What’s small, velvety and irresistible? Tiramisu truffles!
All that you need to make them are the usual ingredients for tiramisu, which is one of the most famous Italian desserts in the world: coffee, mascarpone and sponge fingers.
These delicious little bites are similar to tiramisu in terms of their softness and flavour, but they have a look all of their own.
They’re so simple and easy to make that they’re bound to become one of your go-to desserts when you want to serve something sweet to your loved ones or whip something up on short notice when your friends pop round.
Tiramisu truffles are made from sponge finger crumbs mixed with simple mascarpone cream and – of course – coffee.
The blend that I’ve chosen for these tiramisu truffles is Velluto, a limited-edition speciality coffee made with beans from select plantations in Central America. Its 70% Robusta content gives it a marked cocoa flavour and a distinctive velvety texture, with a rich, enveloping, gentle and mellow aroma.
Doesn’t that sound perfect for tiramisu?
As well as the fact that they’re delicious, there are a number of other reasons to make tiramisu truffles.
First of all, no baking is required. That means you can make them very quickly and they’re ideal for throwing together at any time, especially in the summer.
Another thing that’s worth bearing in mind is that there are no fresh eggs in the mixture, so you can rest assured that they’re safe to eat and there’s no need to spend time pasteurizing them.
What’s more, no special utensils are required: you’ll have to use a food processor to make the sponge fingers into fine crumbs, but after that you’ll just need a bowl and your hands. That also means that there isn’t much washing up to do!
You can make the mixture a day in advance if you like. It actually gets easier to make into truffles the longer you leave it to settle.
You can also come up with all sorts of mouth-watering alternative versions.
For example, you can pop a chocolate-coated coffee bean or a little gianduia cream in the middle of each one, add a drop of rum or a pinch of cinnamon or vanilla to the mixture to make it even more fragrant, or serve the truffles on sticks like lollipops.
All of this means you can serve them on a range of different occasions: after dinner, over coffee with friends, or even at a children’s birthday party.
Let’s start making them!
INGREDIENTS
For 25-30 truffles
50 ml of Velluto blend coffee
200 g of sponge fingers
200 g of mascarpone
50 g of icing sugar
Cocoa powder to taste
METHOD
Make the coffee and leave it to cool.
Put the sponge fingers in a food processor and pulse until you have a fine powder.
Once the coffee has cooled to room temperature, put it in a bowl with the mascarpone and the icing sugar.
Stir all of the ingredients thoroughly with a spatula until they form a smooth mixture.
Now add the sponge finger crumbs and mix them in well.
When you have a nice, firm mixture, use a spoon to scoop up enough of it to roll into a ball with a diameter of approximately 3-4 cm in your hands.
Lay the truffles out on a tray covered with baking paper. If you have enough time, put them in the fridge for 30 minutes to firm them up.
Roll them in your hands again to give them a nice round shape and then pop them in the unsweetened cocoa powder.
Put them back in the fridge until you’re ready to serve them. You can also freeze them if you’d like to store them for longer.
Put the truffles in cupcake cases on a tray and serve them.
(By Elisa Di Rienzo | ilfiordicappero.com) – August 2022