Tiramisu

I just realized I've never made a post on Tiramisu! Tiramisu is my very first experience doing real baking at home. Tiramisu often gives people a "difficult to make" impression due to its complex taste. Though I probably wouldn't recommend it to entry level bakers, I actually don't think tiramisu is as difficult as it sounds. It's a simple "no-bake" cake that also involves mixing of all ingredients. The only key to make it tastes right it's getting the correct proportion of espresso and liquor (tips: my experience has taught me the type of liquor also makes a big difference. For the below recipe I have used Bailey as I found it blend in best with espresso).

This is a tiramisu Ca and I made for Ju姐's birthday last week. For this cake, we had used a 7'' springform pan which serves 8 people. However, please note that the recipe presents below is for a bigger pan (9x13'' pan). So you might want to do the math to adjust all ingredients proportionally if you want make a 7'' cake.

Ingredients:
7 yolks
½ cup (100g) sugar (or less 75g) – ½ for yolks and ½ for white
3 8-oz. (227g) container mascarpone
41/2 tablespoons water
11/2 tablespoons powdered gelatin (use less next time – 1 Tbsp)
3 egg whites
1 cup heavy cream, whipped (dissolve 1 Tbsp espresso powder into cream before whipping)
2 cups cooled espresso
1 cup liquor (I used Bailey)
20-24 ladyfingers
Cocoa powder

For ladyfingers, I personally prefer to use the packaged ones (below) instead of the freshly baked ladyfingers find in local bakery/grocery stores because packaged ladyfingers are thicker, and can absorb more espresso/liquor mixture without getting too soggy so the to keep their shape better.

Directions:
1) In a large mixing bowl stir to combine the whipping cream and the espresso powder. Cover and chill the bowl and beaters in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes.
2) Pour water into a small bowl then pour powdered gelatin over it. Do no stir. Allow gelatin to absorb all of the water (about 15 minutes) then place the bowl on top of a small saucepan containing simmering water (creating a double boiler).
3) Immediately turn off the heat and allow the gelatin to dissolve completely.
4) In a mixer with the whip attachment, whip yolks and ½ of the sugar until thick and pale in color (ribbon stage).
5) Add mascarpone and whip until well incorporated
6) In a separate bowl, whip egg whites to a soft beak, gradually add ½ of the sugar, then slowly pour in dissolved gelatin. Whip to a stiff, glossy peak
7) When the whipping cream is chilled, beat the mixture until stiff peaks form.
8) Fold whites into mascarpone and yolk mixture then fold in whipped cream.
9) In a separate bowl, combine espresso and liquor.
10) Soak 1 ladyfinger at a time in the espresso mixture.

If you are making round shaped tiramisu using a springform pan, soak ladyfingers in espresso mixture and line up again the rims. Also place some ladyfingers side by side in a single layer over the bottom of the pan. Spoon 1/3 of the cream fillings over the ladyfingers making sure they are completely covered.

Repeat with another layer of ladyfingers by dipping them in the coffee/liquor mixture and placing them on top of the cream. Again, cover the ladyfingers with a layer of cream. Cover the Tiramisu with plactic wrap and refrigerate at least 6 hours, preferably overnight.

To serve: remove the plactic wrap from the top of the tiramisu, sift cocoa powder over the top of the tiramisu or decocrate with shedded chocolate.

I made two layers, but you can make as many as you like depending on the size of your pan.

Beef Lasagna

Lasagna is one of my favorite pasta dishes and also has been long sitting on my "to-cook" list. Lasagna is one of those dishes you can cook only when you have friends/family over for dinner because it's usually made in large portion! And yes, it takes a long time to cook too. This past weekend, after watching the World Cup final, Vin, Ju, Ca came over to my house which made it the perfect chance for a lasagna night!

This dish took almost 4 hours to cook from start (grounding the beef) to finish (eating) -_-! All the time spent was worth it when the end product turned out super delicious!

The recipe I found online it's so easy to follow and delicious. So I thought to share with you all. Again, I modified the recipe (e.g I skipped the italian sausage) a bit to match my crew's taste bug.

Ingredients

1 1/2 pound of ground beef

1/2 cup of chopped onions2 cloves of garlic chopped

1 (28 ounce) can of crushed tomatoes, or 2 (14.5 ounce) can

2 (8 ounce) cans of tomato sauce

1 (6 ounce) cans of tomato paste

1/2 Cup of Water

2 tablespoons white sugar

1 teaspoon fennel seed

2 teaspoons fresh Basil leaves chopped

4 tablespoons fresh Italian parsley chopped

1 teaspoon salt (or 1.5 teaspoon salt if no Italian Seasoning)

1 teaspoon Italian Seasoning

1/2 teaspoon ground pepper

23 ounces of ricotta cheese (I used low fat)

1/2 teaspoon fresh grated nutmeg

1 egg

1 pound shredded mozzarella cheese

1 cup grated Parmesan cheese

12 Lasagna Noodles

Directions

1. Start with the following in a pot.1 1/2 pound of ground beef1/2 cup of chopped onions2 cloves of garlic chopped
Brown the ground beef, Italian sausage, onions and garlic in a pot until they start to look. It takes about 6 to 9 minutes to brown the meat. I use a medium temperature to brown the meat.
2. Add the following:1 (28 ounce) can of crushed tomatoes1 (8 ounce) cans of tomato sauce1 (6 ounce) cans of tomato paste1/2 cup of water
Gently stir this into the cooking meat.
3. Add the following:2 tablespoons white sugar1 teaspoon fennel seed2 teaspoons fresh Basil leaves chopped2 tablespoons fresh Italian parsley chopped1 teaspoon salt1 teaspoon Italian Seasoning1/2 teaspoon ground pepper
Gently stir these seasoning into the sauce.Cover the pot and let the meat sauce simmer. Simmer on low heat for 1 hour and 30 minutes
4. Soak 12 lasagna noodles. The lasagna noodles need to be soaked in hot tap water for 30 minutes.
5. While the noodles are soaking you can make the cheese filling. Put the following in a mixing bowl:23 ounces of ricotta cheese.1/2 teaspoon fresh grated nutmeg Grate fresh nutmeg over the Ricotta cheese.
6. Add the following1 egg2 tablespoons fresh Italian parsley choppedMix these ingredients together with a spoon
7. Now we start building the lasagna layers.Use a 9×13 inch baking pan. Spread 2 Cups of meat sauce on the bottom of the pan.Remove your lasagna noodles out of the water bath. Shake water off wet noodles.Lay 6 noodles across the layer of sauce.Spread half of the ricotta cheese mixture over the layer of noodles.Spread 1/2 of the mozzarella cheese over the ricotta layer.Sprinkle half of the Parmesan cheese over the mozzarella layerSpread 2 cups of meat sauce over the cheese layerLay down the next layer of noodlesSpread the remaining ricotta mixture over noodlesSpread the mozzarella and Parmesan cheeses saving some cheese for the top of the lasagnaPut the last layer of meat sauce on the cheesesSprinkle the remaining cheese on top.

8. Cover with foilBake in preheated oven at 350 for 25 minutesRemove foil and bake uncovered for another 25 minutes.Remove from oven and allow to cool for approximately 15 minutes.

This recipe will feed around 10-12 people. The 4 of us only managed to finished about 1/3 last night. The rest went to our packed lunch for work the next day :)my only piece left after packing lunch

Recipe source: http://mylasagnarecipe.com/

Note: recipe herein has been modified.