Chai Masala Tiramisu:

Equipment:

• Standard baking sheet sized 40cm (l) x 30cm (w), lined with parchment paper.
• Squared serving dish sized: 20cm x 20cm x 6cm (h)

Recipe:

For the Sponge Cake (you can also use one package of store-bought lady fingers – 24 units in a package):

For the chai masala pastry cream (150g):

For the Tiramisu Cream:

For the chai masala syrup:

Cake preparation and assembly instructions:

For the Sponge Cake:

1. Preheat your oven to 180C (fan mode off) placing a baking rack at the lowest level of your oven.
2. In a bowl using a handheld electric mixer or a standing mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat the eggs, sugar and vanilla for 10 (!) minutes. Build the speed gradually starting from low to maximum speed to support good air bubbles structure.
3. Lower the mixer speed to the lowest and keep beating for 1 minute while moving the beaters very slowly, in order to break any big air bubbles.
4. Melt the milk and butter together and maintain it at warm temperature (40-50C).
5. Sift the flour (and cornstarch / cocoa / matcha powder, as the case be) over the eggs mixture and incorporate with gentle but quick folding motion until the powders are no longer visible. Note that powder “pockets” are hiding at the bottom of the bowl, it is therefore important to fold from the bottom of the bowl as well.
6. Take about 1/4 cup of the cake batter and mix it very thoroughly with the butter-milk mixture (no need to be gentle in this step).
7. Transfer this mixture back into the rest of the cake batter and mix with folding motion gently but quickly until the batter is uniform. Do not overmix.
8. Pour the batter into the baking pan lined with parchment paper at the bottom and sides. Tap it a couple of times on the counter to release any remaining large air bubbles.
9. Bake in the preheated oven for 12 minutes.
10. As soon as the cake is done baking, release from the pan, peel off the parchment paper, and let the cake cool down on a cooling rack.

For the chai masala pastry cream:

1. Prepare the cold brew tea: In a small bowl mix together 135g of milk and the chai masala tea mixture. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight (preferably 2 nights if you have the time, and make proper planning ahead).
2. Into a small saucepan, strain the milk from the tea mixture, and use the back of a spoon to squeeze out any remaining milk.
3. Add the additional 25g of eggs (or milk), sugar and cornstarch, and whisk to combine.
4. Cook on medium heat whisking constantly making sure to scrape the sides of your pan, until you see large and thick bubbles rising to the surface. This should take 2-3 minutes. As soon as you see the bubbles, cook for some 1-2 more minutes.
5. Remove from heat and add in the butter and vanilla. Whisk them well to combine.
6. Transfer the batter to a clean bowl and cover it with plastic wrap that touches the surface of the custard to prevent a skin forming. Cool down to room temperature, before transferring to the refrigerator for at least 4 hours (you can make this cream one day in advanced).

Pro Tip: When you need to cool down a pastry cream fast, you can wrap a tray with plastic wrap, and pour the cream in an even layer on top of the plastic wrap. Adhere a large piece of plastic wrap to the cream and make sure it is sealed well from all sides. Transfer the tray to the refrigerator and it should be cooled down in less than one hour.

For the chai masala syrup:

Mix all of the ingredients together (except for the rum) until the sugar is fully dissolved. Set to the side until the mixture cooled down to room temperature. Then add the rum. I recommend letting the tea bags sit inside the syrup for as long as possible to extract the most flavor out of them.

For the Tiramisu Cream:

1. In a large bowl, soften the mascarpone cheese using a rubber spatula.
2. Gradually add about 1-2 tbsps of the pastry cream to the mascarpone, and fold them together until fully combined. Note that the cream should not curdle.
3. Beat the heavy cream and sugar together to very stiff peaks, and fold it in 3-4 additions into the mascarpone mixture. Refrigerate until use.

Assembly:

1. Cut the cake sheet in half, and arrange one piece inside the pan. You can of course trim it so that it fits to the pan size you have at home.
2. The cake is soaked with half the amount of syrup.
3. Evenly spread half the amount of Tiramisu Cream on top of the cake.
4. Repeat steps 1-3 above once more with the rest of the cake, syrup and cream.
5. Dust the top with non-melting powdered sugar, and you can also sprinkle some cinnamon on top. Store refrigerated for up to 3 days.