Tiramisù in Mason jars

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This post is about two firsts: my first Tiramisu and also the first time I make something in the famous and so cute Mason jars. I love the idea of using Mason jars. Especially this small wide mouth ones. They are perfect for individual cakes, pies, beverages or any other delicious treats. I have seen around the web so many creative uses for this jars that I can't wait to try and to come up with some new ones myself.

About the Tiramisu: this is a basic and traditional recipe, and you will absolutely love it! I was never a big Tiramisu fan, but for some reason, maybe because I made it, and also had so much fun while making it, I absolutely loved this one, and can't wait to make it again. Make this dessert ahead of time, as it needs to chill for several hours before served, so plan accordingly. Is best to make it the day before, so it has time to chill over night. 

Tiramisu is a relatively new Italian dessert, it seems to have been first mentioned in cookbooks around 1982-1983, although there are some that establish the creation of it in 1969. "Tirami su" means "pick-me-up" in Italian, and it most probably refers to the effect of the coffee and cacao used in the recipe, and I can attest it is quite accurate: we made the mistake of eating some before going to bed, the other night, and we could not fall asleep for a couple of hours. So yes, it does pick you up indeed. It is a good idea to avoid eating it at night. That is, if you can resist. 

Most of the recipes are using Savoiardi biscuits, the Italian Lady fingers, the same ones I used for this bread pudding. But I wanted to use instead my favorite sponge cake recipe, (pan di Spagna or chiffon cake) that is as easy to make as going to the store and buying the Savoiardi, so please try it.

This recipe made 12 portions (12 half pint jars ; half pint=236 ml) of Tiramisu. 

Ingredients:

For the sponge cake:
7 eggs
1 cup granulated sugar
7 tablespoons vegetable oil (canola, sunflower or corn)
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 pinch salt
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract (I started using pure vanilla bean paste lately, as I adore seeing the small vanilla seeds in my desserts, and is more economical than using vanilla beans)

For the syrup:
1 cup strong brew espresso (I made 6 regular espressos, but you can make less, and dilute it with water to get to one cup, if you don't want it to be too strong, especially if you have kids ;) )
1/4 cup sweet Marsala wine
1/4 cup granulated sugar

For the Mascarpone cream:
5 egg yolks
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup sweet Marsala wine
1 cup Mascarpone cheese
1 cup heavy whipping cream
2-3 tablespoons confectioner's sugar (powder sugar)

You will also need:
3-4 tablespoons good quality cocoa powder
12 half pint jars

Optional for garnish:
1 pint of raspberries or other fresh berries/fruit of your choice 
fresh mint

Method:

Start by making the sponge cake, so it has time to cool:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 C), and prepare a baking pan (9x13 inch) with parchment paper, or butter and flour. 
Separate the eggs, putting the egg whites in the clean bowl of your mixer, and the yolks in another bowl and set aside.
Beat the egg whites on lowest speed for 30 seconds-1 minute, then increase the speed to medium-high and beat for 2-3 minutes until soft peaks form. Add the sugar gradually and continue beating on high for other 3-4 minutes to stiff peaks. Careful not to over beat it though. It has to look glossy not grainy for best results. But hey, no one will know that you over beat it, so don't worry, it should be OK. 
Mix the egg yolks and oil very well. I use my blender for this step. Add the vanilla extract and mix.
Sift the flour, baking powder and salt together in another bowl.
With the mixer on low, or even better with a wooden spoon or spatula, add the egg yolk mixture to the egg whites, slowly folding them in, just a few seconds. Add the flour mixture, and fold in gently, just until incorporated. This should mean 10-15 folding moves, or 10-15 seconds with the mixer on low.

Pour the batter in the pan, spread evenly using an off set spatula, and bake on the middle rack for 23-25 minutes. Check on it after 20 minutes pass. It is done when the cake springs back after gently pressing your finger on it, in the middle of the pan. 
When done take out and let it cool completely.

While the cake bakes, make the mascarpone cream:
First we will make a Zabaione:
Place a sauce pan or other small pot with an inch of water on fire, to get to a simmer. 
Beat the egg yolks and the sugar on medium-high, preferably in a heat proof bowl, until fluffy and light, for about 5 minutes. Mix in the Marsala wine. Sweet Marsala is a delicious wine! Pour yourself a glass and cooking will be even more fun! You can substitute Marsala with Port or Madeira wine, any sweet wine you like really, or brandy, cognac, even rum.
Put the mixture in a heat proof bowl, over the pot of simmering water, on low heat. It is important for the water not to be boiling at all, just simmering, and the water not to be touching the bowl, otherwise you will end up with sweet scrambled eggs.
With a whisk keep beating the mixture, constantly, for about 15 minutes, until it cooks and becomes thicker, airy, and super creamy and well, insanely delicious. Take off heat. You just made Zabaione! Zabaione is another Italian dessert staple. It is traditionally served simply over figs. Keep this recipe, you can use this cream in many delicious treats, or just by itself. It is highly addictive, though, be careful! 

Let it cool, and place in the fridge for at least an hour, to cool completely.
In another bowl mix the Mascarpone cheese gently, until soft, with a fork. Don't whip it.
Using again your trusted mixer, beat the heavy cream and confectioner's sugar on medium-high for 3-4 minutes, to stiff peaks. 
Gently fold in together the softened Mascarpone with the whipped cream. Pour the cold Zabaione on top, and mix everything, still very gently, just until combined... this is such a dainty delicate dessert! 
It would be best to let the cream chill in the fridge for a couple of hours. I did not. I have no patience what so ever! It still worked out fine.

Make the syrup:
Mix the espresso, wine and sugar in a sauce pan, and simmer for 3-4 minutes. Set aside and let it cool.

Now assembly everything:
Line you cute jars, the cake, syrup, cream and powdered cocoa, like in a assembly line. You can use any type of glasses too. This recipe would look very elegant in Martini glasses, for example. 

You will need some round biscuit or cookie cutters, in same diameter as your jars, a small sifter, and optional an ice cream/cookie dough scoop.
Using the cookie cutter cut out circles of cake. Cut them very close to one another, so you get as many cake rounds as possible. 

Place a tablespoon of Mascarpone cream in each jar. Place a cake round on top of it, with the bottom side (with no crust) facing up. Sprinkle 1-2 tablespoons of coffee syrup over the cake. 

Put two heaped tablespoons of Mascarpone cream on top of the cake round.  I use an ice cream scoop, to make sure I put equal amounts of cream between the layers.

Using the small sifter, add a fine layer of cocoa powder on top. 
Place another cake round, then syrup, then two tablespoons of cream, then sift cocoa. Repeat. 

The last layer has to be Mascarpone cream, dusted with a generous layer of sifted cocoa. 
Chill in the fridge for several hours... at least 4, over night would be better... Eh, if you can't resist, go ahead an eat one immediately! 
Garnish with the fresh fruit or whipped cream and fresh mint before serving or leave as it is. 

The great part of using jars, besides cuteness of course, is that you can cover them with lids, so they keep fresh longer, and they are so easy to transport, to a picnic or to work even! 
It is past 3 AM now and all I want is the last jar of Tiramisu we have left in the fridge. Must resist! Goodnight!

"Fourth of July" cake

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I was really excited to try making my first Fourth of July "Independence Day" cake, and here is what it turned out like!

It was so much fun making it! But it took two days... 

First day I made the marshmallows, as they had to have time to set overnight, and baked the cake layers too, letting them chill overnight in the fridge, so that it would be easier to cut and handle when assembling the cake. Today I made the filling and frosting, and put everything together. 

I used Alton Brown's marshmallow recipe. They are very easy to make, and it is so much fun to be able to make your own colors and shapes! I made one batch, spread it on a 9 by 13 inch pan, and next day I cut them with a cookie cutter. So easy! 

 I baked 3 batches of regular white sponge cake, this means 6 7 inch pans, leaving one (2 pans)  all white, while tinting with food coloring the other two in a vivid red. To make white sponge cake I just replace the egg quantity in my regular vanilla cake recipe, with a same quantity of egg whites only. For the batter recipe, you can check my "Perfect vanilla cake" recipe.

I then cut out the domed upper part of each baked cake, so that it would be perfect straight. Then cut it in two equal layers, using a cake leveler, having now 8 layers of red cake, and 4 of white cake. This tool is very handy when making layered cakes like this. I used only five of the red cake, for symmetry. Also It was dangerous to make the cake taller, it is 8 inches tall as it is, and only 7 inches in diameter! 
For filling I used the cream cheese frosting recipe that you can also find in the "Perfect vanilla cake" post. 

 Placing pieces of parchment paper under the cake helps keep clean the cake stand while frosting it! After finishing frosting gently pull them out and you have a clean stand! This is very helpful especially when using bright colored frosting, like the blue one I used.

I started assembling the cake with a red layer, alternating with a white one, and so on, and finishing with a red layer as well. In between the layers I used a dollop of cream cheese frosting only. Using a large ice cream scoop for picking up the cream ensures you have equal amounts of it between layers. I decided on this filling because it is a little thicker, and would hold better under the weight of the cake. This is a huge cake, about 8 inches tall, so you have to take in consideration it's stability. Having the cake layers chilled also helps a lot. You can also freeze them before, but chilling was enough.

After finishing layering, I covered everything with a Swiss meringue buttercream, because it is a very white cream, so tinting it a bright blue is easier, and gives you a nice color. 

 Place a dollop of frosting on top, and using an offset spatula crumble coat the cake first. This means putting a thin layer of frosting all over it, so the crumbles won't get in your finishing layer of frosting. After crumble coating it, let it chill in the fridge for 20-30 minutes, then continue with the rest of the frosting.

The recipe for the meringue buttercream:
1 cup egg whites
2 cups granulated sugar
3 sticks softened but cold butter, cut in cubes
1 tablespoon pure Tahitian vanilla extract
small pinch of salt
5 drops of Royal Blue Ateco gel food coloring


Method:


Wipe the clean bowl and whisk attachment of your stand or regular mixer and a hand whisk with a paper towel with vinegar or lemon juice, to make sure you remove all traces of grease.
Put a sauce pan with 2-3 cups of water  on heat, and let get to a simmer. Mix the egg whites with sugar in the mixer bowl, and place it over the sauce pan, making sure the bowl does not touch the simmering water bellow. Mix continuously with a whisk, until the egg and sugar mixture gets to 140 degrees F. You can use a candy thermometer. I did not have one, but for this cake went and got one at Sur la Table, for $12. This little gadget is not expensive but it helps you so much in the kitchen, from making candy and marshmallow, to playing with chocolate or getting a perfect steak or turkey!
If you don't have one just heat everything for 6-8 minutes, until all the sugar is melted, and the egg whites are quite warm, but you must be able to touch it, so not very warm. 
Place the bowl on the mixer, and let it whip for 5-6 minutes on medium heat, until you get a glossy meringue, and the bowl reaches a neutral temperature to the touch.
Change the whisk with the paddle attachment, and with the mixer on slow, add the butter cubes one by one, until incorporated, and the cream is spreadable. If it is too runny, the butter might have been to warm. Put the bowl in the fridge to cool fo 10-15 minutes, then beat again. If the mixture curdles, keep beating and it will come together. At the end add the vanilla, salt and food coloring. Mix.
Use the frosting  immediately. If not you can keep it in the fridge or even freeze it.


After frosting the cake with the blue buttercream, I made a cake topper using my marshmallow stars. I wanted white stars to put on the blue cake, and marshmallows seemed the perfect choice for USA's Independence Day, because they are sooo... American! An explosion of stars on a beautiful blue is what I wanted. I am happy how it turned out!

The red and white striped "stick" holding the largest star is actually a paper beverage straw! ;)


So here you have it, a 9 layers cream cheese frosting filled, red,white and blue, taller than wide cake, covered in blue meringue buttercream and topped with an explosion of homemade marshmallow stars!

Happy 4th of July, everyone!