An easy tiramisu recipe A delicious Italian cake from the Veneto region
Here we are, time for the sweet tooths. Let’s see how to prepare an easy tiramisu recipe with the help of a video (see at the bottom of the page).
The correct spelling is tiramisù, pronounced with accent on the final u. The meaning of this italian word is pull me up and it may have stemmed from a naughty and not too veiled allusion..Read on.
First of all, what are the origins of the most famous high calorie Italian cake? Nothing is certain but the fact that the traditional tiramisu recipes were born in Italy, most probably in Veneto.
There are basically two theories about the history of tiramisu. The first one says that the tiramisu originated in the town of Siena, Tuscany, in the late 1600s. On the occasion of the coming to town of the Tuscan grand duke, a well-known glutton, the renowned Siena pastry chefs guild decided to create a brand new cake to honor him.
In the mind of the pastry chefs, the cake should have mirrored the Duke’s personal characteristics, that were both grandeur and simplicity. And voilà, the zuppa del duca was invented - or soup of the duke - a strong-flavored yet easy to prepare dessert.
From Tuscany, as the story goes, tiramisu spread soon over the rest of the Italian peninsula, especially in the Republic of Venice territories, where mascarpone - still unknown in Tuscany - was added. Venetian noblemen and courties started to be crazier and crazier about this new dessert.
As the legend goes, just in Venice the name zuppa del duca turned soon into tiramisu – pull me up - after that the news spread about its aphrodisiac properties. Some people even used to have a bellyful of it right before a tryst..
The second theory involves Veneto as well, and it is likely to be the most well-grounded. According to this version the tiramisu is much more recent, having been invented in 1971 in the restaurant Le Beccherie in the Veneto town of Treviso.
As a matter of fact, this theory also relies on the fact that no recipes book reported how to make tiramisu before the Seventies.
In fact the first written reference of an easy tiramisu recipe was made in 1971, in the review Vin Veneto. According to this renowned journal, tiramisu originated from a rustic recipe with energetic and restorative properties, sort of a drink named sbatutin in the venetian dialect, prepared since centuries in the Veneto’s countryside. The sbatutin was made by whipping fresh yolks and sugar, hence its name, from the Italian verb sbattere, to beat.
In the early Seventies the above mentioned restaurant of Treviso had the idea of adding to the traditional sbatutin some mascarpone, savoiardi (Italian for ladyfingers), coffee and chocolate, gaving birth to the today's celebre tiramisu.
Easy tiramisu recipe: it's a child's play!
What is the best tiramisu recipe? I'd say the traditional one, with the original ingredients.
Ingredients for 6-8 servings
400 gr ladyfingers 400 gr mascarpone (italian light cream cheese) 4 eggs 100 gr of sugar 2 cups of espresso or very strong black coffee 30 gr of cocoa powder
Beat the egg yolks with sugar until it gets thick and foamy. Whisk in the mascarpone and fold into the beaten egg whites. Dip into coffee half of the ladyfingers, line them in a rectangular dish and spread over half of the mix of mascarpone and eggs. Top with a second layer of dipped ladyfingers and with the rest of the mix. Dust wit cocoa powder over the whole surface. Refrigerate for at least a couple of hours before serving.
