think the one at Holland Village is still around, and maybe Takishimaya, but all the rest of them, Boat Quay, Ngee Ann city, etc, are gone now. 

 I have your answer for the marscarpoe. I learned this by teaching myself how to make tiramisu for an entire arena for a national hockey team. When I whipped the egg yolks and sugar I figured out that the longer I whipped the eggs and the lighter in color they were the thicker and stickier it was once it was completley cooled in the end. 

 

When you go to cut it wether frozen or fresh you want to work as fast as possible. It may even help to cut the cake in the cooler or freezer to keep it firm. I ALWAYS use hot hot water and a sharp knife. cleaning it off every time.  You can also use a 'cookie cutter' and use a miniture straight edge spatula to carefully take it out of the cutter. This way is lot more of a pain in my eyes.

 

Just for the record, I made a tiramisu' for easter with italian meringue and mascarpone, coffee-soaked ladyfingers and grated chocolate (semisweet) on top.  It was heavenly. 

 

I did want to suggest that it probably isn't so hard to make mascarpone.  Has anyone ever tried here?  The ingredient list on the package is: Heavy cream, citric acid.  Period.  How hard can it be?

I make mine in a rectangular cake pan.  I line the pan with non-stick foil,with extra extending over edges and use ladyfingers (the dry ones), dipped in kahlua.  For the filling, I fold together whipped mascarpone, whipped cream and zabaglione.  I make 2 layers each of ladyfngers and filling, then chill unitl very cold, at least 24 hours. The excess foil makes it easy to lift it out of the pan and then neatly slice.  I sprinkle with unsweetened cocoa powder or grated chocolate before serving. 

 

To make the zabaglione, I beat egg yolks, sugar, and marsala together in a double boiler over simmering water until very thick and chill before adding to the mascarpone. 

The last time I made tiramisu I froze it for an hour to firm up. That way I had nice clean cuts.

 

Honestly, I would never use anything but mascarpone cheese. The substitutes just don't cut it. But then, I tend to buy it at $3 for 8 ounces.

You don't freeze Tiramisu.  Unless you are making something "called" Tiramisu which it is not.

 

As a Florence trained chef I can tell you that Tiramisu is a "spoon dessert" and that whole cut in square thing is an American dessert.  But if you must cut in squares, you DON't freeze...add some gelatin.  And of course, use Mascarpone.  Using anything else is not Tiramisu.

A cooking girlfriend of mine claimed she made tiramisu, put it in small pots and froze them without any loss of quality. Seems they thaw really quickly. She's a homecook just like me.

I had to try it since I'm not allowed to eat too much fat in a short period of time and freezing in pots seemed like a very good idea. So I went for it with a small batch.

Made the tiramisu starting with a ruban (beating eggyolk+sugar until white and fluffy), adding loosened mascarpone and finally beaten eggwhite with a little sugar and a pinch of salt.

I made 2 version; traditional with "boudoir" cookies as we call lagdyfingers, soaked in strong coffee plus a small dash of Amaretto di Sarronno and another one made with amaretti cookies just sprinkled with a little orange liqueur and no coffee.

Thought to freeze them like in the picture (dating from november 2009) and when serving just sprinkle with some cacao powder.

There was a big problem however... everyone liked it so much that they all got eaten before I could execute my freezing plan! Never tried it again.