Sasha's Kitchen: Green Tea Tiramisu

Tiramisu has long been one of my husband's favorite desserts.  I enjoy it as well.  However, all too often, I am turned off to restaurant tiramisu desserts that are simply drenched and cloaked in the taste of alcohol.  I like a little bit of a Kahlua, Grand Marnier or  similar liqueur flavor to my tiramisu as well, but I don't want the final tiramisu simply to taste like it was drowned in alcohol.  In my mind, a bit of subtleness is key here to achieve the consistency and flavor.  I decided to do a bit of a twist on a traditional tiramisu tonight and use my leftover matcha powder from the green tea ice cream I made last weekend, in creating an Japanese-inspired green tea tiramisu.  I had a similar tiramisu dessert in the past at the Manhattan sushi restaurant, Geisha, and it was fabulous.  Today, however, I created my own green tea teamisu!

To create the tiramisu, I did a bit of research.  I looked at a lot of traditional tiramisu recipes, as well as at a green tea tiramisu recipe from Nobu, and another recipe I encountered in my research here.  In the end, I adapted all of these recipes and wrote my own inspired recipe for green tea tiramisu, using a relatively small and mild flavored alcohol so that the end result was that the mascarpone dessert would be lovely and pillowy, and would have green tea as the primary flavor (rather than coffee or alcohol).  This dessert was lovely - it has a beautiful natural green color (I elected not to  use food coloring to make it bright green) from the matcha, and is light, airy and fluffy.  Don't let it float away though - the recipe is actually not too hard to make, and is a wonderful, light treat.

Sasha's Green Tea Tiramisu
6 egg yolks
1 cup sugar
16 oz mascarpone cheese
2 cups heavy whipping cream
1 package ladyfinger cookies
2 cups green tea
1 tsp vanilla extract
3 T tiramisu liqueur or Kahlua
1/4 tsp cream of tartar
4 tsp matcha green tea powder, plus extra for sprinkling on top (I bought mine locally at Park Slope Tea N Coffee N Spice)

To prepare the green tea tiramisu (or should I be calling it "Teamisu):

Beat the egg yolks and sugar in the top of a double boiler, or in a small bowl placed in a pot of simmering water.  Continue beating for about five minutes until pale yellow in color.  Next, beat the mascarpone until smooth and beat in the matcha powder.  Use a handheld mixer, or my favorite kitchen tool - you guessed it - a KitchenAid artisan stand mixer.  Mix the egg mixture into the mascarpone mixture.  Transfer to a bowl.

In the basin of your mixer (or using a handheld mixer) beat the heavy whipping cream with the cream of tartar, using the whisk attachment.  Beat on high until the cream is pillowy and has formed stiff peaks.  Add the vanilla and liqueur.

Using a spatula, fold the mascarpone mixture into the whipped cream mixture. Layer the tiramisu and the ladyfinger cookies in a cake dish, like you would with a typical tiramisu.  I suggest using a three inch deep cake pan.  Make sure to quickly dip each cookie in freshly brewed green tea (rather than the typical coffee) so that the cookies don't fall apart and layer the cookies with the tiramisu.  Sprinkle some excess matcha powder on top, and allow to chill for at least four hours before eating.  I was extremely happy with the end result of this experimental kitchen project.

Tiramisu