DESSERT WEEK 1: Sponge cake-style Tiramisu with cream cheese

What can we say for this delicious dessert? The Italians have given us through the years so many luscious savoury and sweet dishes and Tiramisu is one of those! Although it seems that it is not one of those recipes that goes back in centuries (apparently it was invented in the late 60's) it has been stuck with us in such a way that you feel it was there for God knows how long! But there are people who believe that Tiramisu is a variation of the much older dessert "Zuppa Inglese"... Who knows, and who really cares, what we care about is that Tiramisu is a really tasty dessert for all seasons and occasions! There is nothing really Greek about this dessert as you can realise except the fact that the version I'm giving you today we could say that it gets closer to some Greek desserts because instead of the classic ladyfingers we use layers of "Pandespani", which is nothing more that a type of sponge cake which in Greece is the ingredient used as a base in so many desserts of this kind (like tortas etc) 

Prepared by Maria Loi,

a prominent Head Cook and food author

"Kouzinomagiremata" magazine of "ETHNOS" newspaper (2009)

Ingredients (for 6-8 people)

For the Pandespani:

1 1/2 tea-cup of all-purpose flour

1 1/2 tea-cup of granulated sugar

1 tea-cup of warmed milk

3 eggs

3 tbsp of cocoa powder (unsweetened)

1 tbsp of baking powder

1/2 tsp of vanilla extract

2 tbsp of margarine

For the cream:

6 egg yolks

6 large cups of espresso coffee

2 tea-cups of crème fraîche

1 1/2 tea-cup of granulated sugar

1 1/2 tea-cup of cream cheese, at room temperature

1/2 tea-cup of water

1 small tin of evaporated milk

2 shot glasses of liqueur (of your choice)

To garnish:

1/2 tea-cup of chocolate powder (unsweetened)

Method:

Preheat the oven to 170°C and brush the bottom and the sides of a medium size oven tin with the margarine.

In a large bowl put the eggs and the sugar and beat with a hand mixer until they become a creamy and fluffy mixture. Then little by little add the flour, the baking powder, the cocoa and the vanilla and gently stir with a spatula. Add the milk and continue stirring until you have a homogeneous mixture.

Empty the mixture into the tin and bake for about 40 minutes. Take out of the oven, allow it to cool completely, take it out of the tin and carefully cut the sponge cake horizontally into 3 equal thick slices.

For the cream, put the sugar and the water in a small saucepan and boil on medium heat until they become a thin syrup.

In the bowl of a standing mixer beat the egg yolks, while at the same time, you add the syrup little by little until the mixture rises in volume and turns pale in colour. Then add the cream cheese and stir again until the mixture is homogeneous.

In another bowl beat the cream with the hand mixer until it is thickened and add it into the egg mixture, gently stirring at the same time until they blend together.

In a third bowl put the coffee, the evaporated milk and the liqueur and mix with a spoon to blend.

Take the first slice of the sponge cake and place it on the serving platter you will use to serve the dessert. Drizzle thoroughly the surface with the coffee mixture.

Using a spatula, evenly spread a layer of the cream on top. Cover with the second cake slice and repeat the procedure, every time finishing with a thin layer of the cream.

Put the remaining cream in a pastry bag and garnish the surface on top creating long strips (see photo).

Put the Tiramisu in the fridge and allow to set properly and just before you serve dust on top with the chocolate powder.