Fingered and Picked Up: The Basics of Sponge Fingers and Tiramisu

When I think about my favorite Italian foods, I couldn't help but be amazed that such creations were attributed to the 'ladies of the night'. My favorite pasta is spaghetti alla puttanesca (or 'slut spaghetti' as Nigella lovingly calls it) and my favorite Italian dessert is tiramisu, the sweet treat that was rumored to have invigorated weary medieval prostitutes. True to my nature as a lover of sweets, I chose to indulge myself by making a decadent version of this humble dessert.

For a long time, people thought the origin of the tiramisu could be traced back to the time of Duke Cosimo de Medici of Sienna. The town claimed that the dessert was first dedicated to this member of Italian nobility. But, the more interesting rumored origin was that 'tiramisu' means 'pick me up' and was made by Italian prostitutes to give them energy before taking on another customer.

Aside from its titillating and debatable origins, tiramisu's popularity is largely contributed to how simple it is to make and how delicious the end-product is. From the simple combination of eggs, mascarpone, sugar, coffee, sponge fingers, chocolate, and coffee; many people have added their own touches to it. I personally liked  Jamie Oliver's take on it where he added orange zest and melted dark chocolate into the layers of his tiramisu. 

Decadent Hazelnut Tiramisu

In this blog post, I'm going to lay down the basic recipe for sponge fingers. Sponge fingers are very versatile because beyond tiramisu, you could use it as a base for other desserts like charlotte, parfait, or English trifle. If you have time and ingredients at hand, you will find it rewarding to make your own sponge fingers. 

Piping them into sticks could be tricky if you are a newbie, but as with anything worth doing: practice makes perfect. :) And if they look like they were not piped evenly, no worries~! The not-so-pretty ones could go into the layers of your tiramisu (^_^)

Basic Sponge Fingers Recipe

Ingredients

2 egg yolks from large eggs

2 1/2 tbsp sugar

2 egg whites from large eggs

2 1/2 tbsp sugar

1/3 cup all purpose flour

6 tsp plus a pinch of cornstarch

powdered/icing sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

Directions

1. Line the baking sheet with baking paper. Set aside.

2. In a clean and dry bowl, sift the flour and the cornstarch.

3. In another clean bowl, whip the egg whites until it becomes white and foamy.

4. Add the first 2 1/2 tbsp of sugar to the beaten egg whites. Whip them together until you reach the stiff peak stage.

5. Beat the egg yolks with the second 2 1/2 tbsp of sugar in another bowl. When the yolk-sugar mixture turns thick and pale yellow, clean the sides of the bowl and gather the mixture in the center before whipping again.

6. The egg yolk-sugar mixture should be beaten until it has the consistency of thick cream and the color is almost white.

7. Fold the beaten egg yolks carefully into the meringue.

8. Before folding the flour-cornstarch mixture into the egg batter, sift it again. Use a spatula to mix it gently. Then, add the vanilla extract. Do not overmix.

9. Using a ruler as a guide, measure your desired length for the sponge fingers on a baking paper and then cut it. It will serve as a guide for piping the sponge finger batter.

10. Put the piping guide under the baking paper lining the baking sheet and pipe the batter in a stick form. Leave 1.5 inch space between sponge fingers. They will still expand during baking.

11. Sprinkle some powdered/icing sugar on the sponge fingers before you place them in the oven. Bake in the oven at 190 deg C for 10 minutes. 

12. After baking, cool the fingers to room temperature. Store in an airtight container and enjoy~ 

Classic Tiramisu Recipe

In addition to the basic sponge finger recipe, I also wrote in here the recipe for a classic tiramisu. Forgive me if I wasn't mindful of the measurements. This is a dessert that will still come out delicious even if you don't stick to strict guidelines on ingredient proportions. I leave it to your discretion and imagination to play around with the basics ;)

Ingredients

brewed coffee, sweetened with a bit of sugar and sloshed with amaretto or dark rum or any dessert wine of choice (you could use more coffee depending on the size of your serving dish)

sponge fingers, as many as needed

2 egg yolks

1/4 cup sugar

2 egg whites

pinch of salt

300 g. mascarpone, room temperature (if unavailable, you could use cream cheese and add a bit of lemon juice)

cocoa powder

ground coffee beans (or instant coffee powder)

chopped dark chocolate

Directions

1. First, prepare the mascarpone batter. In a clean mixing bowl, whip together the egg yolks and the sugar until they turn thick and pale yellow. Add the mascarpone and beat them together until the texture is fluffy and has reached the soft peak stage.

2. In another clean bowl, add a pinch of salt to the egg whites and then whip until they turn white, glossy and stiff like a meringue.

3. Carefully fold the mascarpone mixture into the meringue mixture. Set aside and chill for at least 15 minutes.

4. In assembling the tiramisu:

A) Dip the sponge fingers in coffee and then layer them in the serving dish (I used a  cake tin with a removable bottom). 

B) Pour some mascarpone batter on top, then dust the layer with cocoa powder and ground coffee. 

C) Sprinkle some chopped dark chocolate on top, 

D) Then repeat steps A-C.

5. Chill the tiramisu for at least an hour before serving. Served chilled and enjoy~