Hi and welcome back to COME FOR SUPPER.
Something sweet this week and a pudding that is close to my heart. Tiramisu.
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Growing up tiramisu was my favourite pudding, in fact it still is. My first taste of tiramisu was not in Italy. I didn’t visit to Italy till I was in my late teens. But whenever there was a birthday or special occasions such as my Oma (grandmother) coming to visit, my parents would take us to an Italian restaurant called La Famiglia. It is one of the first real restaurant experiences I remember along with the Pizza Express on Trinity Road and the original Bombay Bicycle Club on Nightingale Lane. I religiously ordered (asked my parents to order) the dough balls with garlic butter, and was that brazen seven year old who demanded something really spicy please, alternating shovelling steaming hot mouthfuls of chicken jalfrezi into my mouth with dramatic (rather loud) gulps of sprite. But the thing that I looked forward to most was the La Famiglia Tiramisu.
La Famiglia is a family run restaurant that really hasn’t changed at all since it opened. The walls are a patchwork of photos of family. It’s the same blue and white tiles that line the floors, and outside (where the best tables are) is an oasis of potted olive trees and white washed brick. During summer the roof opens up making it feel like you really could be in Italy.
Without a doubt the best thing about La Famiglia is the pudding trolley and as a child I don’t think I had ever seen anything more glorious. There were wobbly flans, cheesecakes dripping in berries, glistening chocolate coated profiteroles, trifle bowls filled with oranges in caramel syrup, and always a vat of tiramisu.
I’d watch the pudding trolley being shuffled around the restaurant willing my sister to finish her spaghetti so that we could get to the good part. When it finally arrived at our table I’d have to work very hard to not jump out of my chair. As the waiter scooped up my portion I’d crane my neck ensuring he went all the way down and got all of the bottom bit. Then I’d hold my breath as the spoon was suspended inches away from my plate waiting for the soft plop as the tiramisu finally landed on my plate.
By some cruel fate I have married a man who does not like tiramisu. Fine in a restaurant (more for me) but it means I usually only make it at home when we have people coming over. I made this one originally in an attempt to sway him (he loves pistachio anything). It sort of worked. His response was ‘I don’t hate it’. Just the thing you want to hear when you’ve dedicated a morning to making pudding. But don’t take his word for it, take mine instead. It is delicious and if you love tiramisu as much as I do then you will love it too.
THE RECIPE
A note on pistachio cream. This is an essential component of this recipe and whilst you absolutely could make your own pistachio cream I recommend embracing the shortcut. This is the one I use. If you can’t find it or prefer to make your own, I recommend adding a little flavourless oil such as ground nut oil as well as icing sugar to your pistachios whilst grinding them in a food processor. You want it to be really smooth to achieve that light and creamy consistency.