The Tiramisu.

Has any one else actually MADE Tiramisu? Like, from scratch?

I need to be perfectly honest here, I've never been a huge Tiramisu fan in general so this dish was particularly hard for me. I wasn't exactly sure what to compare the taste to or what the best Tiramisus look like.

Well, why did I choose this dish you might ask. Duh! Because I'm cooking my way through Christina's book?


Okay, there is a better answer to that question. One of my co-workers from the Ballet, dared me to make her a delicious dessert which she can eat and eat and not feel guilty about. "I want Tiramisu, ready go" I think was her exact response. Always up for a challenge, I dug into Christina's book and there it was.

pg. 315 Would You Believe? Tiramisu

This recipe is pretty simple. You only have to prepare the cream. And that's because the cake recipe is completely separate.

pg. 302 Surefire Basic White Cake

This is the recipe you will be to combine with the Tiramisu. It takes about 40mins to cook and 30 minutes to cool so plan accordingly. I followed the directions to a tee. I doubled the recipe as called for...I hope I didn't add too much flour. I feel like maybe I could have added more liquid. The instructions say it should be spoonable, but not running. Hmm. Maybe my batter was a little too think. I only had it in the oven for exactly 40 mins, but when it came out it was more like a bread. I believe Tiramisu is supposed to be moist? Oh well, at that point there was no turning back.

Here was another issue I ran into. I didn't have round cake pans, and I didn't even have two of the same cake pans. So instead, I doubled the battered, and put it all in 1 long sheet pan. I figured I'd cut it in have to make 2 cakes. It wasn't a bad improv idea, however those half pieces weren't even. This brings presentation down to a 5 out of 10. You then need to cut the 2 cakes in half horizontally to make 4 layers. Yea, that definitely did not happen. Let's say I ended up with 3 layers and the cake was about 5" high.

Another funny improv I had to come up with was the coffee. I'm macro I don't drink coffee!! Actually I'm kidding....I don't drink coffee because I don't like the taste. Yes you heard correctly. I do not like the taste of coffee. So why would someone like me own a coffee maker? The recipe called for 1 cup of grain coffee brewed. Being a NY-er I went over to one of the 5 Starbucks on my block and bought a grande de-caf black. Such a proud coffee-orderer I am =)

The directions call for you to spoon the coffee on each layer, but not to make it soggy. I think I could have added more coffee to the cake. Isn't tiramisu supposed to be really coffee like? I was just so afraid of making the cake soggy, meanwhile the cake was more like a bread. So, at the end this wasn't my greatest master piece. However, an A for Effort. I'd like to see you peeps out there try and make a 4-layer Tiramisu. I brought it to the Pot-luck that night and people ate it. Although when there's a lot left over that's not a good sign. Eek.

And to Georgia, I'm sorry if it wasn't the greatest. Apparently after I gave her a slice she wasn't overly fond.

I'M SORRY EVERYONE!

I'd really like to try this recipe again...I think I got it now.

But I dare YOU to try it!