Daring Bakers February Challenge

The February 2010 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Aparna of My Diverse Kitchen and Deeba of Passionate About Baking. They chose Tiramisu as the challenge for the month. Their challenge recipe is based on recipes from The Washington Post, Cordon Bleu at Home and Baking Obsession.

I made the alternate version of the tiramisu that used no eggs or wine. I love tiramisu and it was fun to make new recipe of it.

The lady finger cookies were a little difficult for me. I made the eggless recipe and it sort of melted on my pan. I'm sure it was something I did. I decided to use a different recipe. The one the Daring Alternate Bakers used looked a lot like pecan sandies to me. I substituted hazelnuts for the pecans and the cookies turned out beautifully.

Making the homemade cheese was something I was looking forward to as well. The recipe was very simple and used few ingredients. At first I was worried it would not turn out, but in the end it tasted very good.

Mascarpone Cheese Ingredients

• 474ml (approx. 500ml)/ 2 cups whipping (36 %) pasteurized (not ultra-pasteurized), preferably organic cream (between 25% to 36% cream will do)
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

Method

1. Bring 1 inch of water to a boil in a wide skillet. Reduce the heat to medium-low so the water is barely simmering. Pour the cream into a medium heat-resistant bowl, then place the bowl into the skillet. Heat the cream, stirring often, to 190 F. If you do not have a thermometer, wait until small bubbles keep trying to push up to the surface.
2. It will take about 15 minutes of delicate heating. Add the lemon juice and continue heating the mixture, stirring gently, until the cream curdles. Do not expect the same action as you see during ricotta cheese making. All that the whipping cream will do is become thicker, like a well-done crème anglaise. It will cover a back of your wooden spoon thickly. You will see just a few clear whey streaks when you stir. Remove the bowl from the water and let cool for about 20 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, line a sieve with four layers of dampened cheesecloth and set it over a bowl. Transfer the mixture into the lined sieve. Do not squeeze the cheese in the cheesecloth or press on its surface (be patient, it will firm up after refrigeration time). Once cooled completely, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate (in the sieve) overnight or up to 24 hours.

All in all this was a delicious recipe and I'll be making it again.

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