Dear Obby... help, I screwed up Tiramisu!

[avlena]

Dear Obby (and other g|a foodies),

I decided to be ambitious and make my tiramisu. But, since I don't like coffee, and the thought of eating raw eggs is kinda gross, I used a variation recipe:

The whole thing sounded quite yummy, but I somehow screwed it up. The ricotta mixture wasn't smooth at all! In fact, it was kinda on the chunky/grainy side. So... my question is, what did I do wrong?? Or is this recipe just plain bad? :( I did try to experiment a bit by adding raspberries, but the ricotta was textured funny before I layered the fruit.

maybe I was a bit ambitious, but the recipe sounded to easy! Any guidance would be much appreciated!

TIA

[oblongmelon]

Well thanks for asking my opinion. I don't usually use ricotta in Tiramisu myself but I guess if you're going to use it try putting it in the blender with some cool whip ..and beat the hell out of it. It will make it thick but creamy, and always use powdered sugar for desert type recipes for the simple reason that it dissolves nicely. That should give you a nice base if you're not going to use the Marscapone. You can skip the eggs, skip the Marsala and even skip the coffee if you like and instead just use cocoa powder ..if you want to use a substitute for the raw eggs, just make an baked egg custard and use that layered between the ricotta. Rasberries break down too easily if actually mixed with something, but if you feel you want to use them just place them in between layers! ...If you still have the ricotta/mixture that you created and want to do something with it-put in it a blender, or beat it with electric beaters, and add it to a pie crust..add the raspberries on top and then some chocolate syrup topping..chocolate crust perhaps? It will make a nice desert-just make sure it's sweet enough!
Experimentation with recipes is the only way to learn-keep up the good work!

[avlena]

Thanks for the suggestions! :) Maybe I'll do some more experimenting tonight. Depends on whether or not I can make it to the Italian market in time after work for lady fingers.