I’m sad to have finished the recipe testing for this one. Granted, it may have triggered a temporary relapse into coffee addiction. (After 15 years of virtual abstinence!) But we had such a nice little routine going in our house for several weeks there. Breakfast, a bit of work around the farm, then a mid-morning slice of healthy tiramisu. It was nourishing on many levels. Self-care for the soul. And I started to cherish and keenly anticipate the ritual. (Might have been the addiction talking.)
I finally worked out why this recipe is such a revelation.. it’s kind of show-stopping (you’ll see)! One idea that we explore in depth in my program, is that nutrient dense foods are actually the most flavourful. And that our taste buds are in fact, engineered to discern and savour nutritional complexity – at least, once we return to our intended diet of real food. Fresh veggies, from mineral-rich soils are worlds apart from the supermarket stuff, for example. Even young children can taste the difference – hence, their eagerness to eat homegrown produce!
So when I made this healthy tiramisu from our chickens’ freshly laid, organic eggs (an entire dozen of them!), locally grown organic coffee and unrefined rapadura sugar with all its nourishing minerals intact – the result was electric. In a different ball park than what you might have tried before, as hard to imagine as that might be for fellow tiramisu lovers.
Naturally, I also dodged the highly processed, pre-packaged savoiardi biscuits and went with Jude Blereau’s delicious genoise sponge. Non-bakers, trust me – it’s not difficult. And even if it fails miserably, you’re drowning it in coffee and cream. So proceed with confidence, knowing that there IS no fail on this occasion!
My Gluten & Dairy free tiramisu
Now, you may have missed it, but I’d posted the gluten and dairy free version, last week. If you’re strictly avoiding gluten and dairy, then that’s the healthy tiramisu for you. However, if you can tolerate a small amount of gluten, this recipe uses 1 cup of spelt flour for 8 large servings. That’s only 1.5 (Australian) tablespoons of flour per serving and makes for a much fluffier, more absorbent cake.
The dairy free cream is actually just as delicious as the original and isn’t an obvious deviation at all, in terms of flavour. So, definitely worth a try at some point, even if dairy has a place in your diet.
This healthy tiramisu recipe uses the lovely Jude Blereau's genoise method, found here. See the instructions below.
Ingredients
Instructions
Notes
Coffee: Although I'm a retired coffee drinker (and always detested strong, black coffee), this recipe needs the strong flavour to balance it. Please, just try it once and if it's too much, you can reduce it by 2-3 tablespoons. Be sure to give it a full 12 hours to settle as the flavour will mellow with time.
Rapadura sugar: Feel free to play with this amount. It wont affect the recipe in any way. If you're trying to wow non-wholefoodie types, you may like to use 120g sugar. If you've been on a fairly low carb, wholefood diet for a while, you can take it back to 90, or even less. Again, I'd try the amount listed here first and then adjust.
Eggs & texture: You can play with the ratio of egg yolks to whole eggs. Lowering the yolks in proportion to the whites will result in a lighter, fluffier texture and vice versa.
Mascarpone: my favourite local brand is Pepe Saya, which comes in a 200g tub. However, if you're buying a generic supermarket brand, it will most likely come in a 250g container. Varying the amount wont give you a remarkably different result, aside from the fact it sets slightly better with more mascarpone added. If you like a really thick-set, heavy texture - you could replace the cream entirely with mascarpone. I loved the result of 400g mascarpone and no cream, but it does add more a sour note to the dessert.
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