(Something like) tiramisu
I wasn’t going to post my tiramisu entry until I could make a better one but the photo looks so gorgeous with the perfect lighting and right focus. 
It all started when Beng posted her tiramisu recipe. I was going to wait until she visited the Philippines again so she can teach me. Then my husband came home one day with mascarpone cheese and the only thing I could think of was tiramisu. Or, perhaps, we had been talking about tiramisu and that was why “mascarpone” rang a bell when he saw some in a deli store and he decided to buy. Whichever it was, the fate of the mascarpone cheese had been sealed. I was going to make tiramisu. Or, at least, attempt to make one.
I was going to do it the right way by baking a sponge cake first. But I got lazy. The alternative was to use lady fingers (broas). I went out to buy some and saw this tin of mamon tostado. I figured, why not mamon tostado? It made more sense. Mamon tostado is toasted chiffon cake. And that sounded more in keeping with the traditional sponge cake than lady fingers. I bought a tin of mamon tostado, went home and got the other ingredients ready.
Then, my 12-year-old daughter, Alex, opened the tin of mamon tostado. Oh my gosh! They were thick slices, not the half inch slices that I bought in the past. Right, I bought an unfamiliar brand and the mamon tostado was different as different could be. Not that they tasted any differently, but, they were really thick.
At any rate, with the expriration date on the mascarpone cheese making it imperative to make the tiramisu once and for all, and make it fast, I made the custard and the espresso. The amount of the custard was out of proportion with the espresso-dipped mamon tostado but what the heck. I piled the custard on them just the same. Still looking good.
Finally, the chocolate topping. Cocoa powder or shaved chocolate? I decided on the shaved chocolate. Darn, I couldn’t find the vegetable peeler with which to shave the chocolate and it was melting fast in my hand. What was within reach was the cheese grater. I grabbed it and grated the chocolate as fast as I could. Then, something snagged. My 14-year-old daughter, Sam, said, “Mommy, the chocolate has nuts in it.” Oh, my… She was wrong, though — it was worse. Not nuts but nougat. Still, I grated until the chocolate in my hand was too small to grate.
How did it turn out? Not bad, really. My main complaint is that there should be twice as much custard. And that would have been the case were it not for the thick slices of mamon tostado. The grated chocolate was a non-issue really. Am I going to give up on tiramisu making? Of course not! Next time, I’ll be better at it.
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Hello! I am Jane from downunder. Just got my courage to send a msg here. I’ve been reading your pinoy cook constantly from ages just kinda shy to give comment of each recipes that you post. But its all perfect and lovely. I also tried couple of your recipes most of my cooking. I am just more than a year married, a newly wed. If you have your mum in the kitchen what the heck you’ll try to cook
That was my lazy opinion. My family also loves cooking coz we love eating but its just that before whenever I go back home from my work I just rather sit down and eat =D But now that I am married I more enjoy eating from watching and reading cooking tips and recipes. It starts to boost when I get married…like my husband regularly says of my cooks…â€ÂUmmm Yum!†This gives me more inspiration to cook more with delight. Anyway, I’ll try this one too 
Cheers!
Hello, Hush. Lucky you to have a mom who can cook. Mine couldn’t if her life depended on it. LOL
If you’re going to try making tiramisu, maybe you’d like to wait until I can post the proper recipe? For sure, it’ll be before Christmas.
Connie,
That looks wonderful! Makes you wanna bite it right out of the screen
Great! We’ll be on my inlaws this christmas. Maybe I could make this on that day
Thanks! Hope there are other options aside of broas and mamon ‘coz they live in country side. =D Cheers!
This is such a gorgeous blog! Positively dreamy pictures too!
Tiramisu picture is very very aromatic .
i want to try it too, but the problem is i don’t knowmascarpone cheese is, hindi ako ganong pamilyar sa cheese na to, how it looks like, gaya rin ba siya ng philadelphia cheese, yun kasi ang kilala dito sa saudi, pwede ko ba itong gamitin alternatibo. pati yung castard medyo hindi rin ako pamilyar. pwede ko rin bang pang substitute ang graham cracker? pls advice… thank you in advance
jerry, mascarpone comes in containers like cottage cheese. but the texture is like cream cheese. you can substitute cream cheese but the taste won’t be the same. still good though.
di pwede graham crackers because the “crust” has to be dipped in espresso.
I am on a quest to make the perfect tiramisu. My sister used to make the best! But she has since moved to Canada and doesn’t have a copy of the recipe.
I have to say , too little custard or not, yours looks excellent!
hi.. im new here (just got this from femalenetwork) and i have to say that i find the website really cool…
ive been wanting to make a tiramisu (eversince i got hooked into baking) but i don’t know where i can possibly find mascarpone cheese here in Manila… any ideas?
Hi! I made tiramisu with mascarpone cheese, ladyfingers (savioiardi) and freshly-brewed espresso. It was great.
I then made another batch of tiramisu for a potluck using Philadelphia cream cheese instead of the mascarpone (too expensive at A$4.50 per tub of 250 mls), it turned out OK but not as yummy as the one with mascarpone. The Philly cream cheese was a little salty.
I’m thinking of using light Philadelphia cream cheese instead of the regular one and adding a few tablespoons of whipping cream to make the texture more like mascarpone next time I make tiramisu.
Hi Nina, true — the price of mascarpone makes tiramisu quite prohibitive.
Connie,
Using such is also good for tiramisu:) I tried making
sponge from scratch and it came out better.
ah kc, making tiramisu from scratch is something for the rainy days. shucks the heat this summer made me stay away from the kitchen.