Earlier this year, on our "Italian Adventure" we visited beautiful Venice. It was only an overnight stay because Venice is expensive and after you've visited the main square and the Doge's Palace there are only so many shop filled, tourist crammed, cobbled stoned alleys you can handle before your feet fall off and you find you've eaten 12 different flavours of gelato in one day…..what?
We arrived on some kind of environmental day so none of the ferries were operating. Somehow, we (husband) decided it would be best to embark the 40 minute trek across San Marco to drop off our bags then head out on to the tourist packed streets. We visited a few sights and did some people watching. As the sun began to set we purchased a big bag of strawberries from a market and sat on a pier to watch the gondolas and the sun dance on the water.
After sunset we walked by the main canal and examined the overpriced menus of several waterfront restaurants overflowing with loud tourists. Uninspired, we walked two streets back from the water down a random alley that, as we so often found in Italy, opened into a beautiful courtyard that housed a lovely little restaurant. It was just us. According to all Australian restaurant logic, minimal occupancy indicates that the restaurant serves poison as a main but this, thankfully, was not the case. We were served large jugs of wine and ate lashings of spinach and ricotta cannelloni.
And then came dessert. Throughout our trip we tried to make a point of eating dishes that were traditional to the region. There is some debate regarding the origins of Tiramisu. Some say Tuscany, others Veneto but I have read enough convincing accounts that Tiramisu originated in Venice and that was where I ate it and loved it.
It sure wasn't pretty but I have no regrets about eating at a non-mainstream, non-waterfront, non-tourist hotspot restaurant.
During our trip we made many promises that when we came home we would recreate the delicious, regional flavours of Italy and this is one promise I came good on. This is a cheats version as I chose not to make my own sponge but that will be a challenge for next time
Tiramisu
3 eggs, separated
3/4 cup white sugar
250g mascarpone cheese
250ml espresso coffee, cooled
3 tablespoons sherry (or any sweet fortified wine or even brandy)
pre-made sponge cut into fingers
thickened cream, whipped to serve
80g dark chocolate, finely grated to serve
Beat the egg yolks with the sugar until the sugar has dissolved and the mixture is a light yellow and fluffy then beat in the mascarpone until smooth.
Whisk the egg whites until soft peaks form then fold into the mascarpone mixture.
In a shallow bowl combine the espresso and sherry, then dip the sponge into the liquid until it is just wet but not falling to pieces (try to do this as evenly as possible so you don't end up with some saturated sponge and other dry sponge). After dipping each sponge finger place it into a dish, pack them quite tightly.
After the base layer of sponge is formed, top with the mascarpone mixture then make another sponge layer and top with mascarpone. This is best left to sit in the fridge and allow the flavours to develop for a few hours (or overnight if you can wait that long). Before serving top with whipped cream and dark chocolate.
