A playful take on a classic, these tiramisu balls are a delicious way to finish a meal. Served on a smooth Dulcey cream, the caramel notes complement the rich coffee and cocoa flavours for an indulgent final bite.
Valrhona chocolate truffle filling:
90ml cream
120g Valrhona dark chocolate fèves, roughly chopped
10g butter
1 Tbsp Heilala pure vanilla extract
2 Tbsp coffee liqueur, e.g. Kahlúa or Tia Maria
Tiramisu ball mixture:
200g savoiardi biscuits (recipe below, or use store bought)
40g icing sugar
4 Tbsp strong-brewed Allpress espresso coffee, cooled
170g mascarpone Valrhona cocoa powder, to coat
Coffee meringue shards (optional):
3 egg whites
112g caster sugar
112g icing sugar
1 Tbsp instant coffee powder
Dulcey cream:
200g mascarpone
100g Valrhona Dulcey chocolate fèves
150ml cream
40g icing sugar
2 tbsp strong-brewed Allpress espresso coffee, cooled
Valrhona chocolate pearls, to serve
To prepare the truffle filling: heat the cream until it is hot, but not boiling, then pour over the chocolate. Add the butter, vanilla and coffee liqueur. Whisk together until smooth, then set aside in the refrigerator for 1–2 hours for the mixture to firm up. Once set, scoop out 20 small truffles (6–8 g each). Place truffles on a tray and return to the refrigerator.
To prepare the tiramisu balls: blend the biscuits in a food processor, until a fine dust. Transfer to a mixing bowl, add remaining ingredients and mix until thoroughly combined. Portion mixture into 20 pieces (approx. 20g each). Flatten each piece to the size of a biscuit, place a truffle ball in the centre and enclose the dough around the truffle. Roll until a ball is formed, then roll generously in cocoa powder. Repeat with remaining balls.
To prepare the coffee meringue shards: pre-heat oven to 100°C and line a baking sheet with baking paper. Whisk the egg whites with an electric mixer until firm peaks form. Turn the mixer down to a low speed and slowly rain in the caster sugar. Turn the mixer back up to high and continue to beat until stiff and glossy. Add the icing sugar and coffee powder whilst beating on a low speed, then turn the mixer back up to the higher setting and whisk until everything is combined. Spread the mixture on the baking paper, approximately 2cm in thickness. Do not spread too thinly as they will be too brittle and fragile. Bake for about 1 hour, or until dry and crisp.
To prepare the Dulcey cream: melt the chocolate gently over a pot of simmering water. Once cooled, whisk in the rest of the ingredients, until it is smooth and silky. Set aside in the refrigerator until ready to serve.
To assemble and serve: swirl the Dulcey cream over a serving plate. Scatter with chocolate pearls, arrange truffles on the cream and garnish with shards of meringue, if using.
Savoiardi biscuits:
3 eggs, separated
75g caster sugar
1 tsp Heilala pure vanilla extract
95g Girolomoni organic ‘00’ flour
25g cornflour
Pinch of Sal de Añana spring salt
50g icing sugar
Pre-heat oven to 180°C and line two baking sheets with baking paper.
Using an electric mixer, whisk the egg whites until stiff peaks form. Gradually add the sugar and continue beating until the sugar is dissolved and the mixture is thick and glossy.
Mix the vanilla into the egg yolks. Using a spatula, combine the egg yolk mixture with the egg whites until just incorporated. Sift the flour, cornflour and salt over the egg mixture, and gently fold the dry ingredients in, until just mixed. Be gentle so as not to deflate the batter.
Pipe the batter on the baking sheets into 12cm lengths using a 1.5cm piping tip. Leave space between each biscuit to allow for spreading. Sift half of the icing sugar over the biscuits and wait for 5 minutes, the sugar will melt and look wet. After 5 minutes, sift over the remaining icing sugar (you may need a little extra). Bake the savoiardi for 7 minutes then rotate the baking trays and bake for a further 7 minutes to ensure they cook evenly. Allow to cool for a few minutes on the trays, but remove from paper while still a little warm.
If you want dry and crispy saviordi, once the oven has been switched off and has cooled down to about 80°C, place the biscuits back on the oven baking trays and return to the turned off oven and dry overnight, or until they are crisp.
To make gluten-free savoiardi: substitute the flour for 80g of Sabato Kate Fay gluten-free flour and increase the cornflour to 35g. Bake at 170°C for the same amount of time as above.
Recipe by Kate Fay
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