Tiramisu Dessert with some ground cocoa beans

[Morane Chocolat]

Hello to all members of this amazing wonderful forum!

My name is Moran and I am a female Israeli Chocolatier

This time I published a recipe for tiramisu and a nostalgic story behind it - and decided to translate it into English (i'm thinking of may be translate all my posts to English from now- but because i'm a native hebrew speaker it won't be easy...)

Here it is:

TNX to Ilana for correcting my mistakes and that offered me to post my translation to this forum- and not just on my web site.

Tiramisu Dessert with some grounded cocoa beans and some nostalgia….

Rotem & Ido from the “Culinary” website asked me to give them a recipe with cheese and chocolate, from here to there. I’ve got a nostalgic story along with a recipe for Ti ramisu I love to prepare…. And even more – to eat. So in honor of Shavuot, (Pentecost, Jewish religious festival) here is the story and the recipe, hope you enjoy.

Tiramisu Dessert with some grounded cocoa beans, and some nostalgia….

Shavuot, is one of the more festive holidays. Of course all holidays are festive- but on Shavuot, everyone is dressed in white…. which makes it even more festive.

I spent my childhood in a youth village called “Nitzanim”. My father was counselor and manager of the youth boarding school. The village closed down 20 years ago and today serves as a religious place called Nitzan. Currently used as a residence for the Gush Katif evacuees.

At the Village, as in every village, Shavuot, is a big festival, where the village's agricultural produce is presented. Each group of students from the boarding school was responsible for the wagon's decoration – they filled them, at the eve of the holiday, with the village's yields. The tractors participated in a tour around the village, which ended at the village’s theater and amphitheater. The amphitheater was right near my house; it had a long benches made of concrete all round.

All around there were big wide lawns of fresh green grass. The amphitheater stage was used for performances, shows and ceremonies. It also had a pool made of concrete and it got filled with rain water from time to time. When there was no water in the pool, it was a great place in which to play hide and seek or just as great playground for all the children of the village staff.

At the amphitheater, we all gathered to see the show – the wagons were arranged on the concrete stage: there was a barn wagon with small and young calves; we had a wagon with a chicken coop and small sweet chicks. Another wagon was one that presented some field yields – harvest of wheat and barley and I think that there was also one wagon with a variety of farmer’s tools.

All workers of the farms wore overalls or were in their work clothes. They stood proudly, each near his own wagon. In turn, each farmer approached the stage and announced and praised the cow that yielded the most amount of milk (Ye- Ye – she had a real name and not just a number), which chicken had laid the best looking egg or chick. The Farmers also presented their achievements.

We left that house about twenty years ago. In the first decade since I’ve left, I went to visit the village nearly every Saturday: The Sand dunes, orchards, trails … slowly I stopped visiting because every time I arrived I found that another area of My Childhood had been flattened by the bulldozers.

I believe you can also imagine this memory and smile while you think of it – at least that’s what I do as I write these lines.

I haven’t been to the area for at least five years – due to strong feelings and endless longing for my childhood days at the happy village. My parents told me that now there is no sign of the village, our house, the statue of my childhood we had in our garden; nor the beautiful theater my friends and I used for shows we’ve put together.

As someone who grew up in a kosher house. Shavuot was, in fact, the only holiday during which we finally could enjoy my mother’s dairy desserts, so it’s really was a real treat. In honor of this wonderful holiday, I’m happy to share my recipe for Tiramisu, with no eggs, but with grounded cocoa beans. And if you want, you can also leave out the gelatin (more details below).

Tiramisu Dessert with some grounded cocoa beans and some nostalgia….

Rotem & Ido from the “Culinary” website asked me to give them a recipe with cheese and chocolate, from here to there. I’ve got a nostalgic story along with a recipe for Ti ramisu I love to prepare…. And even more – to eat. So in honor of Shavuot, (Pentecost, Jewish religious festival) here is the story and the recipe, hope you enjoy.

Tiramisu Dessert with some grounded cocoa beans, and some nostalgia….

Shavuot, is one of the more festive holidays. Of course all holidays are festive- but on Shavuot, everyone is dressed in white…. which makes it even more festive.

I spent my childhood in a youth village called “Nitzanim”. My father was counselor and manager of the youth boarding school. The village closed down 20 years ago and today serves as a religious place called Nitzan. Currently used as a residence for the Gush Katif evacuees.

At the Village, as in every village, Shavuot, is a big festival, where the village’s agricultural produce is presented. Each group of students from the boarding school was responsible for the wagon’s decoration – they filled them, at the eve of the holiday, with the village’s yields. The tractors participated in a tour around the village, which ended at the village’s theater and amphitheater. The amphitheater was right near my house; it had a long benches made of concrete all round.

All around there were big wide lawns of fresh green grass. The amphitheater stage was used for performances, shows and ceremonies. It also had a pool made of concrete and it got filled with rain water from time to time. When there was no water in the pool, it was a great place in which to play hide and seek or just as great playground for all the children of the village staff.

At the amphitheater, we all gathered to see the show – the wagons were arranged on the concrete stage: there was a barn wagon with small and young calves; we had a wagon with a chicken coop and small sweet chicks. Another wagon was one that presented some field yields – harvest of wheat and barley and I think that there was also one wagon with a variety of farmer’s tools.

All workers of the farms wore overalls or were in their work clothes. They stood proudly, each near his own wagon. In turn, each farmer approached the stage and announced and praised the cow that yielded the most amount of milk (Ye- Ye – she had a real name and not just a number), which chicken had laid the best looking egg or chick. The Farmers also presented their achievements.

We left that house about twenty years ago. In the first decade since I’ve left, I went to visit the village nearly every Saturday: The Sand dunes, orchards, trails … slowly I stopped visiting because every time I arrived I found that another area of My Childhood had been flattened by the bulldozers.

I believe you can also imagine this memory and smile while you think of it – at least that’s what I do as I write these lines.

I haven’t been to the area for at least five years – due to strong feelings and endless longing for my childhood days at the happy village. My parents told me that now there is no sign of the village, our house, the statue of my childhood we had in our garden; nor the beautiful theater my friends and I used for shows we’ve put together.

As someone who grew up in a kosher house. Shavuot was, in fact, the only holiday during which we finally could enjoy my mother’s dairy desserts, so it’s really was a real treat. In honor of this wonderful holiday, I’m happy to share my recipe for Tiramisu, with no eggs, but with grounded cocoa beans. And if you want, you can also leave out the gelatin (more details below).

Ingredients rectangular Pyrex baking dish or for about 30 individual cups:500 ml heavy cream 38%

500g mascarpone cheese

150 grams of sugar

1 packet gelatin powdered (14 grams) + 60 ml milk

250 grams bishkotti

200 grams of roasted cocoa beans coarsely shredded

Fine Dutch cocoa powder for the classic dessert, or for a new kind of tiramisu Sprinkle, 70% dark chocolate, coarsely chopped.

For the bishkotti :

100 ml Irish Cream (I use Feeney’s)

70 ml Vodka Van Gogh Double Espresso, but certainly you can use any coffee liqueur.

2 teaspoons instant coffee + 30 ml boiling water for dissolve.

Preparation –

I’m making it with the Thermomix, but it can certainly be prepared in a mixer or with an electric / Manual beater:

Early preparation:

Add the contents of the bag of gelatin to 60 ml of milk and stir; marinate about 25 minutes. Then, heat over medium heat (temperature of 70 degrees), stirring until the grains fully dissolve, cool aside.

1. Prepare the mixture for the bishkotti – Dissolve the coffee in boiling water and add the Irish Cream and vodka / liqueur coffee.

2. Place the whipping butterfly in the Thermomix, put the mascarpone, cream and sugar; beat 3 minutes in speed 3.5.

3. Add the dissolved gelatin + 40 ml alcoholic mixture; beat another half minute.

4. Prepare the dish as following: (whether personal cups or large baking dish) Dip the bishkotti well on both sides in the alcohol mixture, arrange at the bottom, sprinkle a generous amount of shredded cocoa beans, Pour half of beaten mascarpone, repeat the same action again on another layer of bishkotti , cocoa beans and the remaining beaten mascarpone.

5. Cool in the refrigerator for 24 hours, or at least for the night, for the bishkotti to soften and for the Tiramisu to stabilize and be easy to slice.

Before serving, sprinkle Dutch cocoa powder or grated 70% bittersweet chocolate.

Notes and tips:

If you don’t want to use gelatin – you can make the tiramisu without it, but you should use personal cups because it won’t be stable enough for cutting.

Always use mascarpone cheese of good quality, and here especially- don’t use any cream cheese and various imitations.

Although this tiramisu is without eggs, it is easy to prepare; it taste exactly as one who have eggs in it due to the Irish cream (a liqueur with eggs as one of the ingredients).

And here is a link directly to “Culinary” web site.

you go to this link for more photos of the Tiramisu http://morane.co.il/blog/?p=1296&cpage=1#comment-90

Photography by: Moran Yotvat Rudnik

nice to meet you all!

[Lior]

great Moran! Glad you joined us here! Welcome!

[Darienne]

Welcome, Moran. Lovely dessert. Wonderful story of childhood memories.

I have been 'going' to make Tiramisu for years and years now. Your recipe has inspired me to give it a try. Thanks.