Fall is the sound of leaves on the street.
The cold mountain air that steals your first breath and the need for cozy blankets on every couch.
Fall is the smell of cinnamon. Of chai spice. Pumpkin spice. Warm soups and apple cider.
Fall is hours of corn mazes, wandering and wandering until you’re lost. Or are you hiding? Either way, you can’t be found.
Fall is a new coat. New boots. New start. Who knew a season could hold so much?
Fall is the crunch of colorful leaves under your feet. Playing in pumpkin patches and taking hay rides. A warm kitchen and the smell of baked goods. Cakes and pies and cookies, oh my.
Fall . . . is . . . here . . .
What is Chai Spice?
Everyone has their own preferred blend of homemade chai spice, but the recipe generally includes some or all of the following spices:
- ginger
- cinnamon
- allspice
- cloves
- cardamom
- nutmeg
- black pepper
For this recipe, I’ve tailored the chai spice mix to blend well with the cocoa traditionally used in tiramisu. Since the ladyfingers are already soaked in chai concentrate, this recipe’s chai spice has amped up cinnamon to highlight and bring out the flavor of the tea concentrate.
Basic Steps for How to Make Tiramisu?
- Make the chai spice mixture and dust a deep 8×8-inch baking dish.
- Whip the egg yolks and sugar until “ribbon” stage. (Beat at least 6 minutes.) Beat in the mascarpone.
- Separately, whip the egg whites until they’ve created a large volume of white foam.
- Fold the egg whites into the mascarpone mixture.
- Roll ladyfingers in chai concentrate and layer, layer, layer!
- Chill at least six hours.
Since everyone’s Italian grandmother has her own recipe for tiramisu, I hesitate to go throwing out words like authentic tiramisu recipe. But from all my studies, the recipes I tested, and my comparison to the Italian tiramisu I have had, my vote goes to the tiramisu recipes with whole eggs and mascarpone filling, as opposed to the many recipes I see with whipped cream.
Whipping the egg whites until they are stiff gives the cream that weightless, airy, melt-in-your-mouth texture that pairs with the chai-soaked ladyfingers in a magical way. Soaking the ladyfingers just the right amount takes practice and also depends on your personal preferences for tiramisu.
I prefer the ladyfingers to JUST soak all the way through – enough that they are thoroughly flavored, but not so much that the ladyfingers lose their moist cake-like texture. I always pour my liquid (espresso or for this recipe, chai concentrate) into a shallow plate. When I’ve used a cup, the ladyfingers always seem to soak up just a little too much, unless I dunk VERY quickly. I lay the ladyfinger in the concentrate, roll completely, and tap each end of the ladyfinger into the concentrate before layering.
Don’t forget to chill thoroughly! I really prefer to make this dessert the night before, so the ladyfingers have time to soak up all the delicious chai!
Cheers!
mikaela | wyldflour
One 8x8 Dish - 9 servings
Chai Tiramisu - Ladyfingers soaked in a chai mixture, covered in sweet mascarpone cream, and dusted with cocoa chai spice!
20 minPrep Time
6 hrCook Time
6 hr, 20 Total Time
Save Recipe5 based on 1 review(s)
Ingredients
- 4 pasteurized eggs (*see notes)
- 1/2 cup white granulated sugar (100 g)
- 1 1/2 cups + 1 Tablespoon mascarpone cheese (333 g)
- 16-18 ladyfingers
- 1 cup chai latte concentrate (200 ml)
- 4 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 4 teaspoons cocoa powder
- 2 teaspoons ground ginger
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
- 1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
Instructions
- Set the eggs out to come to room temperature. (If you're in a hurry, fill a bowl with warm tap water and submerge the eggs for at least five minutes.
- In a small bowl, stir together chai spice mixture and set aside.
- Crack egg whites into one medium-sized mixing bowl and drop yolks into a second medium-sized mixing bowl. It is very important that there is no yolk in your whites--if you spill even a little bit into the whites, wash the bowl out and start over.
- Measure sugar into the bowl with the egg yolks. Beat yolks and sugar on high speed for 6 minutes, until they have doubled in volume, turned pale yellow, and have reached "ribbon" stage. (Looks like early-stage whipped cream - the batter should ribbon off of the beaters when you pull them out.) Beat the mascarpone cheese into the yolk mixture on low speed. Wash the beaters thoroughly and dry.
- Beat egg whites until doubled in volume, white, foamy, and stiff. You should be able to drag your finger through and create a trough that doesn't disappear. Use a spatula to fold egg whites into the yolk mixture, trying to knock as little air out as possible. Place the bowl in the refrigerator or freezer just for a minute.
- Dust the bottom of your deepest 8x8-inch baking dish with about one tablespoon of chai spice.
- Pour chai concentrate onto a small plate with a lip and set aside. Roll each ladyfinger slowly in chai concentrate, bounce each end in the concentrate, and then lay into the baking dish with rounded side up. Repeat with enough ladyfingers to line the bottom of the baking dish. Top the ladyfingers with roughly half of the cream mixture. (You'll have to eyeball this, because everyone's dish is a different depth. You want to be sure to leave room for another layer of ladyfingers and another layer of cream.) .
- Repeat with a second layer of ladyfingers and cream mixture. Cover with tin foil or pyrex lid and refrigerate for at least six hours. (I prefer overnight.)
- Right before serving, dust the top with another tablespoon or two of chai spice mixture. (If you dust it too early, the moisture of the cream will soak through the spices and it won't be as pretty.) Enjoy!
Notes
There is always a risk in eating raw eggs, which is why it's important to use pasteurized eggs to reduce the risk. (Aka if you bought them at the store in the US, they're pasteurized. If you grabbed them out from under your chicken's butt this morning, then they are not.)
Everyone's 8x8-inch baking dish is slightly different in volume and everyone's ladyfingers are slightly different in size. If you have leftover cream mixture, feel free to layer with leftover ladyfingers in individual serving glasses.
My Fitness Pal Food: Wyldflour Chai Tiramisu
Nutrition Per 1/9th of Recipe: 283 calories; 16.5 g fat; 30.9 g carbs; 21 g sugar; 7.4 g protein
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