Festive Flavours: CREAMY PISTACHIO TIRAMISU

A nutty twist on a wonderful classic

Welcome back to Unfiltered Flavours. Issue #22 is a beautiful pistachio Tiramisu. If you don’t like Tiramisu, I think this recipe can change your mind!

It’s all about balance and getting the flavours and textures right. I personally don’t like using egg yolks in a tiramisu. I know eggs are safe in the uk but for me it’s mind over matter. My mind simply can’t get over the thought of raw eggs.

Instead I make a sugar syrup, very similar the the Italian style butter cream. The eggs will pasteurise and temper the egg yolks. I also find with this method the texture is the best for what I like.

the most important thing is ensuring your mascarpone is COLD and good quality. This cheese has a higher fat content than cream cheese. Which means it’s a little bit more volatile when whipping. It can easily split if it warms up too much. So really keep an eye on this when whisking and use an electric whisk at all times or you’ll be sorry 😭

Lastly in this recipe I actually use a mix of pistachio butter and pistachio cream. If you’re using just pistachio cream then you can probably reduce the sugar by 10-20 grams.

GOOD quality mascarpone is crucial.

Method and ingredients

Pistachio Tiramisu:

250ml coffee (I used freshly brewed espresso)

50ml Kahula

1 tbsp pistachio cream

1/4 tsp almond extract

1/2 tsp vanilla bean paste

Pinch of salt

5 large egg yolks

130g caster sugar

30ml water

475g mascarpone

150g pistachio paste/cream

1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste

1/4 tsp almond essence

180g double cream

Lady fingers

Handful of chopped pistachios

Method:

1. Combine your fresh coffee with your coffee liquor, pistachio cream, almond extract, vanilla and salt. Whisk this together and leave to cool

2. For the filling place your eggs yolks into a mixer and whisk, you’ll want to continuously whisk them whilst you make the sugar syrup. You have to use the syrup immediately or it will harden, which is why you don’t want to faff around after.

3. Place your sugar and water in a pot, give it a quick stir and let this bubble away until it reaches 120°c (at this point your sugar will be stable enough)

4. Now carefully pour this down the side of your mixer (be sure to avoid the whisk if you can) and whisk this for 5-7 minutes or until thickened.

   

   Your egg yolks and sugar should look like thick like this.

5. Now add in your mascarpone, pistachio cream, vanilla bean paste, almond essence and pinch of salt

6. Whisk until most of the lumps are gone, the odd few is fine. If you over whisk this, your mascarpone can split.

7. Whip your double cream into semi soft peaks, then whisk this into your filling mixture.

   

   This what you want your double cream to look like. Your mixture once everything is combined should look like this

8. Now dip your lady fingers into the coffee mixture, literally a quick dip then place a layer in your dish.Then add half your filling, followed by a layer of crushed pistachios and then another layer of fingers and then the remaining filling mixture.

   

   You only want to dip the lady fingers quickly. A little layer of crushed pistachios also works a treat

9. Smooth over the top and leave to chill for at least 6 hours or overnight for best results