White Chocolate-Hazelnut Tiramisu

Tiramisu — a traditional Italian dessert with coffee-soaked ladyfingers, mascarpone and a dusting of cocoa powder — is usually served in a large baking dish. This version, however, switches things up a bit.

First, it’s served in clear tumblers to show off its layers. And then, instead of a mascarpone-cream filling, you make a white chocolate-espresso mousse to go with a hazelnut praline and ladyfinger-style biscuits flavoured with hazelnut and espresso. 

Pamela’s White Chocolate-Hazelnut Tiramisu helped earn her the title of Star Baker for Coffee & Tea Week in Season 8 of The Great Canadian Baking Show.

White Chocolate-Hazelnut Tiramisu

By Pamela Kramer

Special Equipment

• 8 clear 12-ounce drinking glasses

Ingredients

Hazelnut-Espresso Biscuits:

• 4 large eggs, cold, separated
• ¼ tsp cream of tartar
• 1¼ cups (250 g) granulated sugar
• 2 tsp instant espresso powder
• 1 tbsp hot water
• 1 tsp vanilla bean paste
• 1 cup (113 g) cake flour, sifted
• ¼ cup (40 g) toasted hazelnuts, finely chopped
• Icing sugar, for dusting

Candied Hazelnuts and Hazelnut-Praline Paste:

• 2 cups (400 g) granulated sugar
• 4⅔ cups (about 530 g) toasted hazelnuts
• Kosher salt, to taste
• Pearl edible glitter spray (optional)

White Chocolate-Espresso Mousse:

• 6 gelatin sheets
• 3 cups (500 g) white chocolate couverture callets
• 4⅓ cups 35% cream, divided
• 2 tsp instant espresso powder
• 1 tbsp honey

Espresso-Cream Sherry Soak:

• 1¼ cup hot water
• ¼ cup cream sherry
• 10 tsp instant espresso powder

Garnish:

• 2 tbsp (20 g) toasted hazelnuts, finely chopped
• White chocolate bar (optional)

Preparation

Hazelnut-Espresso Biscuits:

Heat oven to 390 F with the rack in the middle position, and line two rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper. 

Place egg whites in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment. Add cream of tartar and beat on medium-high until foamy, then gradually add sugar until stiff peaks form.

In a small bowl, combine espresso powder and hot water and stir until dissolved. Add egg yolks and vanilla bean paste to a medium bowl then stir in 1 teaspoon of the espresso and discard the rest.

Remove the bowl from the stand mixer and, using a rubber spatula, gently stir the egg yolk mixture into the meringue until well-combined. Sift flour into the bowl and gently fold until no streaks remain.

Transfer the mixture to a large piping bag fitted with a large round tip and pipe eight 2-inch discs and sixteen 3-inch discs onto the prepared baking sheets. Sprinkle with chopped hazelnuts and dust lightly with icing sugar, then bake until edges are golden, 7 to 10 minutes, rotating sheet halfway through baking. Set aside to cool completely.

Candied Hazelnuts and Hazelnut Praline Paste:

Line a baking sheet with a silicone mat or parchment paper. 

Heat sugar in a large stainless steel sauté pan over medium heat, stirring gently with a rubber spatula until melted. Continue cooking the sugar until it reaches 350 F on an infrared or candy thermometer. Immediately add hazelnuts and stir to coat.

Spread the candied hazelnuts onto the prepared baking sheet and sprinkle with salt. Once cooled, select eight of the best clusters for garnish and spray with edible glitter, if desired.

Blitz the remaining candied hazelnuts in the bowl of a food processor until broken up into medium pieces. Remove ½ cup of the nuts and set aside to layer with the biscuits and mousse. Blitz the remaining hazelnuts, stirring occasionally, until a smooth paste forms.

Transfer about one-quarter of the praline to a small tipless piping bag.Transfer the rest to another small tipless piping bag. Set aside.

White Chocolate-Espresso Mousse:

Soak gelatin sheets in a bowl of cold water for 5 to 10 minutes. Remove the softened sheets from the bowl, gently squeezing them to remove excess water. Set aside.

Meanwhile, add white chocolate to a large microwave-safe bowl, and microwave, stirring every 30 seconds, until melted. (You could also melt the chocolate in a large heatproof bowl over a double boiler, stirring until smooth.

Add 4 cups cream to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment and whip until soft peaks form.                                                                          

Combine the remaining ⅓ cup cream and honey in a medium microwave-safe bowl, and microwave until the honey is melted, roughly 10 seconds. Add espresso powder and stir until dissolved. Add softened gelatin sheets and stir until dissolved.

Add the stabilized cream to the melted white chocolate and stir until well-combined. Then fold in about one-third of the whipped cream until smooth and fully combined, then gently fold in the rest. Transfer to a large piping bag fitted with a large round tip. 

Espresso-Cream Sherry Soak:

Heat water in a saucepan until steaming, then pour into a heatproof bowl. Add sherry and espresso powder and stir until dissolved. 

Assembly:

Snip a ½-inch hole in the piping bag containing the smaller amount of praline, and a ¾-inch hole in the piping bag with the larger amount.

To assemble, pipe a small amount of mousse into the bottom of each of the drinking glasses. Dip a smaller biscuit into the soak for about 3 seconds on each side and place on the mousse. 

Using the larger piping bag of praline paste, pipe some paste onto each biscuit and sprinkle with broken hazelnut pieces. 

Repeat the layers, using the larger biscuits for the next two layers, until all the mousse, biscuits, praline and candied nuts are used up. Using the smaller piping bag of praline paste, pipe some paste overtop, then sprinkle with chopped hazelnuts and top with a hazelnut cluster and a square of white chocolate, if desired.

Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Makes 8 individual desserts