"I wanted to know... No, I NEEDED to know how much liquid was in the biscuit." That's what I'm absolutely here for, yes.
@jo.comics6 ай бұрын
I was not disappointed by the nerdiness, thank you James!
@BasicPsychology1016 ай бұрын
Oh James... I wish a man would say those words to me. 😮💨
@markjthomson6 ай бұрын
Yes agreed. It's a bit of personal preference but James has more to it than that. I'm very happy to know my preference is similar... a quick roll of the biscuit in the coffee!
@AMPProf6 ай бұрын
Per Gram density's yes
@AMPProf6 ай бұрын
What if we used North American scoone biscuites
@johnmarklowry5346 ай бұрын
Now this is the kind of hard-hitting journalism I can get behind.
@nicole469806 ай бұрын
4% strength makes a lot of sense because thats around where a moka pot brew sits. thats what most italian home cooks are going to use to get the "espresso" for dipping
@claireloub6 ай бұрын
Syringe dosing the coffee into the biscuits was peak nerd and I salute you!
@mesiroy12346 ай бұрын
Its overy nerdy iys just dumb Like he noting do in his life?
@iamnash6 ай бұрын
@@mesiroy1234 why not? better than spending his life commenting hate on youtube videos
@MumrikDK6 ай бұрын
@@mesiroy1234You and hundreds of thousands of others watched.
@MajorlyBlueАй бұрын
@@mesiroy1234It looks like YOU need to spend some of your life learning English mate, I can hardly understand ya.
@Ka0sNinja1176 ай бұрын
Protect this man. He's out here suffering through the most ridiculously amazing coffee and coffee-adjacent rabbit holes and making it an absolute treat to watch. Keep it up James!
@AhmedMalingur6 ай бұрын
No music, no dragging babble, no distractions and unneccessary information dumping. Just pure informative and intriguing video. This is the kind of video that I subscribed for.
@tinrobot17466 ай бұрын
Dunking graphs. This is peak James Hoffman. Awesome.
@puppsmcgee746 ай бұрын
As a person who loves tiramisu and data but is also an overthinker and has difficulty making decisions, I absolutely love every moment of this video. Thank you for the types of data, the tastings, product information and in-depth explanations. This is definitely a labor of love and I greatly appreciate it!
@ReticentObsessive6 ай бұрын
The Sainsbury’s (13:46)say boudoir because that’s what savoiardi are called in French. They are originally from the Duchy of Savoy, which had both French and Italian as official languages.
@SeanBZA6 ай бұрын
And by me they are sold by Bakers, under the Boudoir name, and are great. miss when you could go to the Bakers factory shop, and buy a 10kg bag of the rejects, and sort it out into powder, semi good, good and near perfect. Powder would be used in jellies and tarts, semi good went with school lunches, and good was during the weekends. Near perfect was when we had visitors over. Yes mom made tiramisu, though often enough she also used custard instead of the cream, and also the biscuits would be soaked in a little bit of coffee mixed with a dash of vanilla as well. Cocoa on the top would be crushed chocolate biscuits instead, with the odd frozen chocolate dipped biscuits crushed and mixed in.
@Raeilgunne6 ай бұрын
History! Depth of knowledge! We bow down!
@beberinho6 ай бұрын
If I may add to the conversation, in French, we have a distinction between "boudoir" and "biscuit à la cuillère" (literally meaning "spoon biscuit" in English). Boudoirs are smaller and dryer than biscuits à la cuillère. And apart from Sainsbury's biscuits, which are clearly boudoirs, it seems to me that the other ones in the video are closer to "biscuits à la cuillère". It might be considered hair-splitting on my part, but maybe, savoiardi biscuits are closer to biscuits à la cuillère than to boudoirs.
@ropro98176 ай бұрын
"Tiramisu rabbithole" were 2 words that I thought I'd never put together... until now! 🤠Love that James went deep so that we didn't have to! 🙇
@bobs_sa84806 ай бұрын
The amount of prep and work that went into this video behind the scenes must’ve been immense! Kudos to James and his team!
@guimouro264 ай бұрын
I´m tired just thinking about it. And the amount of tiramisu eaten and the amount of spoons used to taste it make me unconfortable
@domramsey6 ай бұрын
When it comes to the cocoa powder, a bigger factor than the brand is alkalisation (Dutching). A more alkalised cocoa is going to have a browner / darker colour and a more chocolatey flavour. A non-alkalised cocoa is going to be lighter / pinker and will generally be less chocolatey but have more interesting natural flavour notes. Perhaps frustratingly, the chocolatey ones with a nice deep brown colour are the most processed.
@listenheed6 ай бұрын
I made a comment about this before seeing yours, great point! I’m curious about the difference and if mid-Dutch process cocoa or even Oreo-style black cocoa would be interesting.
@domramsey6 ай бұрын
@@listenheedIt would be interesting to test black cocoa powder, but I think the colour might be off-putting. Working with it can also be a bit of a pain because it tends to stain everything a greyish-black.
@jameshaulenbeek59316 ай бұрын
You could always make a separate one with activated charcoal in addition to the black cocoa for the guests who had a little... too much.
@katieb_6 ай бұрын
Actually the other important thing to consider is % of fat in cocoa powder. 18-22% fat cocoa powder tastes fuller and more complex than 10% one
@density.coffee6 ай бұрын
The cocoa should be 18-22% fat for a full rich taste, not 10%. You don't need the acidity of natural unsweetened so dutch processed has the advantages of Alkalizing cocoa making it darker in color, mellow in flavor, and dissolves easily into liquids.
@W4ldgeist6 ай бұрын
In the family of my wife (Italian) it's customary to add a little spritz of Amaretto to the creme and a bit of lemon zest. That works out beautifully and rounds out the taste of the tiramisu.
@alessandrobianchin13226 ай бұрын
My family in northern italy use a bit of martini in the coffee
@DamnZodiak6 ай бұрын
Genuinely can't stand either of these ingredients in Tiramisu. My favourite Italian restaurant used both (or maybe it was orange zest?) and for me it ruined what was otherwise a perfect Tiramisu. Goes to show how important adjusting recipes to your personal preferences is.
@thorwaldjohanson25266 ай бұрын
I love adding amaretto to the espresso / coffee. The almond taste goes so well with it.
@themikeroberts6 ай бұрын
@@DamnZodiakYeah, I absolutely hate almond flavoring and so its always a devastating surprise when something contains it
@GrandHighGamer6 ай бұрын
I always thought marsala (another sweet dessert wine) was standard alongside the coffee.
@AveryLiberg6 ай бұрын
God bless nerds. I love them. Anyone who cares so much about their interests is amazing and deserves the world
@Starangerr6 ай бұрын
The sous-vide eggs part was mind blowing. This opens up so many possibilities when you need to be extra careful! I am definitely going to try this.
@SpaceMulva6 ай бұрын
take every ingredient in a cookie and pre-toast/cook/caramelize it, combine it, let it sit, and then think of the baking as the final step, and you can compare to how raw and ununified a regular cookie tastes. This is how I get people to understand how to up their baking and cooking. The reason tiramisu is so popular is everything is already cooked. Good tiramisu is finding a balance in precook in those ingredients, the rest is just profile preference. Same with all baking really.
@Starangerr6 ай бұрын
@@SpaceMulva Thanks for the advice, this is a totally new perspective for me! I never thought of doing that, but it makes sense when you think about it. I know how I'll spend my upcoming weekends now. ^^
@xDiananas6 ай бұрын
@@SpaceMulvanot sure I understand how you do it for the cookies o_o what kind of research can I do to find more about?
@MadocComadrin5 ай бұрын
It also sounds like a good idea if you need to make a lot of tiramisu. Plopping yolks in a bag sounds like significantly less effort and less hands-on than whisking a bunch of yolks in a double boiler.
@orcbum2 ай бұрын
@@xDiananas Take SpaceMulva's advice with a grain of salt; not all ingredients for a particular recipe can be elevated by pre-cooking/carmelization. For standard sugar cookies (or choc chip, or any other butter/vanilla-flavored baked goods), you can bring out a toasty, nutty, caramel flavor by browning the butter and/or toasting the sugar prior to making the recipe. However, you wouldn't do the same for eggs since in cookies they are primarily for binding the ingredients together and to provide additional moisture and fat, and don't provide any big benefits (if any) when pre-cooked. Generally speaking, you want to identify what the purpose of each ingredient is for a dish, and when making adjustments/"improvements", you need to think of the potential consequences. The process of browning butter, for example, removes the moisture from the butter and can lead to dry cookies or unflaky pastries if liquid isn't reintroduced to the browned butter. To learn more I'd just start analyzing recipes, googling questions on why things are done, and constantly ask "why?". Like for chocolate cake/brownie recipes, it's common to see recipes telling you to mix hot water with cocoa powder (aka "blooming"), but why is blooming done? Is it to cook the cocoa powder? Or is it to simply help it emulsify into the batter? The culinary world is filled with techniques done out of convention, so it's important to dissect them and see what works/doesn't work, and for what purpose.
@gabzolina6 ай бұрын
"Nerdy and extremely excessive" is exactly what we need James... Thank you
@danielzenner6 ай бұрын
Although it is not necessary in a tiramisu, It would have been interesting to see you try different liquors (rum, wine, amaretto, coffee liqueur) vs. no liquor. Great content as always James!
@sourdoughhome25716 ай бұрын
We've used Marsala for years. We made a batch for recovering alcoholics so we substituted vanilla sugar and couldn't taste any difference. However, the next day told the tale. usually our Tiramisu improves overnight. The one without Marsala did not. I'd be interested in tests with other liquors.
@jpcelestian6 ай бұрын
Yes! 100% We need you to test a recipe that incorporates alcohol. I use rum mixed with the coffee dunk. Its important to have just the right amount of it so its not overpowering but its still detectable. This would be a key test point for you to cover at least for what most Americans want in a great tiramisu.
@johnl.75826 ай бұрын
Many years ago I spent a couple of months in Bologna, and after one memorable dinner the restaurant refused to serve the tiramisù on display because it was too fresh. We came back the next night and it was great. I therefore hypothesise that tiramisù aging is either a necessity for the most traditional artisanal recipes or a cunning wheeze to drive repeat business.
@nigermant63472 ай бұрын
in general many chilled desserts (with flour or rice that integrate or merge flavours) and all the bean stews.
@Naegimaggu6 ай бұрын
4:20 Having done this experiment myself in my personal quest for the ultimate tiramisu (inspired by JH's first tiramisu video), I find the amount surprisingly high actually. In my testing the ideal range was between 8-16g of coffee soaken per biscuit and I ended up preferring to dunk just one side of the biscuit and then having the dunken side up top, the idea being that as the gravity pulls the coffee down the soakiness gets more even, but not so much as to lose all the crunch. Also crucial in the sogginess sphere of things is the assembly and whether you let it set afterwards. I arrange the tiramisu in the style of Pasticceria Nascimben, single servings. I also don't let the tiramisu set after the assembly. I make the egg, sugar, mascarpone mixture beforehand and let it set in the fridge, but it doesn't need like a day of setting, half an hour will do. It can be used fresh too if you're in a hurry, the consistency is all about how you whisk the eggs and sugar. As for coffee I used AeroPress with ratios varying between 1:5 - 1:10, but I also tried it with espresso which is nice if you want a lot of coffee flavour, but it is more work. Definitely recommend using ratios tighter than 1:10 if you're going for sub 10g dunk on the biscuits as the amount of coffee is so little that if you want any coffee flavour you gotta have strong coffee. A side note on the ingredients: The eggs make a huge difference if not in flavour at least in colour. The organic eggs for some reason are much YELLOWER than your run-of-the-mill eggs. I found this very important as I was obsessing over making the tiramisu as yellow as Pasticceria Nascimben's. In the end I didn't get it to be as yellow unless I highly underwhipped the eggs and used less mascarpone, but then you're going to have issues with runny mixture. I wonder if they use colouring to achieve the colour, taste and consistency in the same package. EDIT: Oh yeah, I used the Vicenzovo savoiardi biscuits. Forgot that there may be others.
@kevincurrie20526 ай бұрын
Yolk colour is determined by the farmer, there is a addition to the feed that they give the chickens and they have a chart like a paint swatch, x many grams per kilogram of feed and you get this colour yolk. Maybe Italian farmers crank it to the max.
@Zizalaonfire6 ай бұрын
For the egg yolk - i find that you can achieve a fluffier, lighter cream by pasteurazing the eggyolks over a doble boiler and then beating them up with the sugar until very light yellow colout. I pasteurize the whole eggs tho, so the foam is usually very tall and it results in a nice, slightly fluffy cream
@joseph_p6 ай бұрын
I like folding the whipped egg whites into the yolks/mascarpone mixture to make the cream extra fluffy and light.
@joachimemand16876 ай бұрын
I laughed out loud at the beginning. Dunking lady fingers into coffee, to check which duration would make a perfect biscuit is exactly what I've done 30 years ago. The nerd is strong in me.
@food_rhapsodies6 ай бұрын
I wish there was a version where you make the mascarpone from scratch, I have made that version and it is mindboggling how much better it is from the store-bought one, and it only takes two ingredients, heavy cream, and lemon. (I am curious to see if that would be the case always or if the store mascarpones that you have tested in the video would be better). I used a 40% fat heavy cream for my mascarpone and absolutely loved it. Going to try and experiment with the other factors. I also do a sort of Zabaglione with the egg yolks and sugar, which turns out nice and gives a nice texture to the tiramisu. Amazing video as always, James. 😃😃
@jameshoffmann6 ай бұрын
I did have a play with making my own, but struggled with getting it to set up. I plan to come back to it in future
@SupernovaBetty6 ай бұрын
A lot of heavy cream is ultra pasteurized, it won’t set up if it is, you have to get cream that is regular or low temp pasteurized for it to set up.
@food_rhapsodies6 ай бұрын
@@SupernovaBetty very nice point. I've actually not thought about it that way. I guess I got very lucky with what I bought 😁
@josephelhardt49446 ай бұрын
when I've made it in the past i used powdered milk in with the cream as well, and can confirm that it turns out miles better than the storebought stuff
@krissanderson50046 ай бұрын
Can you use sodium citrate with the pasteurized cream to make the mascrapone? I have heard this is a common technique used for making cheese from pasteurized cream. I don't think unpasteurized dairy products can be sold in the US. It turns out pasteurization was introduced for a good reason (Campylobacter, Cryptosporidium, E. coli, Listeria, Brucella, and Salmonella).
@houseXelectroXco5 ай бұрын
James! Now I am standing here in my kitchen, wanting to make tiramisu, and I realize you Ep#5 is not out yet! How can you do that to me?! 😢
@jrisner65356 ай бұрын
I'm so glad they found a professional tiramisu taster to do this crucial work 👍
@JonoConstantini6 ай бұрын
I’m would have loved it if they incorporated someone from the Beccherie or the Tiramisu World Cup.
@Wallopy_Joe6 ай бұрын
They should have balanced it out by bringing on an amateur tiramisu enjoyer/rando from the general public. I volunteer my time and waive my fee for the next round of tasting.
@fabriziogibin55576 ай бұрын
Wonderful video. I am Italian and a tiramisù lover. In case, as here in Brazil, you can't find mascarpone, 400gr of Philadelphia mixed with 100gr of double cream, works really well. For me, the right coffe strength is moka coffee, but this is only a tradition of my family. I enjoyed a lot the video! Thank you!
@IntergalacticKiwi6 ай бұрын
When watching this video deep into the rabbit hole it all makes sense and is very interesting, but taking a step back and realising I am watching a man judge Savoiardi biscuits ability to snap I know I have truly made it in life
@goose-lw6js6 ай бұрын
I've been making at least 4 tiramisu every year since over 20 years and my recipe is: 3 Eggs (Yolks and Whites separated) 3tbsp Sugar 250g Mascarpone ~20 Lady Fingers (find some good ones) Cocoa Powder I use a dark roasted coffee from a Bialetti (Moka Pot) which imho has the perfect strength. When i feel fancy i add a bit of Vanilla to the cream and Cognac/Brandy to the Coffee before dunking. So the main thing i'm missing in this vid is yes or no to the whipped egg whites? I personally feel they are essential to get a nice fluffy texture which melts on your tongue. The egg whites are also accepted as part of the classic category at the world cup, so they deserve to be tested!
@TamarLitvot6 ай бұрын
whipped egg whites as a layer or mixed into the marscopone? And wondering if you can recommend which Lady Fingers are good in the U.S.? I've only seen the standard Stella D'Oro ones in local grocery stores (U.S. midatlantic) which are likely not all that great, but can order better ones online
@goose-lw6js6 ай бұрын
@@TamarLitvot i mix the mascarpone with the yolks, sugar (+ optionally vanilla) and than very, very (!) carefully fold in the beaten egg whites. and sorry can't recommend you anything in the U.S. because i'm from europe.
@TamarLitvot6 ай бұрын
@@goose-lw6js Thanks so much for the info on the eggs! I think I'll try out some lady fingers I've seen online.
@ThisIsMyFullName6 ай бұрын
Egg whites are essential. They add body and a lightness to the Tiramisu that helps to balance against the heavy mascarpone.
@Raiden_N76 ай бұрын
From watching this series I know that it's not a traditional part of the original recipe, but my favourite thing about tiramisu is that taste of Marsala wine infused into the sponge fingers.
@TheDailyQuack6 ай бұрын
Interesting how strength had such a profound effect on the overall flavor profile. Great video!
@Healpl0x6 ай бұрын
I've actually started perfecting my recipe for Tiramisu as well, and this is the recipe I found worked best: - 500 grams Mascarpone - 4 large eggs (both yolk and white, but seperated) - 120-140 grams of sugar, depending on how sweet I want it - Coffee, brewed from a Moka pot - Savoiardi, or the italian version of Lady fingers, which can be found at specialty shops. They are bigger than regular sized ones. - Dark rum if I want a bit of a kick in it. The steps themselves are incredibly easy. Seperate eggs, cream the yolk with sugar for a couple of minutes until fluffy. Mix the whites until stiff peaks (around 4-5 minutes). Put the mascarpone in a bowl and mix it as well, to fluff it up a bit, and loosen it. Add the mascarpone to the yolk/sugar and mix for a couple of minutes until combined. Slowly add the whites in several batches, mix with a spatula gently so it doesn't lose too much air. Then just assemble. Dunk the savoiardi in the liquid for very short, like half a second to a second per side. Dust with cacao powder. Put in fridge for at least 8 hours but preferably over night. Done!
@Freelocybin6 ай бұрын
This is pretty much exactly the recipe that we use at the café I work at. We use 125g of powdered sugar per 4 eggs and 500g mascarpone. It's really, really good and lots of customers compliment it.
@utku34636 ай бұрын
How do you pasteurize egg whites, I don't want to eat them raw
@Healpl0x6 ай бұрын
@utku3463 Whilst mixing to create stiff peaks, you can put the bowl over a hot water bath, just like an au bain marie/double boiler. It would be a good idea to have a thermometer, though, as you don't want the whites to go past 70 C/160 F. Also, make sure they are room temperature again when adding them to the rest of the mixture. Good luck!
@xio38576 ай бұрын
the best recipe I've used is from an older Italian book. yolks are bain-marie cooked with marsala into a fluffy zabaglione; the coffee is sweetened and blended with rum. thanks for taking us down the rabbit hole!
@junipers74776 ай бұрын
My autism greatly appreciates the dunking graphs, the commitment here to the quest is outstanding
@michik.32066 ай бұрын
You have asked for missed aspects of testing and i thought about it - maybe a sugar alternative version is for some people interesting. Is it a big tradeoff or is there a way to make good tiramisu without refined sugar (like there is a way to enjoy great decaf coffee). Really enjoying your videos, thanks to you and the team for the great work.... and to get stuck in the coffee rabbit hole because of you, love it
@Frostbiker6 ай бұрын
Yes, they could try Xylitol, Erythritol or Allulose. It would be a bit more diabetic friendly.
@GoProGnome6 ай бұрын
You didn't need to do the video, could have just come to my house! This video reinforces everything I learned through trial/error in making tiramisu. Espresso - too strong, drip coffee - too weak. Solution - 50/50 mix. Mascarpone - found one through trial and error that works well. Some ended up too soggy, some too thick. Lady fingers - I favor the driest traditional ones I can find. Dipping also trial and error found that a drop and quick roll in coffee produced best balance of flavor/texture. Tried cooking the eggs once... sticking with raw. Nice to see it all proven out here!
@dallasturner45926 ай бұрын
denied. buy the sous vide machine.
@GoProGnome6 ай бұрын
@dallasturner4592 might need to now!
@wajical6 ай бұрын
I appreciate those who "take one for the team" so we can enjoy the best of coffee! Thanks James. You are my hero.
@hanshans3874 ай бұрын
James, I am obsessed with tiramisu to an unhealthy degree. I have tried literally hundreds of tiramisus. The hands down *best* I have ever tried is from a restaurant in Rome called Est Artigiani del Gusto. It's *unreal*. It's life mindblowing. It's lifechanging. I cannot stress enough how much I recommend going there just to try it!!!
@Rev3rence2 ай бұрын
where is that last "ultimate tiramisu recipe" episode that was promised when you need it? :/
@MichelleA816 ай бұрын
Tiramisu science! 🥰 Nice to know the decaf version wasn't horrible. I have to try a decaffeinated tiramisu now 😋
@alessandrolodi5 ай бұрын
You truly deserve honorary Italian citizenship! Your content is absolutely delightful, and I adore every bit of it. ❤
@psstimbatman66466 ай бұрын
This is my endgame. I'm obsessed with the nerdiness of this whole thing!
@vedranfranke43116 ай бұрын
@james - the best technique is to lay the biscuits in a shallow pan with a 1/2 cm layer of coffee. lay the biscuit into the pan horizontally and wait until it soaks up the coffee up to 50% of the z axis. This way, they retain the texture, and still have some space to absorb the liquid from the creme. the coffee should, of course, be cold.
@madJesterful6 ай бұрын
Regarding raw eggs: in NA eggs are considered less safe to consume raw. I do anyway but I found a simple method to pasturize them that i am doing to hedge my bets. I have an electric kettle that you can set to a specific temperature and i just let the whole egg in shell sit at 60 degrees for 5 minutes. Supposedly that is long enough. One may not even need a fancy kettle just a thermometer and very large pot of water at 65 degrees would basically stay above 60 the entire cycle. If you arebable to verify the validity of this approach to home egg pasturization it might be a great inclusion for making it approachable. It may also take on that sous vide quality you liked.
@Tirakisu6 ай бұрын
Yees ! I've waited for this episode for months ! I knew you were working on it and I was certain you were taking forever because you were testing so many things like you always do.
@matmatician76 ай бұрын
You are living proof that the scientific method can (and should!) be applied to absolutely anything and everything. You are a scientist's scientist, James, and have all my respect.
@insertnicknamehere6 ай бұрын
That sequence of the body in panic mode followed by a very sober "no" when tasting the valhrona cocoa ? My favourite part.
@pepe1171006 ай бұрын
Finally!!! I knew in my heart that this series wasn't over. Thank you!! I'm exited!
@HiyuMarten6 ай бұрын
Oh man, that's a lot of testing! Great work! One thing that this kind of standard testing methodology can't find is odd combinations: Where the undesired qualities of some of the less-good products can combine together to, as you say, create something that's more than the sum of its parts, cancelling out or complementing each other. Though finding these would require a LOT more testing.
@annette.10306 ай бұрын
Best classic tiramisu recipe ever: KZfaqrs Jessi & Alessio's "How To Make Tiramisu- Authentic Italian Recipe" - just use way less sugar (around 3/4 cup total appears to be the sweet spot). Uses a Moka Pot which appears to be perfect strength if you use a dark roast. And best of all: no wasted egg whites - you use them to your advantage by whipping them then folding them into the yolk/mascarpone mixture to make it all the more fluffy and delightful! Interestingly Pasta Grammar has a near identical recipe but I prefer the technique of the former.
@DavidJVMusic6 ай бұрын
Lol, so good! One thing I do question is: 1) Have all of the biscuits brought to the same internal humidity % moisture level. 2) Does a different coffee type like dark roast work better with a different egg process and or biscuit recipe and or mascarpone richness and or various cocoas etcetera. 3) Would adding the coffee last (to the bottom of the plate- wait until soaked up to serve) make a difference. Oh yes, very convoluted but Interesting. Great information James and crew! I love that Jame's brain works so much like mine. Lol!😊😅😂🤣😁😉
@SuperDavidEF6 ай бұрын
Regarding your first point: I was wondering whether it would make sense to use less than 14g of coffee in the already higher moisture biscuits, but switch to a higher strength of coffee, so the overall moisture level and strength balances out. Maybe 10g or 12g of 6% strength, or something like that, would work better for the higher moisture biscuits.
@ABDLLHSDDQI6 ай бұрын
1. I would request to give an aproximate recipe for using the aeropress (espresso style ratios) to extract as close to 5% coffee if possible, in case we can find a way to not be forced to need an espresso machine. 2. I used a natural columbian light roast (distinctly wild flavour notes of bluberry, cotton candy) which I absolutely love and the wild fruitiness came through and was actually very nice. It was subtle, so didn't distract from the coffee, but had a pleasant finish. I would like the complexity of a sweet non acidicly fruity coffee with dutch process or darker cocoa perhaps.
@tigereye51713 күн бұрын
This is extensively nerdy. Bravo! Appreciate this video. Back during Covid year, I made tiramisu several times, finally realized I could make this at home. This beats any recipe video w thorough investigation and pondering. Will I ever look at tiramisu the same again…
@erickcarrillo78022 ай бұрын
The "I know" while injecting coffee with a syringe was spot on! I was just thinking: "This can't be serious, and I don't know why i love every single piece of it!" 😂
@mitchellwallace69376 ай бұрын
That's some thorough testing! The only thing I didn't see was testing different eggs. You can buy cheap eggs that have a dull pale yellow yokes or more expensive (grain fed, free range etc) with beautiful bright orange yokes. Since you're typically eating the eggs raw, I'd think that you could notice it in the final dessert.
@corvidsam6 ай бұрын
Ethan Chlebowski just did a video breaking down different price point eggs, and at least in cooked versions he wasn’t able to find a difference in taste, only animal welfare considerations! Fascinating video
@ridedownsouth6 ай бұрын
Best video of the year so far, love the nerd levels
@borsitsb6 ай бұрын
As an engineer I always love to see the sheer thoroughness and effort James puts into his videos. Watching the passion and scientific precision motivates me a ton.
@peterjordan-turner87896 ай бұрын
For me, what's missing is the no-egg version. I got a scribbled recipe from an osteria in Venice ages ago, and have been playing with it to get closer to what my memory says I enjoyed on that visit. I'm about there, and Arden & Amici (Waitrose) savoiardi, fairly standard mascarpone, good Guatemalan coffee from a moka are the basics. Everything else is technique.
@Phlucious6 ай бұрын
4:54 +1 for the “I know I know… but… science!!” 😂😂😂
@_senseofurgency6 ай бұрын
Hey! Just wanted to give a little trick for those who are iffy around raw egg yolks and dont have a sous-vide setup. While it isn't as fool-proof and as perfect as using a water circulator, you can definitely get away with a makeshift sous vide setup using a sealable bag, a large pot of water and a temperature probe. When you have a lot of water, it is surprisingly good at retaining heat. Simply probe your water when it reaches 60, take it off the heat and check it every once in a while and if it drops by a degree or two you can briefly put it back on the heat to keep it at 60. Hope this helps!
@beabravo67595 ай бұрын
As a Coffee and Chocolate lover I am always in support of the rest of ingredients of Tiramisu being just vehicles for those goodies to enter my system so I am not a fan of Tiramisus made by people who clearly despise them and it just tastes of sweetened dairy products so I'm a fan of this video rooting for the real stars of the show to shine.
@aerix206 ай бұрын
evolving into a weird Tiramisu guy from being the weird coffee guy?
@nocturnhabeo6 ай бұрын
¿Porqué no los dos?
@greysuit176 ай бұрын
There’s coffee in the biscuits so it checks out.
@dodaexploda6 ай бұрын
@@greysuit17 I believe because there is coffee in it, this officially makes it a "weird coffee guy tangent". We could call it the "Tiramisu Tangent".
@daniel635biturbo6 ай бұрын
This is not a recipe video, It's a tribute ! Tenacious JH
@davidmarkham20995 ай бұрын
From a professional chef's perspective, I enjoyed your testing: True product design and development skills. What I noted pretty much straight away, though, is that there were no benchmark ingredient amounts when making the samples - especially the amount of eggs, number of Savoiardi biscuits, amount of sugar or volume of Mascarpone. From your video footage at least, I also think that the egg yolks weren't whipped out enough when making the sabayon. From my experience, the sabayon should be light and airy - just like a zabaglione made with good Marsala should be. Knowing what sort of ratio you prefer in terms of sabayon and mascarpone would be appreciated too. I realise that these extra details would likely blow-out the video editing time beyond what you may find reasonable, and what one considers the ultimate tiramisu is entirely subjective, but I'd nevertheless like to hear what your preferred amounts are anyway. All in all, though, an excellent post.
@kasperhip16 ай бұрын
That "floppy biscuit moment" has left me wondering how many intended innuendos I might have missed over the years of watching James' videos ....
@raccoonking75666 ай бұрын
James did the same thing as Greg from How to Drink. Dude did a Manhattan matrix, and now he visibly shudders every time he thinks of or drinks the cocktail.
@keithmerchant80356 ай бұрын
The Cook's illustrated recipe is brilliant. They use espresso and instant espresso powder along with rum. They make the liquid very very concentrated. So all you have to do is drop the biscuit in, immediately flip it, then pull it out. Out. It gets infused with lots of coffee and rum flavor without being completely saturated. This helps the final dish hold together much better without getting soggy
@philipp5736 ай бұрын
I am really conditioned by youtube and you. No mid role ads, no sponsored part. Really enjoyable. You can see its a project of your heart if you do earn less money with it.
@cameralabs6 ай бұрын
Thanks James, this is the video I KNEW I always needed! I love Tiramisu, but when making it at home I often wonder about coffee strength and dipping times, so this is the guidance I needed! I can only brew Aeropress at home though, so generally halve the water or double the coffee to make a double-strength liquid for dipping. I'd say it's still a bit weak for me, but I don't currently have another option -other than a takeout espresso that's slightly watered down!
@Laz_Arus6 ай бұрын
I transitioned to a Ketogenic diet/lifestyle 14 months ago to control my weight and now have it under control, but as a coffee lover, you have no idea the torture you're putting me through with these tiramisu recipes! 😁😲 I'm sure there must be others out there with a similar lifestyle who just drool when James presents these. Keep up the great work James. Always enjoy your content. 👍
@Yubey9346 ай бұрын
why can´t you do a keto tiramisu, i bet there are recipes
@ladyflimflam6 ай бұрын
Heavenly Fan posted a recipe recently
@lenabreijer13116 ай бұрын
Sugar substitute, keto almond biscuit. Not that difficult.
@markjthomson6 ай бұрын
There is a book coming out in a few months called "Eat Happy Italian" that will have a recipe that is pretty close to what you might want. Will likely still contain a sugar of some form but will likely work for a special, of course you could sub a suitable sweetener. The biscuit is a cloud bread version. Check out Anna Vocino and her Eat Happy series of books.
@Metzlmane3 ай бұрын
When will your final Ultimate Tiramisu Video be released?
@MahmoudHHAmin6 ай бұрын
But … SCIENCE! 😂 Thats the best bit. Towards the end of the video I marvel at how much you tend to every detail of every detail and it just reminds me of how much I enjoy your videos, James. Never stop! Cheers
@gabocore50936 ай бұрын
I loved coffee before stumbling on your amazing channel, now I'm passionate about coffee, thank you James!
@dejedejsson6 ай бұрын
The fact that none of the major coffee channels on youtube touch on boilergate makes me lose trust in the individual youtubers but also in the whole industry, it shows what a small duck pond they are swimming in and whose interests they actually serve.
@cosmicmousse5 ай бұрын
It's good to know that using decaff doesn't do anything negative. I don't like having caffeine too late, so knowing it's a viable option is good.
@loost686 ай бұрын
Every video tops the previous one. Hats off to you and the crew.
@UloPe5 ай бұрын
I can totally see where you’re coming from with the sous vide’ed egg. I once made tiramisu for a then pregnant friend and used pasteurized egg yolk powder. There was a a somewhat unpleasant grit to the resulting product but the texture in general was amazing. Definitely something to explore.
@michaelwright20796 ай бұрын
I'm so happy to see the continuation of this series. I've been waiting months to find out the correct dosage of coffee for my savoiardi.
@FrancescoRedibest6 ай бұрын
Congratulations James, you did a great journey into the tiramisù.
@ishouldbestudyingrightnow6 ай бұрын
This would be the perfect episode for Hames Joffmann's comeback.
@alexr90286 ай бұрын
Never knew I needed such an extensive and somewhat excessive analysis of tiramisu. Well done sir! 👏
@russelljackman14136 ай бұрын
I always look forward to your videos, James, no matter what the content is. They (you) are always highly entertaining, and are THE BEST KZfaq has to offer. Thank you, James!
@kellenbarnett34036 ай бұрын
The video I never knew I needed. Also, gotta love the transition from "weird coffee guy" to "weird tiramisu guy"
@qwerfa6 ай бұрын
On the subject of the dunking, Tiramisu is a tradition in my family for various holidays. Both my mother and grandmother always said not to dunk, and to simply spoon the coffee on top lest the biscuit turns soggy. It's always been our preferred way of making it as well.
@waltersysmans99166 ай бұрын
Just when you think James can’t get any nerdier, oh yes he can. I love it
@sarahmuller60086 ай бұрын
Great video, love this series! However, I missed the analysis of the alcoholic ingredient like Amaretto. Amaretto is a great addition to balance out the egg flavor in the cream.
@Charman13376 ай бұрын
This is a valid point! I would also suggest to test the effect of Kahlúa. However, due to the inherent sweetness of these liquors, it would be necessary to adjust the amount of sugar as well.
@TheOriginal_BigMac6 ай бұрын
"Shot, dunk & roll" will be sung by schoolchildren from today onwards
@katebowers81076 ай бұрын
This is the perfect examination of all my tiramisu questions!
@yoitsdan6 ай бұрын
This is the greatest dessert, researched by the greatest coffee expert on the planet. I shall be following his recommendation!
@m.d.f379712 күн бұрын
I think James Hoffman would be great buddies with Heston Blumenthal. Both have this crazy detailed and scientific approach to food and drink. I would love to watch a video series that features both of them just tinkering around on recipes.
@lc92456 ай бұрын
James took almost an entire year to release this part of the series from the very first shows how complex baking can be. I do certain things different from James based on things I have picked up over the years. The first is dunking. Instead of submerging, I only soak the powdered sugar side (which is almost required on a ladyfinger/savoiardi/boudoir as it helps with the rise during baking) for a few seconds, quick enough for the liquid to penetrate but not enough to make the entire biscuit shoggy. For the egg, James also used egg yolks but instead of merely cooking it over the bain marie, I just do a pâte à bombe, in which I use most of the sugar in the recipe and add any of the extra ingredients that might spices up the desert (from left over soak coffee to vanilla extract, basil, truffle oil, alcohol like wine/marsala, to fresh fruit juice or just their citrus skin oil, anything that dissolve well in fat or water). I think James not whipping the egg after cooking it over bain marie was what caused the thick, unpleasant texture. Mix until it turns pale yellow, depending on how thick or stable the tiramisu should be. Raw eggs have a distinct flavour that some might not like, cooking it removed some of that. I have met friends who only loves Tiramisu with raw eggs and can tell which stores serve which. I've never determine their claim though. Lastly is the cacao. There's no doubt many others have dissected the myriad of details about the cocoa powder, but my to go is always Heston's ground chocolate. He simply makes a thick syrup then drops bars of chocolate of choice, let off the heat after it all melts and stir until it cools and become powder-like. I then would mix it with cocoa powder for a nice balance between sweetness, chocolate flavour and bitter, dry cocoa.
@garthbartin6 ай бұрын
I always do a boozy dense tiramisu. No egg white (lots of recipes call for it but I think it ruins the texture), only yolk, and I spike the mascarpone with cognac and vanilla. I thin out the espresso with coffee liquer and I thin out the mascarpone/egg/cognac with heavy cream a little. I also like to sprinkle cacao nibs in place of cocoa powder over the top and in-between the layers (even got to use some from cacao I harvested and processed myself once), the bitter crunch is a great texture/flavor contrast. TBH this one of the places where obsessive Italian food purism really holds the dish back. Tiramisu is such a great base to go wild experimenting with or just to round out with deeper flavors-imo the by the books recipe is almost never the best for the occasion here.
@damianbiondo8126 ай бұрын
You gotta' love this guy. Who else would use a refractometer -- with a straight face and without justification, no less -- to make tiramisu? I mean. . . .
@cramerqualls39686 ай бұрын
So excited to use all of your work and effort to up my own dessert game. Thanks James!
@serialseb28416 ай бұрын
I haven't even watched it yet but already I know this is the Tiramisu video I have been waiting for!
@willnzsurf4 ай бұрын
I recently purchased a purple to green chameleon multicoloured spoon & couldn't be happier noticing the spoon wizard himself using one. Also I reckon something like a Costa Rica Yellow Catuai Varietal Natural Process Cold Brew would be great as a dunking pool for the Savioardi bikkies. The best Tiramisu I had was in Firenze/Florence many moons ago.
@marksummerfield3576 ай бұрын
At some point this just seems like an excuse for you to binge on your favorite desert. I like it.
@ged33776 ай бұрын
James! Fantastic video. I'm a type 1 diabetic and I noticed what looks like a constant glucose monitor on your left arm. If that's what it is, either you're also a diabetic or you're investigating the impact of tiramisu composition on blood glucose, which I wouldn't put past you. Love your work!
@thomprd6 ай бұрын
I don't think I'm ever going to make this but I certainly enjoyed watching you do it.
@stephenthorsteinsson6 ай бұрын
James, just dropping in to say I really enjoyed this video. The longer format ones are always nice.
@DavidSilva-re3dk6 ай бұрын
I'm really excited about the sous vide egg. My wife doesn't eat deserts with raw eggs and I'm excited to try with several deserts (tiramisu, chocolate mousse, ice cream and others) Thank you for that.
@mandyurbont67076 ай бұрын
Most important thing I learned from this video - store bought biscuits are fine, vs. all the fussy fiddling around with homemade, which adds a lot of effort and complexity (and dish washing!) to the creation of the dessert