How to Make Tiramisu

How to Make Tiramisu Steve: Hey, this may come as a surprise to you but I love dessert especially Italian desserts. I’m Steve Schirripa and I’m hungry. The Veniero’s pastry store has been making Italian desserts since 1894. Now, that’s a lot of cannoli and I want to learn how to make them. I’m also going to learn how to make some tiramisu. But first let’s go out in the streets and find out what kind of desserts people like. Let’s go. Now, what about desserts, what kind of dessert do you like? Male: I’m on a very strict diet, so I like ice cream Steve: Oh really? Male: Yeah. Steve: Italian gelato? Male: Gelato is my favorite. Steve; Oh, you’re on a strict diet; you’re watching your weight? Male: I have to. I have a young wife, so I have to stay fit. Steve: Oh, so you want to stay healthy. All right, so do you know what that is? Male: I think it’s a tiramisu. Steve: Tiramisu, very good. That’s a good one. What about that? Male: Cannoli? Steve: A cannoli, two for two for my Russian friend. And what about that? Male: Apple pie or something. Steve: Apple pie, no, it’s a— Do you know what that is? Female: This? Lobster tail. Steve: No, close -- Female: What is that? Steve: Sfogliatelle. A sfogliatelle. Male: No, that’s -- Steve: Say sfogliatelle. Male: Can you spell it for me? Steve: I can barely say it. What’s gelato? Female: I have no idea. Steve: You have no idea what gelato is? Well, gelato is a fish from the Mediterranean. Tell me what you think, is it all right? Female: Very good. Steve: Pretty good? Female: Yeah. Steve: Yeah? It’s only been three weeks old. Female: Oh, you’re kidding me. Steve: No, I’m joking. Just when you think you’ve eaten enough for an Italian meal, out come dessert and who can pass that u, especially my favorite, the cannoli. The name in Italian means little tube and they originated in Palermo, Sicily. At first, it was just a treat for the holidays but soon became a year round desert all over the country. But Italians are also famous for other tasty desserts like gelato. In fact, the ice cream business was started in the 17th century by a fisherman from Sicily. Luckily, fish gelato wasn’t one of these flavors and of course, this tiramisu. A pudding like dessert made from ladyfinger’s dipped in espresso and alcohol. Tiramisu means pick-me-up which probably refers to the jolt you get from the sugar, espresso and booze in it. Now, let’s get to an Italian bakery and see how some of these desserts are made. So here I am, I’m in the east village where Rob, the owner of Veniero’s pastry shop. Robert, how long is this wonderful store? Robert: Well, since 1894. It’s been here for about four generations. My great uncle Antonio started it. It was a pool hall. Steve: It started out as a pool hall. Robert: Right. And then it went to -- Steve: Any hookers in -- Robert: You never know back then. Steve: Yeah. Robert: Sure. Steve: Hookers with cannolis. Robert: Yes, exactly. Steve: What’s better than that? Robert: And then it went into full bakers. I brought them in from Italy. Steve: Tell me, what is the most popular Italian dessert? Robert: Cannoli, tiramisu, cheesecake, basically on that line. Steve: Those are the -- that’s constantly the people order. Robert: Always, yeah and strawberry shortcakes. Steve: Strawberry shortcakes. You’ve had a lot of celebrities over the east, Frank Sinatra. Robert: Oh yeah. Steve: Did he really used to come here a lot? Robert: He was very fond of this place. His favorite biscuit was the Regina biscuit which is a sesame seed biscuit and he actually even wrote a picture to my dad. It says, “To Cheech, I love your pastries but you’re killing me.” Steve: Christmas desserts, what are the Christmas desserts? Robert: We have zuppa inglese. We have struffoli which is the honey balls; it’s deep fried and -- delicious. Steve: Those are great. Robert: And then we make a pignolata which is a real Sicilian pastry. It’s deep fried also with icing. Nobody makes it, just us. Steve: When did you start working here? Robert: 1980. Steve: 1980? Now did you set out to be a -- Robert: Well, I went to Pace College. I dropped out at the university with just the first year. Now my dad was paying it better. Steve: So was I. Robert: My dad was paying me -- Steve: No, you’re going to show -- Robert: Yeah. [Voice Overlap] downstairs. I’m going to show you how to make cannoli and I got Angelo, he’s going to show you some other items too. Steve: Tiramisu, cannoli, somebody here is going to show me how to make these. Robert: Yes, they’re the experts. I’m just the guy upstairs. Steve: Okay. So, I’m here in the kitchen of Veniero’s with Angelo Santa Maria. Angelo, that’s one of the greatest Italian names I’ve ever heard. Angelo Santa Maria and you’re from Brooklyn? Angelo: Yes. Steve: Me too. So, what are we making today? Angelo: We’re making tiramisu. Steve: All right. What are your ingredients? Angelo: The ingredients are ladyfingers. Steve: Which are? Explain to me what ladyfingers are. Angelo: Ladyfingers are egg yolks, sugar and they’re whipped and it’s like a sponge. They’re soaked in coffee. You got to soak them up, so when you put the tiramisu, it just absorbs al the flavors. Steve: You made this earlier. Angelo: I made them this morning. Steve: Okay, very good. All right, what else do we have? Angelo: Over here, we have the decorations, it’s chocolate. They’re shredded chocolate, that’s to decorate with. Steve: Okay. Angelo: And this is also cocoa that we put on top, also for decoration and this is espresso where we soak the ladyfingers. When we’re making them, we dip it in there. Steve: Dip it in the espresso. Angelo: Right. Steve: So, it’s pick-me-up but with the espresso, this could kind of give you a little coffee jolt; you got chocolate, you got cocoa -- Angelo: And then you have brandy too. Steve: Then you have brandy, okay. Angelo: We use Grand Marnier for flavor. Steve: You got any crack? Angelo: No, not yet. We’ll get it later. Steve: How about chew on coca leaves while we’re doing it? Angelo: This is the Grand Marnier. Steve: This thing could take you right off. Angelo: Do you want to drink? Steve: No, a little later on. Angelo: And also, we put coffee liqueur which is Tia Maria. Steve: So, Tia Maria, Grand Marnier. Angelo: Right. Steve: Espresso, cocoa, chocolate, ladyfingers. Angelo: Yes, there are a lot of ingredients for tiramisu. It looks simple but it has a lot of ingredients in it. Steve: Absolutely. Now, what else do we have? Angelo: We also have egg whites. Steve: Some egg whites. Angelo: Right. Espresso to put into the egg whites and the yolks. And these are all yolks. Steve: All right, let me ask you. How many tiramisus it does with all these ingredients? Angelo: This makes about eight of these, eight of these cups. Steve: Eight of these cups of tiramisu. Angela: Right. And then we also have cheese. That’s the base. Steve: And what kind of cheese is this? Angelo: Well, I’m using cream cheese right now. Steve: So, we got a little -- Angelo: A mixture of everything. Steve: Now, we’re going to do it. Angelo: Okay, first you put the egg yolks. Steve: How long have you’ve been a baker? Angelo: I’ve been doing this over 26 years. Steve: 26 years. And how did you become a baker? Angelo: Well, I just -- Steve: Was that a conscious effort or you saw your mother do it or -- Angelo: No, at 13 years old, I started working -- I’m putting sugar with the yolks. We have to beat it. I’m bringing the sugar and the yolks together. Steve: The sugar and the yolks get beaten together. Angelo: Right and then I put on -- Steve: It looks like there are some people who got beaten in this. Angelo: I’m putting two tablespoon of espresso to get a little flavor. Steve: So, you started at 13. Angelo: Right. I was working in the pastry shop and I was coming up the school working there. I like the business and I decided to stay there. Steve: Were you born in Italy? Angelo: Yes, I was born in Sicily. Steve: Born in Sicily. Angelo: Right. Now, I’m putting on Grand Marnier, a spoon of Grand Marnier. Steve: It’s okay if I [Inaudible] eats this because they could fall right off the leg. Angelo: Yes. They ought to get drunk with it. So now, I’m whipping this. Steve: So, how long do you keep whipping that for? Angelo: I’m whipping the egg yolks to get stiffness. Now, I’m going to pull the cream cheese in a little at a time. Steve: Do you make tiramisu for your family? Angelo: Oh, I’ve done that. Steve: On holidays? Angelo: Yes, I’ve done that. I like to make pizzas. I enjoy making stuffed breads. Steve: Oh really? Angelo: Yeah, I do all that. It’s one of my passion. My mother used to be a great cook. So, I learned from her. Steve: And on the holidays, do you do the cooking and your wife -- Angelo: No, my wife does the cooking. I’m busy working in this business, so -- all right, now it’s whipping. I’m making it whip. Steve: And how long does that -- Angelo: A couple of minutes until it gets nice and soft. Steve: Nice. Angelo: Now, I’m whipping this. It’s nicely whipped. Now, I’m going to take this down because I need to whip the egg whites. Steve: You’re going to whip the egg whites. So, there’s a lot of whipping, a lot of beating -- Angelo: Yes. Steve: There’s a lot of drinking, a lot of booze, this is my kind of dessert. Angelo: Talking about beating, you give Tony a nice beating in The Sopranos. Steve: Not bad, right? Angelo: Now, this is a white -- Steve: Egg white. Angelo: Right. And I’m going to beat the egg whites. Steve: Again with the beating. Angelo: I put two tablespoons of sugar. This way it makes the egg whites fluff really nice. Steve: So, this is for somebody on a diet. This is -- Angelo: No, this is too rich for that. Now, I’m going to -- Steve: If you’re watching your weight, this isn’t a -- Angelo: No. Now, I’m going to beat them to a peak and then once I get them to a peak, I fold them in there, on the yolks. Steve: You beat into a peak, what does that mean? Angelo: I’ll show you. It’s like when you put your finger, they stay. It would peak. I’m just going to check to see if it’s at peak yet. See? It’s almost there. Steve: So, at peak means -- Angelo: It should be a little more -- it’s different than this. See it? Steve: A little bit more. Angelo: Right. I’m just going to do that and I’ll -- Steve: My wife wants me a little stiffer too. That’s when she calls, “Stevie, I’ll wait for you. Get started, I’ll wait for you to go at peak then I’ll come back in the room.” Angelo: Okay, I’m going to just do that. I’m going to bring it down. They’re pretty stiff. Steve: Now, how much egg whites? Angelo: There were nine egg whites. Steve: Nine egg whites. Angelo: Right. And these were nine yolks. Steve: Nine yolks. Nine egg whites, nine yolks and we make eight tiramisu. Angelo: Yeah, you probably can make a little more, it depends on what kind of glass you also use. We’re using a little bigger glass. Steve: It’s a little bigger. Angelo: Right. Now, I put this in here. Now, I’m going to fold with my hands since I have a glove on. Steve: Okay, now by folding you mean -- Angelo: I’m putting the egg whites into the yolks. By folding by the hand, sometimes it doesn’t break it. It doesn’t let the air off. Steve: You got those gloves from your proctologist? Angelo: No, I didn’t. No. Steve: Okay, nine egg whites with nine egg yolks. Angelo: Right, and with the cheese mixture. Steve: The cheese is in there, the cream cheese is already in there. Angelo: Right. Steve: We beat it to a peak. Angelo: Right. Steve: Now, you got to fold. Angelo: Now I’m going to fold, you want to fold it? Steve: No, I don’t have the gloves, you fold. Angelo: All right. Steve: It looks like fun. Angelo: It is. It’s just that a lot of times when people do this, they have a tendency to break the egg whites and what happens is it becomes very heavy. Steve: So, you got to be delicate here. Angelo: Yes. Steve: You have to be -- this isn’t just squishing it around? You got to do it the right way. Angelo: Egg whites are very delicate. The whole thing of this is the egg whites. You don’t want to really break them. Steve: Wow. Angelo: If I break them, like I said, it becomes liquidy. And now, I’m going to show you how we put it together and do you want to help me? Steve: Yes sure. I love that. Angelo: Okay. Get the lady fingers, you get one, you cut it, dip it in here. Steve: Soak it in the espresso. How many are we going to put in? Angelo: I’m going to put like another one here. Steve: There’s one more. Angelo: Right. Do you want to do it? Steve: I don’t know. Can I do it? Angelo: Sure. Steve: We’re dipping it, right? Angelo: Right. Steve: Like that. I’ll do like this. Angelo: All right. Steve: Only two. Angelo: Yes, then you just put it, you get this and just put it flat on there. Steve: Get up. Angelo: That’s it, very good. Steve: Nice. Angelo: Now, that’s good. Steve: Is that good? Angelo: Yes. Steve: So now, what am I going to -- Angelo: Now, we got to do the same thing. We’re going to repeat the same step. Steve: Okay. We’ll do the same thing. Angelo: Right, dip it in coffee. Steve: Also that’s how it is. Angelo: That’s how it is. Steve: So, when you get the tiramisu, it’s laid. I mean I always eat it. I never quite understood. So, we’re building it up with the ladyfingers. Angelo: Right. Steve: With the mixture of the cheese and the cream in it, is that right? Angelo: That’s it. And that’s what gives you the flavors. You could use these little pieces now to fill in the emptiness there. Steve: So, this takes a while. Angelo: Yeah. Steve: How long does it take you to -- I mean you’re showing me but does it take you that long? Angelo: No, it doesn’t because you already know how to do it. Steve: These are relatively easy to serve. Angelo: Now, what you do is you’re going to make it flat. Put as much and just make it even with the lid. Steve: This is restaurant but I mean to make this at home for dinner parties, it doesn’t take so long. Angelo: No, it’s not that hard. If you have everything ready, there’s no problem having it done in your home in no time. You got to make sure everything is like we did here. We had everything ready. Steve: So, you have any -- the guys come over, you make tiramisu for them? Angelo: No. Steve: You don’t want to? Angelo: No, I don’t do that. Steve: If you have guys come over -- Angelo: I don’t make tiramisu for the guys -- Steve: And then you say “Come over and play poker guys!” We got beers and then you come up with a little plates of tiramisu. I don’t think that works. Angelo: That doesn’t work too good. Steve: All right, so now we’re done. Angelo: Okay, you put it down. Now, you get the cocoa. Steve: That’s cocoa. Angelo: Okay, and you’re going to -- you want to do it or -- Steve: No, you do it. I want you to do it. Angelo: Just get the cocoa and you just shake it like this in. What you do is just put it over it. Steve: Nice. Angelo: Okay, then you get a little bit of chocolate. Steve: Now, these -- will top chocolate. Angelo: Right. These are chocolate wafers, you just put it on top and then you do that. I’m going to top it off with a little bit of whip cream. Steve: Whip cream. Angelo: It breaks the color. Sometimes when you put whip cream on top of cocoa, this is a dust, it’s very hard to stick. So, I have to like really do it gentle like this, so it just stays on it. Steve: Is that what you do? Angelo: Now, what I like to do on top of it, just to make them look a little bit better, it breaks the color of it. And that is a tiramisu. Steve: That’s it. And now you refrigerate this. Angelo: You refrigerate this. Steve: For how long? Angelo: Usually over an hour. This way, it gets chilled and all the flavors get together and when you eat it, you will taste the ladyfingers and -- Steve: When you dig into it, you’ll see -- Angelo: You’ll see the layers. And it’s really good because all the layers come together. Steve: Beautiful! Wow, that is wonderful. Does anyone here -- I know it is not your specialty, who’s going to show me how to make cannoli? Angelo: Well, Carlo would. Steve: Carlo? Carlo’s, the cannoli specialist. Angelo: Yes. Steve: Let’s bring out Carlo. So, we’re here in the kitchen of Viniero’s and I got my man Carlo Napalatano. He’s going to show me how to make cannolis. You guys got the greatest Italian names I’ve never heard. Carlo: Thank you. Steve: Thank you for seeing me. Thank you for doing this. So, what are we going to make? Carlo: We’re going to make cannoli cream. Steve: Cannoli cream, so these -- your recipe for cannoli -- Carlo: Basically, they’re all the same but this is a little better. Steve: This is a little better. Do you honestly say you make the best cannoli all over New York City? Carlo: Yes, I do. Steve: All right. Carlo: Ready? Steve: What do we got? First, show me what we got. Carlo: This is diced melon. Steve: Diced melon, what kind of melon? Carlo: It’s candied melon. Steve: Don’t get mad, I just asked you a question. That’s the kind of show it is. Carlo: This is melon peel. It’s cooked with sugar and water. Steve: Okay. Carlo: These are chocolate chips, semi-sweet. That’s granulated almonds with green color. Steve: Now, did you buy that? You could buy this from where? Carlo: We buy that and we cook it with in the oven. We toast it. Steve: All right, we got the shells you made earlier. Carlo: We got the shells. Everything is ready. The sugar, cinnamon oil and vanilla powder. Steve: Now, cinnamon oil exactly -- is that used in a lot of Italian desserts? Carlo: Yes. You want to smell it? Steve: Oh. Carlo: Just use a little bit, this is even too much. Steve: Really? So, if you taste it, that would [Voice Overlap] Carlo: That’s one of the main ingredients in this. A lot of people don’t put that in. Steve: Really? Carlo: Yes. It’s very expensive too. Steve: Now, the cheese, this is ricotta, right? Carlo: It’s ricotta impastata, it’s a dry ricotta. Steve: Now, impastata, that means dry? Carlo: Right. And let’s say if you buy the one in the supermarket that’s a little wet, you would have to strain it with cheesecloth. Steve: Okay, so how many pounds of -- Carlo: Okay, we have six pounds. Steve: Six pounds of ricotta. Carlo: Right. Steve: How much -- Carlo: This is three pounds of sugar. You could use two and a half. It depends how sweet you want it. Steve: Okay, the melon? Carlo: The melon, let’s say a cup and this; we sprinkle at the end when we fill it. Steve: And this is going to make how many cannolis on what we have, our ingredients today. Carlo: This will make about 40 cannolis. Steve: Forty cannolis. Okay. And what do we do? Carlo: All right, here we go. Throw it in. Steve: Very nice. Carlo: That’s six pounds. Steve: Six pounds of that. Carlo: We mix it up a little bit and then we add the sugar. Steve: Okay, so how did you get into the business? Carlo: Well, I use to cut school in Brooklyn. I use to hang out in the pastry shop. Steve: Oh really? So then one day, they said “Come on, I’ll give you a job?” Carlo: They put us to work. Steve: Come here colleague, you’re through it. Carlo: Right. Then at 3 o’clock we use to go home, make believe we went to school. Steve: So, you work while you’ve -- Carlo: Right. Steve: So, you work at a pastry shop. Carlo: That’s why I love -- Steve: And then you’ve been working every since. Carlo: Right. Steve: And do you really love doing this? Is this what you really love? Carlo: Not really, I think -- no. Steve: If you could do anything and get paid for, what would it be? Carlo: I’ll be a singer I think. Steve: Really? Are you any good? Who’s your favorite singer? Carlo: Elvis. Steve: Elvis. Now, we got the ricotta. Carlo: We got the ricotta and sugar in there. Steve: We got the sugar in it. Now, we get to do the melon. Carlo: Diced melon. Steve: Diced melon but what’s a diced melon? Carlo: It’s candy. Steve: Candy. Carlo: It’s candy melon. Okay, we put a bout a cup. We’re going to put a couple of chocolate chips. Steve: That’s about a cup. You know by hand, right? Carlo: About a cup. If you want more, you put more. Steve: Okay. Carlo: All right. Now the cinnamon, very little, a drop. Steve: Really? And you said that’s very expensive. So, how expensive is that? Carlo: It’s about a $150.00 a galloon. A little bit of vanilla powder. Steve: With this, it’s like we’ll get high. Carlo: Me and you. Let’s take a sip. Steve: We need a blast. Carlo: All right and that’s it. Steve: All right. And how long do we mix that up for? Carlo: A few minutes. Steve: About how many minutes, five minutes? Six minutes? Carlo: I don’t know, one minute. Steve: An angry cannoli chef. So now, we got the chocolate chips -- Carlo: And here’s the cannoli cream. Steve: That looks beautiful. Let me taste, can I taste? Carlo: Taste it. Steve: That’s good. Carlo: I will do the small ones first. Steve: All right, you do the small ones. Carlo: I’m going to show you then you’re going to do it. Steve: All right. Carlo: Make sure it’s filled all the way through. Steve: You do it from both sides. Carlo: Right. Steve: Do it from both sides. And I see the way you’re holding that. What’s this called? Carlo: Bag, pastry bag. You’re watching me? Steve: Yes, I’m watching you. Carlo: All right, go ahead. Steve: All right, let me squeeze. Carlo: No, you can’t do it like that. Steve: You could do it like that. Carlo: But the middle is empty. Steve: No, it’s not. Carlo: The middle is empty. Steve: All right, we’ll do another one. Carlo: Go ahead. Steve: We’re doing it all the way through, right? Carlo: All the way through. But come up, pull out with it. Steve: Come on behave, this is a family show. Carlo: Wait a minute. Steve: Okay. It’s a family show. Wow, that’s nice. Carlo: One beautiful. Steve: Fix the other thing, here you go. Okay so -- Carlo: And then we sprinkle the granulated nuts. Steve: That’s just for a little, a little extra flavor, a little color. Carlo: Yes. That’s it. Steve: Now, you do a little powdered sugar? Carlo: Right. Steve: So what do we do? A little like that? Carlo: Tap it. Steve: Tap it like that. Little powdered sugar, nice. Now, once again, what’s your favorite Italian dessert? Carlo: It’s cannoli. Steve: You like cannolis? Carlo: Yeah, I like it. Steve: It’s your favorite -- you know what I’m going to do? I’m going to take your cannolis and I’m going to take Angelo’s tiramisu. I’m going to go out in the street and I’m going to eat it. I’m going to find someone to eat it with me. Carlo: Great, good. Steve: All right? You seem very excited about that. Carlo: Good, I’m thrilled. Steve: I think you just want to get me out of here. You got five minutes; we’ve made pastries at Veniero’s. I made some tiramisu and cannoli, I need someone to help me taste it. Would you do that? Jacky: To taste it, okay. Steve: Five minutes? Don’t be -- I’m not going to hurt you, come on. Hey, what’s your name again, Jacky? Jacky: Jacky Flanagan. Steve: Jacky Flanagan, a Puerto Rican married to an Irish man. Try the cannoli. They’ve been making like this -- Carlo has been making it for 30 years. Is it good? Jacky: It’s delicious. Steve: Just take a chunk of it there. Why are you being so dainty? Jacky: Okay, I’ll try. Steve: Take it. Try it. How do you like the tiramisu? Tell me the truth. Jacky: The tiramisu is out of this world, it’s so great. Steve: Is this the best tiramisu you have ever had or -- Jacky: Honestly, the best. Steve: Really? Jacky: It truly is. It’s moist, I love the little chunk. The chips on top, it’s delicious. Steve: You probably like it because there’s a lot of booze in it. All right, so we went all about Italian desserts today here at Veniero’s, cannolis, cookies, tiramisu. Until next time, enjoy! Hey! You got room for some more? Watch all the other episodes of Steve Schirripa’s Hungry and let me be your guide to Italian food and culture from pizza to pasta, seafood to cannoli and everything in between. You’ll learn how to make great Italian food at home from some of the world’s best chefs. Who knows? You might end up as well rounded as me.