Of Baileys and Lady Fingers
I made a total of 3 tiramisus over the weekend using this recipe from Vi, a very nice lady residing in the States - one 8×8 inch went to my cousin YL and her family, another 8×8 inch now sitting prettily in my office’s bar fridge waiting for the boss to cut his birthday cake, and the 3rd is a 4×8 inch for The Hubby to devour and enjoy at home today.
You know what’s the irony? I haven’t really tasted the cake yet despite the fact that I had already made 3. I have been helping myself to the cream while assembling the whole cake, so I have a good idea how it might taste, but I really can’t wait to taste it later on after my boss performed the ‘cake-cutting ceremony’.
Back to the recipe itself. Here’s some information and tips Vi shared, and the rest are comments from my own experience. Hope it helps those who are keen to try out the recipe as well!
- Vi’s original recipe fits a 9×13 inch cake tin perfectly with 44-48 lady fingers used. My 8×8 inch cake tin can fit 28 lady fingers, hence I halved the portion of syrup (although it should be just slightly more than half).
- The recipe calls for both cocoa/coffee liquor and rum. I replaced all of that with Bailey’s Irish Cream, which Vi said was possible as well, subject to individual’s taste.
- I prepared the full portion of cream as stated in the original recipe to cream the sides of the cake and for the piping at the top of the cake. On the hind sight, I think it might be a better idea to prepare another portion of whipped cream for the creaming and decor.
- It is not absolutely necessary to bake the lady fingers, but they will taste better after being baked for a short while.
- Aluminium foil tins are also ok to house the tiramisu.
- While preparing the 3 different portions for the cream, the same whisk can be used without any washing in between.
- The lady fingers (or sponge fingers) I used can be found in the Biscuits section at Cold Storage. The brand is Vicenzi, if my memory didn’t fail me.
- I use normal Hersheys Cocoa Powder, which is also commonly found in NTUC and Cold Storage. Dutch-processed cocoa powder is not necessary for this recipe. If you want really good quality dutch-processed cocoa powder, you can try Valrhorna’s.
Ok that’s about it. Hopefully the tips will come in handy!
As for me? I think I’ve had enough of tiramisu to last me for quite a while (i.e. after I’ve tasted the one in the office’s fridge).
Time to move on to try out other new recipes. 
** I’ve just tried the tiramisu. Absolutely HEAVENLY! OMG, I didn’t know I am capable of making such nice tiramisu! Vi, I love you!!!
Hi Cadenze!
I tried my hand at baking Tiramisu a few months ago, but the results were extremely disappointing! The ladyfingers turned out way too soggy, as I dipped them in the Baileys and expresso for too long. Hence I was absolutely delighted to know that the recipe you used did not require soaking the ladyfingers first!
However, I still have some questions after reading your post. Hope you don’t mind =)
1) I saw from the recipe that its actually ok to omit the egg whites. You reckon, given your baking expertise and experience, the taste of the cake will remain unchanged if I really don’t add the egg whites? Course I was thinking that if I omit them, then my nephews would also be able to eat the cake, since the egg whites are uncooked and I thought not very suitable for kids consumption.
2) How do you exactly sprinkle the liquid over the ladyfingers? Is there any gadget you used (=P)
3) How did you fit the ladyfingers nicely into your 8×8 inches tray (course I’ll probably be using the same try too)? Did you cut up some of the ladyfingers to do that?
4) Can I ask what is the final texture of the cream like? Slightly watery? Or quite stiff? And when you beat the cheese with the sugar, how did you know when to stop? Will the cheese still be in clumps?
5) I don’t really comprehend this phrase “The cream must touch the walls all around, and make sure the cream is spread well and no holes are communicating with the lady fingers bellow. We don’t want any liquid to go to the layer bellow” which is in the recipe. Hope you can enlighten me on this.
6) I love the way you presented your Tiramisu, with the creaming and piping! But really curious how you managed to get the assembled Tiramisu out of the baking tray, to decorate the cake? I’m sure you did not decorate the cake while it was still inside the tray right?
I’m so sorry for bothering you with so many questions. Really look forward to making my next Tiramisu a success!
Thank you very much!
Hi Luna Esa,
I might not be able to help much with my limited knowledge but I’ll try to answer your questions.
1) OK I confess I have limited knowledge, but I think the egg whites are used to ‘lighten’ the texture of the cream. I think the taste wouldn’t differ very much without the egg whites, but the texture might be a little different. There was a lady who tried without the egg whites, and her tiramisu still came out tasting and looking fantastic!
2) I was using a wooden ladle to stir the syrup while warming it over a hot water bath. After that, I poured it into a measuring cup so I can tell the total volume. I used to wooden ladle to scoop up the syrup and pour over lady fingers. No other special gadget.
3) Yes, I used a sharp knife to trim the lady fingers.
4) The final texture of the cream is quite stiff, not watery. The cheese should be smooth after beating, and I stop when I see that the sugar has dissolved. It might be a little difficult to whisk the cheese (which is advised to be at room temperature before whisking), so I pour in the Baileys to ‘dilute’ the cheese a little.
5) Ok let me try re-phrase that in my own words. Spread the cream such that it is completely covering the lady fingers and cocoa powder below it. Take care to spread it right to the side and corner walls of the baking tin as well.
6) What I did was a little tedious. I put a 9×9 in square cake board on a tray, and then place a bottomless 8×8 inch square metal mould in the centre of the cake board. So when it has been refrigerated overnight, I only needed to remove the bottomless mould to decorate the cake before carefully lifting it up from the tray with the cake board to put into the box or to serve.
I hope it answers your questions. Feel free to email me if you need further clarification. I know I’m not very good at describing, especially the final step about how I assemble my cake.
Cadenze
hey dearie, juz wanna ask u something. whats the meaning of “respect the liquid measurement”? i thought the word respect was a pretty funny term to use.
Heh… that lady is a Romanian residing in the States, so her usage of some terms may not be familiar to us in Singapore, I suppose.
I think she’s trying to say to follow the ratio of the different liquid measurements and not to reduce them to our taste.
So are you going to try it out?
Hey welcome back! Great to see u back in action again. I esp love the flaky yam mooncakes. Any idea where I can get them now?
Hi Cadenze!
Thank you so much for your quick reply! No worries, I totally understood all the answers, including the one on how you assembled your cake. And I thought it was a pretty innovative way too!
Thanks again!
hi CY, thx for the clarification. i will try it out, but it looks kinda..umm..difficult. there are so many ingredients & steps! how u find it? time consuming or not? i hate measuring lotsa ingredients and end up having to wash so many dishes! but i guess if i were to make, i will do it in a form of, those 5-10cm cake ala. french restaurant kind, u know what i mean? serve on a large plate and drizzle with choc sauce around, that kinda thing. and where can i get sponge fingers? do u think cold storage sells them?
oh by the way, i wanna ask u something. do u know where i can get this kind of wooden basket/container? see the pic below :
*edited*
i\’m asking u coz u seem like the \”classy\” kind, not cheena. so i thought u might know hehe. saw it in donna hay\’s modern classics 2, and i just love how this container looks! thx ya =)
oops sorry darling..i juz tried direct clicking and seemed like they dont allow direct linking. anyway i’ve uploaded the pic myself, so here it goes again :
http://img301.imageshack.us/img301/8296/200331554001ej0.jpg
Hi there!
I am currently doing my own research to find the next best alternative to Crown Prince’s flaky yam mooncakes. Will update once I come to a conclusion.
Arrgghhh… I WANT MY CROWN PRINCE FLAKY YAM MOONCAKES!!!
Luna Esa : Glad it helped. Go try it to regain your confidence in making tiramisus!
xxxxx
Evan : Me too! I hate measuring! My kitchen was in a mess this morning when I left home with all the dishes left undone in the sinks. Left it to poor hubby to wash up for me heh!
If you ask me, it\’s not difficult, but it requires some planning like what to do first etc. But be prepared. The kitchen WILL BE messy if you\’re disorganised like I am.
Ya, I get what you mean. Presentation is not my forte. I\’ll stick to the safe options ahah. And yes, sponge fingers can be found in Cold Storage. I haven\’t seen them in NTUC though. Will it help if I take a pic of the packaging?
Oh dear… I\’m not \’classy\’ lah. I just have expensive taste hahha! Ooppss… better not let my hubby read this. Back to the container. I haven\’t seen it around, but I\’ll look out for something like this and let you know if I do see something similar.
thats sweet of u lady. the pic will be good. at least i know how it looks like :p oh but only when u r free. don’t hv to purposely make a trip down just to take the pic
haha having expensive taste is just the same as classy. thats what i meant! coz at least u have the taste, which money cant buy! and u hv the sense of awareness of what looks good and what’s not. so yea, that more or less makes up “classy”. hehe. will do, let me know if u see something similar.
Heh no worries. I sent the hubby out to get a few packs of sponge fingers yesterday evening so I still have 2 packs at home.
Will take and upload the pic tonight or tomorrow.
Congrats on yr success try! Appreciate your willingness and of course Vi for sharing all the tips
*look around for a bottle of Baileys*
Hi Cadenze
I am disappointed that I could not access to Vi’s tiramisu recipe. Upon reading your success of her tiramisu, I asked hubby to get a bottle of baileys at DFS. Now I’m left with a bottle of bailey and hubby has been asking when I am making tiramisu. Please help. Thanks.
Hi Lay Lian,
No worries… Vi herself has posted her recipe in my blog. It\’s at http://decadenze.com/blog/2006/09/06/overdose-of-tiramisutra/#comment-140.
The protected post… I just re-wrote the recipe in my own words in my own format for my future reference.
Good luck in your tiramisu. I\’m sure your hubby will be very satisfied with it!
Cadenze
Hi Cadenze
Thank you so much. I am so relief. If you ever want to make strawberry heart cheesecake with jello topping, I have a good one. You can email me.
Hi Lay Lian,
I’ve dropped you an email.
Thanks!
Hi Cadenze,
I really love your blog! The pics are so nice and yummy! Will try out the tiramisu recipe soon! By the way, I’m also a fan of Tiramisutra. Bro’s birthday is coming. Getting him a big one for the whole family.
Thanks Belle!
Great choice to get from Tiramisutra. You won’t be disappointed.
Hey Cadenze,
I’ve tried the Tiramisu recipe. Not too bad although it is a little sweet for my liking. I’ll reduce the sugar a little the next time. Thanks for posting Vi’s recipe.
Hi
the vanilla used for the syrup is vanilla essence or powder?
is there any shops that sell baking equipments?
thanks so much for this wonderful recipe! =))