Perfecting Tiramisu

One of the favorite desserts in my family is tiramisu, especially because it brings back strong and nostalgic memories. We used to eat this dessert in Italy, which is special to my family as a large aspect of my parents’ life orientated around Italy. It was where they built a strong relationship, where they studied and progressed in businesses, and where we lived when my brother and I were born. Italy is our second home, and with travel restrictions, we tend to miss the little things that would make us happy. One of these things was Tiramisu, which I had never attempted to make before, and found very intimidating. This small dessert was one of the little things that we used to appreciate as a family, which is why I wanted to bring some of that experience back. Being stuck in the house, I saw this as an opportunity to make a tiramisu.

Planning:

Once I decided to make a tiramisu, I started planning the ingredients I would need, looking into the potential recipes I could use. As I wanted to make a more traditional Italian tiramisu, I tried to look for recipes in Italian, which allowed me to practice some of my Italian in the process. Click here to see the link I chose as my main recipe. I proceeded to look at the ingredients list for this recipe, gathering 250g mascarpone, 50g sugar, 2 eggs, 150g savoiardi, coffee, and cacao powder. I halved the recipe as I only had 250g of mascarpone when it required 500g. I made sure I had all my ingredients/utensils, as well as watched the recipe video along with the recipe again so that I got a stronger sense of what I had to do. The next step was to make it.

Action:

Below is a gallery of photos showing my creative process of the Tiramisu every step of the way.

 

The creative process was enjoyable, allowing me to focus on the task at hand and take a step back from academics. I received the support of my family, helping me along the way with constructive feedback. I specifically collaborated with my mum, which led me to build on my collaborative skills as we discussed new ideas on how to improve.

Once we completed the Tiramisu, we noticed a few changes I could make to improve the final product. Therefor, I began the action process again once we were able to source more Mascarpone.

During this second trial, I did not half the recipe as we were able to access the sufficient 500g of mascarpone for the recipe. Below are some images of the process, and what we changed.

Reflection:

By repeating this proccess twice, I was able to make small tweaks in the recipe which allowed us to reach our goal of making a traditional and light tiramisu. Initially, we noticed the tiramisu was not as airy as we had hoped, thus I conducted some research and found it was neccesary to mix the egg yolk and sugar solution until it was a thicker consistency. This allowed the cream of the tirmaisu to thicken, avoiding the watery consistency from the initial trial. We also found it was important to be gentle when folding together the mixture, in order to avoid mixing the air out of the base mixture. Adding on to this, we avoided dipping the Savoiardi in the coffee for too long, which prevented the outcome of a watery texture.

Connecting this experience to the learning outcomes, I found I was able to grow from this proccess, as I was able to reflect on an outcome, and expand on how I could improve it. When making the tiramisu, I was able to take constructive feedback and use it for a beneficial outcome. This repetition of a proccess demonstartes my commitment and persevenarance to obtaining my goal of improving in my cooking skills and expanding the recipes I can carry out. By commiting myself to this proccess, I was able to work off of the challenges I faced, which in this scenario was the tiramisu being too watery. From this mistake came an opprotunity to build up my skills, understanding my weaknesses which in turn allowed me to gain a deeper understanding for cooking. I am now able to identify the fluidity of a egg mixture can be decreased by mixing the solution for a longer duration. To come across this issue, it required initiative and planning, making sure I had a controlled recipe so I could pin point the flaws which may arise. I found a recipe and the required ingredients prior to cooking, making sure I had all the utensils and had a solidified idea of the procedure I would be carrying out. By being prepared, I was able to gain more out of this experience as the challenges were not inflicted by personal carelessness. Lastly, I collaborated with my family in the household, sharing some of the tasks in order to make a tasty tiramisu. I recieved feedback from family members throughout the whole proccess, and was able to learn from more culinarily expereinced members, which helped improve the tirmaisu. I enjoyed this cooking experience as I worked towards one of my CAS goals, permiting me to expand my culinary horizon.