First of all, I would like to welcome myself to this community. This is my first, but not last, hub. There will be plenty more to come from me regarding food and drink. Maybe in five years when I’ll have a network of good recipes we’ll look back at the memorable first that broke the ice, or for the wildcats - the one that took my virginity.

Enjoy!

"Tira mi su" means "pick me up" on Italian (Tiramisu - due to it's rich sugar content, it "picks you up"). Tiramisu is a dessert that blows your taste buds away with sweet taste, cool and creamy bliss and rum flavour to put the icing on the cake (pun intended). Those who bite into this heavenly blend always come back wanting more.

Where this Italian dessert comes from is not precisely known. Some say it originated in Siena, Italy, when a Grand Duke Cosimo de'Medici III payed a visit. It was dubbed zuppa del duca ("duke's soup"). Others talk about it being created in northern Italy during the First World War. Contrary to this some beleive it's a recent invention, being documented no earlier than in 1971. More articles suggest that tiramisu is mentioned in Greek cookbooks. Whatever...

The conclusion is that not much is know about its past. Neither is it particularly popular in most parts of the world today. But that doesn't quite matter beacause we're here to cook, not to dig up ancient fossils of some food. So, onward we march...

6 eggs (beat the egg-white in a separate bowl; the yolk shoud be placed in a large bowl – this is where all the ingredients will be mixed)

½ kg powdered sugar

½ l cream (the type used to beat into whipped cream)

½ kg mascarpone cheese

vanilla essence

½ kg lady-fingers

3 tablespoons rum (taste of your choice, I prefer Malibu rum; a substitute for rum is Marsala wine)

3 tablespoons Tia Maria liqueur (a substitute can be any type of coffee liqueur, I recommend Tia Maria)

30 ml black ground coffee

dark chocolate (or chocolate of your choice)

In the bowl with the yolk from the six eggs add 8 atop tablespoons of powdered sugar. With a mixer mix this for 5 – 8 minutes. Add 8 more atop tablespoons of powdered sugar, cream and mix for another 4 minutes. During this add about 5 drops of vanilla essence. Add the mascarpone and mix well. Add the beaten egg-white and mix well. (While beating the egg-white add about half a tablespoon of powdered sugar to keep it from perspiring.)

For the bottom layer: In a small dish blend the coffee, rum and coffee liqueur together. Soak the lady-fingers in the blend (both sides) and arrange a layer at the bottom of a container. Pour the mixture on the layer of moist lady-fingers, grate the chocolate on top and store inside the fridge for 12 hours.

This section is for the "Mr. and Mrs. perfect" out there that worry about all the detail. Well, it's all here...

* This is an original recipe – by-the-book. Some adjustments can be made, e.g., putting more/less sugar/vanilla essence, etc. according to taste preference. I recommend making the cake by-the-book the first time around before making adjustments.

* The soaked ladyfingers shouldn’t be hard. If so this is an indication that they should be soaked more. If too soft then they should be taken out quicker (Duh). Again, this can be done according to preference.

* The container used to store the Tiramisu should be no smaller than 30x20 cm. Two smaller containers can also be used.

* The 12 hour wait might seem long for the sugar addicts. For those it’s ok to have a chunk after the Tiramisu has cooled. The 12 hour regime is there for the cake to “settle”, depending on the smoothness and fat percentage of the cheese. However, if the mixture seems thick enough then dig in! If it doesn’t… well… there are no cops around…

* If there is no mascarpone available at your area then smooth cottage cheese can be used as a substitute. In this case the Tiramisu should be left in the fridge overnight.

* Due to the chocolate melting quickly in my hand, I leave the chocolate in the freezer to make it cooler. Also grabbing the chocolate with a cloth will slow down the heat transfer from your hand to the chocolate preventing it from melting quickly. If you don’t like having chocolate covering you (and then having someone lick it off…) then you can sieve chocolate powder on the top.

* The substitute for coffee can be an espresso. Keep in mind that an espresso is good when it's concentrated and it looses its "zing" once diluted. I recommend using ground coffee. Bring about 50 ml of water to a boil and add a teaspoon of coffee. Bring the coffee to a boil the second time. After leaving it to cool for a few minutes it will be ready for use.

The recipes I publish are all home-made. I live in Croatia, Europe, so the recipes that you can expect are Eastern European based. I also like Mexican food and a bit of Asian. If anyone would like me to do detailed analysis of some ingredients or publish recipes of dishes that you are interested in feel free to contact me personally about the matter.