Green Tea Tiramisu

When I first saw this recipe here, I thought 'How ingenious! How come I've never thought of that?' I've eaten green tea ice cream, green tea mochi, green tea chiffon cake, green tea butter cake but GREEN TEA TIRAMISU? How interesting! I knew instantly I had to make it ... and I made it just in time for a family reunion potluck dinner.

I was afraid the cake would not hold up well and fall apart after unmoulding (it would've been a total disaster!), so I brought the cake to the potluck still in its tin.

Ta-daaa! Just before serving, I removed the tin with the help of  2 or maybe 3 other persons, I couldn't exactly remember, my mind was fuzzy as I concentrated hard not to ruin the cake whilst unmoulding. Phew! It was intense! LOL! I must admit the cake looked pretty good except for the icky green which my Daughter said looked like algae!.

This was how it looked like inside. It tasted very light and the green tea flavour was refreshing and very mild. I just wish I had sprinkled green tea powder on every layer of the sponge fingers for a stronger green tea taste.

Green Tea Tiramisu

(Recipe adapted from the blog "The Scent of Green Bananas" here)

Ingredients:

3 egg yolks

1/3 cup white caster sugar (I've reduced the sugar by 2 tablespoons)
8oz mascarpone cheese
1 cup dairy whipping cream
1 tsp vanilla extract
cointreau, or any orange flavoured liqueur (I've omitted this and replaced with the juice of half a lemon)
green tea powder
1-2 c brewed strong green tea, cooled
3 egg whites
savoiardi (sponge fingers)

Note:

1) I used an 8 inch round removable base cake tin as the mould. There was about 1/3 cup leftover filling. I used about 36 pieces of sponge fingers.

2) To the 1 cup dairy whipping cream, I've added 2 Tbs icing sugar and 2 Tbs piping gel during whipping. This is to stabilize the whipped cream.

3) To tone down the bitterness of the green tea powder, I've mixed  in some icing sugar prior to dusting the top of the cake. Due to condensation (hot humid weather here), the mixture melted .... and became 'icky green algae'! LOL!

Method:

1. Beat the egg yolks and sugar in a bowl set over pan of simmering water, until pale yellow. Remove from heat and add the mascarpone cheese and beat until smooth and creamy. Do not overbeat!

2. In a separate bowl, whip the cream. Add vanilla and orange liqueur, then fold into the mascarpone mixture and blend well.
3. In yet another bowl, beat the egg whites to stiff peaks. Fold gently into creamy mascarpone mixture. 
4. Dip sponge fingers into the brewed green tea, then layer them on the bottom of a serving dish. Spread the creamy mascarpone mixture top, and repeat layers.
7. Refrigerate for at least a couple of hours or overnight.
8. Dust with green tea  powder just before serving.