Tuesday, March 2, 2010

Daring Bakers: Tiramisu



The February 2010 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Aparna of My Diverse Kitchen and Deeba of Passionate About Baking. They chose Tiramisu as the challenge for the month. Their challenge recipe is based on recipes from The Washington Post, Cordon Bleu at Home and Baking Obsession.


Tiramisu used to be one of my all-time favorite desserts. What’s not to love about it? A fluffy, creamy filling with espresso soaked ladyfingers/cake and a hint of just a little bit of rum or marsala. Yes, please! Unfortunately, this is normally a rare treat in the vegan world. I made tiramisu once at school, but of course, it wasn't vegan. This is something I’ve been wanting to tackle for a while now.


Since tiramisu is a rare thing for me, I decided to make two flavors: traditional and chocolate caramel. I used the Tira Mi Su recipe from Urban Vegan and used marsala wine instead of brandy. I’ve heard nothing but great things about this book and after making this kick ass recipe, I will definitely be buying this book! This recipe is pretty simple, easy to follow and down right delicious! This will be a special occasion recipe for me because the ingredients are a bit expensive, but definitely worth it!


And now for brown pic mania. Sorry about the bad lightning!


IMG_3933



Traditional Tiramisu


IMG_3939




Bake sponge cake and cool on cooling rack. I forgot to take pics of the cake process! Whoopsie!


IMG_3896




Cut the sponge cake into circles using a cookie cutter or cup. Slice the cakes in half length wise.


IMG_3902




Whip Soyatoo! and set aside. This stuff is amazing! I cannot believe how similar it is to whipped cream!


IMG_3881



Whip Tofutti cream cheese, marsala wine, sugar and vanilla until smooth and well combined.


IMG_3886



Gently fold whipped cream into cream cheese mixture. Remove half of the whipped mixture and set aside for the chocolate caramel tiramisu.


IMG_3889




Pour espresso in a bowl and quickly soak cakes.


IMG_3905



Transfer cakes to ramekins or cups and spread the yummy whipped filling on top. Set aside to decorate.


IMG_3914




Chocolate Caramel Tiramisu


IMG_3930


I used this vegan caramel recipe from A Vegan Ice Cream Paradise blog. While I do prefer a more traditional caramel recipe without using brown sugar, this recipe was super fast and simple to make.


Melt Earth Balance in a saucepan over medium heat. Add brown sugar and stir until combined.


IMG_3862



Add creamer and stir. I used coconut creamer and it worked great!


IMG_3869



Bring liquid to a boil and boil for 4 minutes, stirring frequently.


IMG_3872



Remove from heat. Add a slurry of arrowroot and creamer. Stir constantly until well combined and set aside until cooled to room temp.


IMG_3875




Sift one tablespoon of cocoa powder to the saved whipped filling. Silly me, I forgot to sift! Add two tablespoons of caramel sauce. Gently fold until combined.


IMG_3890



Add espresso soaked sponge cake and caramel to a ramekin. Smooth chocolate whipped filling on top and set aside.



IMG_3915



Smooth tiramisu tops with a cake spatula.


IMG_3919



I bought these handy little cake stencils at Ikea. Place the stencil on top of the tiramisu and sift cocoa powder until covered. Slowly remove the stencil. The tiramisu sticks a little bit to the stencil, but it still looks pretty cool.


IMG_3920





For a cool little trick on your plate, place a spoon on a white plate. Arrange paper towels or parchment paper next to the spoon. Sift cocoa powder on top to cover the spoon and the exposed part of the plate.


IMG_3923



The end result is decadent and freakin’ delicious! This recipe will definitely fool any omni and is just incredible! Dinoff is not a coffee drinker, and even he loved it!


IMG_3927

10 comments:

Amy said...

I don't care if the pics are brown, this vegan tiramisu looks to die for! Amazing job transitioning to a dairy-free incarnation, and it doesn't look as if any flavor is lost in the translation.

Love the creative presentation.

Cristina @ TeenieCakes said...

Your tiramisus turned out beautiful! I like what you did with the stencils and cutting out the sponge cake to fit the ramekins.

It was a fun challenge! :)

Valerie Gamine said...

Your tiramisu(s) are adorable! You put a lot of work into these to make them vegan and I bet they tasted amazing! Though I'm no stranger to dairy, I happen to love the flavour of vegan desserts.

Excellent work!

VeganPower said...

Oh nice idea, for the mascarpone with de tofutti & soyatto whip cream, I would not have thought !

Great job and very appetazing ♥

Veg-In-Training said...

Those are a work of art. I love tiramisu. I think that is one of the prettiest presentations I've seen. Thanks for the step by step instructions!

x said...

I want one of each! I also love the stenciling!

Unknown said...

Wow! The stenciling makes your tiramisu look so expert!

kk said...

wow!! they look amazing, i wouldn't even imagine that tiramisu could be vegan! i have to try this soyawhip!

MandyM said...

I love those cake stencils, so cute! I'm absolutely amazed at how you made vegan tiramisu, they look fantastic :D

Dinoff said...

Freakin' Amazing!!!!!!!

Although I didn't have the original one, the Carmel one was AWESOME!!!!

Sooo tasty & delicious!!!

Awesome Job buddy! :)