Cinema snacks: recreating recipes from the silver screen
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Gangstaaaaaaaaaaasss... what's up guys? Hello, welcome our corner of the internet, and to our series ‘Snack to the Future’, where we show you how to recreate snack-sized recipes from the screen, so you can munch your way through the movies, along with your favourite characters. In this super-good special, we're honing in on the tiramisu from the semi-autobiographical Seth Rogan and Evan Goldberg penned coming of age teen comedy SUPERBAD.
Long before she became the worlds highest paid actress (for one year in 2017), you will find a young Emma Stone in her first film role, and the first of her unofficial series of pithy teen comedies. Stone plays Jules, the love interest of Jonah Hill's sex obsessed Seth, who along with best friend Evan, played by Micheal Cera, is on a mission to loose his virginity before college.
In this pivotal scene, Seth is in Home Ec class, and separated from Evan, he is lost, alone, and frustrated. Then, we reach a turning point, in a thrilling twist of fate, he is paired up with Jules, and he has to actually talk to her. By the end of the scene, Jules invites him to a party and perhaps even more excitingly, he learns how to make a tiramisu.
The tiramisu presentation from the movie is kinda wild, a crown of Lady Fingers, encasing a classic tiramisu, creating a cake, of sorts. Tiramisu is light, airy and creamy, so it doesn't have a lot of structure, but with the help of some acetate, some very stiff egg whites, and a long old chill to set up before serving, it can hold itself up. And to be fair, it looks pretty boss. It's obviously much easier to present the tiramisu in the usual way, layered and served in a baking dish, so if you want to avoid giving yourself a headache, the traditional method is noted in the recipe below.
In what sounds like a bad outtake from the movie, let's talk lady fingers. Shop bought ones are hard, and more like biscuits, but they soften up once they soak up all the coffee and cream in a tiramisu. Homemade Lady Fingers on the other hand, are like tiny cakes, that are already soft and malleable. If you can find good quality ready made ones, you can side step making your own, but inauthentic ones are really cack, so if you can't get your hands on the good stuff (like these) then it's worth making your own. I actually think they're really fun to make, but please note, definitions of fun may vary.
Interestingly, the process for making the Lady Fingers and the Tiramisu cream, are very similar, stiffened egg whites that are stabilised with sugar, and then folded into egg yolks. And more interestingly, one recipe calls for more whites, and one for more yolks, so they even themselves out. Please note, definitions of interesting may vary.
A note of caution... during recipe testing, I made a version of this tiramisu with Burford Brown eggs, you know the ones with the really orange yolks (did someone say fancy pants). It resulted in a funny looking tiramisu, with a really orange cream, that felt neither authentic, nor looked appetising, so save the pennies and avoid those eggos!
A note of pleading... if you haven't watched the episode yet, then go over to Bite Cub's YouTube channel, and like we're back watching make up tutorials in 2015, please give it a like, subscribe, and a comment down below.
And finally, a note for the weirdos.... If you're here because your niche interest specifically happens to be food from movies starring Emma Stone, then go get your rocks off, and check out our delicious Pastel de Nata recipe from Poor Things here.
I so flirt with you in math.
Tell me about it. Same-sies.
LADY FINGERS
INGREDIENTS (makes 30-35 fingers)
5 large egg whites
3 large egg yolks
130g sugar - divided
150g flour
30g cornstarch
1 tsp vanilla extract
Pinch of salt
Icing sugar - approx 50g
METHOD
Pre-heat the oven to 200°C / 180°C fan. Separate the eggs into two large mixing bowls.
Using an electric whisk, beat the egg yolks with the salt, vanilla, and half the sugar, until light and fluffy.
With clean, dry beaters, whisk the egg whites to soft peaks. Whisking continuously, add the remaining sugar to the egg whites, one spoonful at a time, until stiff peaks form.
Spoon a third of the egg whites into the yolks, and fold to combine. Gently fold in the remaining egg whites, being careful not to knock the air out.
Sift the flour and cornstarch into the egg mixture, and gently fold until just combined.
Transfer to a piping bag with a 15 mm diameter nozzle or opening cut to this size.
Onto baking sheets lined with greaseproof paper, pipe the batter into logs, approx 10 cm in length, leaving an inch of space in-between.
Sift icing sugar over the logs, covering them generously. Transfer to the oven immediately.
Bake for 8 -10 mins until golden brown and firm to the touch.
Allow the Lady Fingers to cool completely on the baking trays.
TIRAMISU
Features at 11 mins & 10 seconds of Superbad
INGREDIENTS (serves 12)
250g ladys fingers / approx 30
500g mascarpone
5 egg yolks
3 egg whites
80g caster sugar - divided
Pinch of salt
2 tbsps Kahlua or Masala wine
150 ml strong coffee
3 tbsps cocoa powder
METHOD
Make the coffee, add the Kahlua or masala and chill in the fridge until cold.
Separate the eggs into two large mixing bowls.
Using an electric whisk, beat the egg yolks, with the salt, and half the sugar, until light and fluffy.
Fold the mascarpone into the egg yolks. n.b: it's easier to incorporate the mascarpone if you beat it first to loosen it, and warm it up.
With clean, dry beaters, whisk the egg whites to soft peaks. Whisking continuously, add the remaining sugar to the egg whites, one spoonful at a time, until stiff peaks form.
Spoon a third of the egg whites into the egg yolks/mascarpone mixture, and fold to combine. Gently fold in the remaining egg whites, being careful not to knock the air out.
TRADITIONAL PRESENTATION
Dip the Lady Fingers into the chilled coffee/alcohol mix for one second on each side. Then, place them in a large dish, approx 12 x 8 inches, breaking the fingers where necessary, to cover the base.
Add a third of the mascarpone mixture in an even layer over the Lady Fingers, levelling with a spatula.
Repeat with the remaining Lady Fingers and mascarpone, until you have 3 layers of each.
Dust over the cocoa powder, then refrigerate for at least 4 hours, ideally overnight before serving.
SUPERBAD PRESENTATION
You will need a 9 inch diameter round cake tin; it must be either a springform or loose bottomed tin. Ideally, line the sides with acetate, as this will make it much easier to remove later. Otherwise, grease the sides with a small amount of flavourless oil.
Take enough Lady Fingers to cover the the circumference of the tin, and cut off one of the rounded ends off each of them. Place the fingers cut side down, against the side of the tin, to form a wall of Lady Fingers around the edge.
Cover the bottom of the tin in Lady Fingers, breaking them where necessary, to fill in any gaps, and completely cover the base.
Brush the base and sides with approx half of the coffee/alcohol mixture using a pastry brush.
Add half of the mascarpone mixture in an even layer over the base, levelling with a spatula.
Dip the remaining Lady Fingers into the chilled coffee/alcohol mix for one second on each side, and place on top of the mascarpone in a single layer. n.b: it doesn't matter if you have gaps on this layer, don't worry about trying fill in any gaps.
Spread over the remaining mascarpone, and level with a spatula.
Generously dust over the cocoa powder.
Refrigerate for at least 4 hours, ideally overnight. Remove from the tin, before serving.
Keeps for 3-4 days. Must be stored in the fridge.
