Peach of Mind.

I’ve tried to make it twice already. Finished all my ladyfingers but still have 2 oz. of fancy coffee mascarpone -_- what to do? But that can wait.

At first I was like, ah, easy. No bake, just putting things together. But turned out cakes like these need precision too. I ended up making two huge errors (and fixing both of them).

First time error: overlooking the importance heavy whipping cream. Second time error: putting mascarpone in before whipping still hot double-boiled egg yolks and sugar. Both errors had injured some structural aspects that keep the cake tall but light fluffy and neutralize the sugar.

But anyways. I learned my lesson, and both cakes still got devoured on the same day they were made (by friends and housemates, not just by me)! Next time I will do better, promise!

Here are pictures (oh, recipe too?):

You will need (for the second batch I halved this recipe):

• 6 egg yolks
• 1 1/4 cups white sugar
• 1 1/4 cups mascarpone cheese (I used an 8 oz. pack)
• 1 3/4 cups heavy whipping cream (do NOT use light whipping cream unless, like me, you have no choice)
• 2 (12 ounce) packages ladyfingers
• Some 2/3 cup cold espresso
• 1/3 cup coffee flavored liqueur, but I would say I poured it rather liberally (and generously? ;P)
• cocoa powder for dusting

Um, boil water, put egg yolks and sugar in a double boiler, reduce heat and stir for 10 mins. (IMPORTANT) —> remove from heat and whip until kinda fluffy and pale. blend in mascarpone. In a separate bowl, make whipped cream, stiff peaks. Fold in the whipped cream in the yolk mixture.

Keyword for this cake: keep it fluffy.

now is easy: dip ladyfingers in the coffee + liqueur (I used Kahlua) in a flat bowl (so it’s easier). So funny they look like submarines arrange them on the bottom of your pan. I put the sugar-coated side at the bottom cos they are sturdier (but that’s just me being paranoid, it’s not gonna sink or anything). line with mascarpone mix. line with ladyfingers. line with mascarpone. If you have extra whipped cream, you can also (this is me making up things) put a layer of cream in between, and as the top layer cos it’s white, light as cloud, and added to the height :D and so fluffy I’m gonna die. Top with cocoa powder.

I was trying to be fancy and stenciled my cocoa, but for the first cake I ended up having to rip the cake apart and reassemble it with “emergency” layers of cream, so the fancy (or fancier) design was gone. Oh, and to fix the second mistake I had to make some “emergency” meringue to repair the fluffiness of the the mascarpone mixture… in the process, learned much about baking science (like, what cream of tartar really does) + function and versatility of egg yolks and whites.

Bottom line is: learning from gaffes.

Oh, and keep it fluffy :3