Tiramisu made from bergamot-flavored sponge cake

Ingredients:

Tiramisu

• 1 Genoise sponge cake (see recipe below)
• 16 - 24 sticks savoyardi
• Milk chocolate, for grating

Infused Madeira

• 125 ml. Madeira
• 2 bags of Earl Grey tea
• 3 strips of lemon zest
• 15 ml vanilla extract

Syrup

• 125 ml of strong hot tea
• 65 g of ultrafine sugar

Whipped cream

• 500 ml of cream 33%
• 30 ml dry skim milk
• 20 g of ultrafine sugar

Filling

• 500 gr. mascarpone cheese
• 5 large egg yolks
• 65 g of ultrafine sugar
• 30 g milk chocolate, chopped

Genoise sponge cake

• 4 large eggs, room temperature
• 130 g of ultrafine sugar
• 100 g of premium flour
• 1 g of salt
• 20 g melted butter
• 5 ml vanilla extract

Preparation:

1. Infused Madeira (which will be used as a flavoring for other components of tiramisu).
   
   Place the tea bags and lemon zest in the Madeira infusion, heat, and simmer for about 15 minutes to allow the flavors to blend. Remove the tea bags and lemon zest, add the vanilla, and let cool.
2. Syrup.
   
   Whisk the hot tea and sugar until dissolved, then add 20 ml of infused Madeira. Set the syrup aside until you're ready to assemble the cake.
3. Cream.
   
   Whip the cream with skim milk powder until soft peaks form. Stir in the sugar and 40 ml of infused Madeira. Refrigerate until ready to use.
4. Filling.
   
   Gently whisk the mascarpone to soften it, then fold in half of the whipped cream in two additions. You may need to whisk vigorously (depending on the brand of mascarpone and how firm or soft it is). Don't worry if the cream falls slightly while mixing—that's normal.
5. Fill a saucepan with 2.5 cm of water and bring to a boil over medium heat. In a metal bowl, whisk the egg yolks, sugar, and 65 ml of infused Madeira wine. Place the bowl over the pan of simmering water, whisking constantly until the mixture has more than doubled in volume and flows in a ribbon from the raised whisk onto the surface of the custard.
6. Remove the bowl from the double boiler and add the chocolate, whisking until melted. Add one-third of the mascarpone cream and mix until smooth (again, it's normal for the mixture to fall slightly), then fold in the remaining two-thirds of the mascarpone cream. Set aside or refrigerate until ready to assemble.
7. The final stage.
   
   Cut it Genoise sponge cake Cut the cake in half horizontally. Place the ring of a 9-inch (23 cm) springform pan on a serving plate or cake stand and place one half of the cake layer inside (there should be a 1-inch (2.5 cm) gap between the sides of the pan and the cake layer). Arrange the savoiardi biscuits vertically around the perimeter of the ring, see note *. Brush the cake with half of the syrup and spread half of the filling on top, spreading it evenly.
   
   Place the second sponge cake on top, brush with the remaining syrup, and top with the remaining filling, spreading it evenly. Top the cake with the remaining whipped cream, spreading it evenly, and grate a little milk chocolate over the cream. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours.
   
   Advice on placing savoyardi *
   
   The sponge cake will hold the cookies in place. However, if the cookie sticks are taller than the sides of the springform ring, you can trim them slightly at one end. When assembling, arrange the cookies around the sponge cake, cut side down.
8. Before serving, remove the springform cake ring and cut it into pieces.
   
   

   Genoise sponge cake

   
   Preheat oven to 160°C. Line the bottom of a 23cm springform pan with parchment paper, but do not grease the pan or line the sides with parchment.
   
   Using a hand mixer or stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, beat the eggs and sugar on high speed for 5 minutes, until the mixture is pale in colour and has more than tripled in volume and falls off the whisk in a ribbon.
   
   Sift the flour and salt together and add to the egg mixture, continuing to beat with the mixer on medium speed. Spoon about 1 cup of the batter into another bowl and stir in the melted butter and vanilla. Return everything to the batter and mix by hand. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for about 40 minutes, until the center springs back when lightly pressed. Cool the cake completely in the pan.
   
   To remove the cake from the pan, run a thin spatula between the cake and the sides of the pan to loosen it, then open the ring and remove the parchment paper from the bottom of the cake. Genoise sponge cake can be baked a day ahead and kept at room temperature, wrapped in plastic wrap (do not refrigerate). Or, freeze it and defrost it as needed..