Tiramisù con Pan di Spagna
Everyone knows and loves tiramisù, but like most popular recipes you’ll find there are many variants out there. One of the most popular versions uses coffee-soaked ladyfinger biscuits as a base. Unfortunately, I couldn’t find any in the shops around my area, so I decided to use Pan di Spagna instead. Pan di Spagna is also known as Italian Sponge. It’s very quick to prepare and it’s an interesting bake because it uses no leavening agents; it rises thanks to well beaten eggs.
Another important thing to keep in mind is the eggs. This dessert requires a big quantity of raw eggs which means you have to be 100% sure they are very fresh and of great quality.
I hope you like eggs.
Ingredient list
Pan di Spagna
6 big eggs (3 whole eggs + 3 egg yolks)
160g caster sugar
70g all-purpose flour
95g potato flour
Zest of 1 lemon
1 pinch of salt
Cream
500g Mascarpone
4 eggs
100g sugar
Extras
500ml black coffee
Cocoa powder for sprinkling
Cooking/Preparation time
Sponge
15min hands on + 35min in the oven
Cream
15min
2h fridge rest
Step by step
Pan di Spagna
With a handheld mixer (or stand mixer) beat the 3 eggs and 3 yolks with the sugar, salt and lemon zest. Keep going until your batter is very light and airy and the volume has quadrupled. (This step is critical because it will help the eggs incorporate air which will make your sponge to rise without any leavening agent)
Mix the flours and slowly add them to your batter. Gently fold them in with a spatula. This will allow your batter to keep the air
Use some butter to grease a cake tin with a removable bottom. Preheat the oven to 180° C ( I used a 20cm cake tin)
Pour you cake batter in the tin and bake for 35min. Make sure you don’t open the oven until the end, or your cake could collapse. You will know when it’s ready as the top will be nice and golden
Once ready, let it cool down and cut it in slices of roughly 1,5cm (pictures below)
The Cream
Divide the yolks from the egg whites
With a handheld mixer or stand mixer beat the egg yolks with half the sugar until they are fluffy and creamy. Slowly add the mascarpone in and mix until your cream is dense. Set aside
Put your egg whites with the remaining sugar in a bowl and beat until stiff. Once ready, you should be able to turn your bowl upside down without the egg whites moving (same consistency as a meringue)
Now it’s time to mix the stiff egg whites with your mascarpone cream. Add the egg whites slowly in the mascarpone cream and fold with a spatula. Take your time and don’t rush as you want to make sure the egg whites remain fluffy. Once ready put it in the fridge.
Putting the Tiramisù together
Poor your coffee in a big bowl. Make sure the coffee is cold otherwise it will ruin the cream
Decide where you want to put your Tiramisù. You can use glasses for single portion Tiramisù, or you can use a deep tray
Take a slice of Pan di Spagna and quickly soak it in the coffee. Pan di Spagna is very absorbent so be careful not to over-soak it.
Place the Pan di Spagna at the bottom of your glass/tray. Repeat until the bottom of your tray/glass is fully covered
Cover the Pan di Spagna with a generous amount of cream. Remember that the sponge is very absorbent so make sure you add enough cream
Create another layer of coffee soaked Pan di Spagna and add another layer of cream
Once your tin/glass is full and you have added your last layer of cream dust with cocoa powder
Put your Tiramisù in the fridge to set for a couple of hours before eating
Pan di Spagna
The Cream
Tips & cheats
You don’t have to make Pan di Spagna every time you want to eat Tiramisù. Ladyfinger biscuits are perfect
if the eggs are not beaten or folded in correctly the cream can become a bit liquid. If that happens just make single portions in a big glass instead of making a big portion in a tray!
The cream itself is extremely versatile and you can use it in many different ways. For example, you can just make the cream and eat it in a bowl with fresh strawberries
Another great variation of Tiramisù is with Matcha tea. You can follow the recipe above and only substitute the following: Matcha tea instead of coffee for soaking and Matcha powder instead of cocoa powder for dusting
