If you have gone to a bakery before or perhaps you might have seen the dessert menu of a restaurant before, you would have noticed tiramisu which is a very fancy dessert. It has a combination of unique textures and tastes which makes it unique and reserved for a more indulgent occasion
What we want to look at in this article is whether or not we can freeze tiramisu. You can freeze tiramisu for a lot of weeks and the trademark quality will still be maintained. This means you can make your tiramisu in advance for your special occasion or you can enjoy the leftovers whenever you have some. You should read on if you want to check out how to freeze your tiramisu and enjoy the delicious meal anytime you want.
What is Tiramisu?
Ladyfingers are the primary ingredient used in making tiramisu and there are like a spongy and light biscuit. They also use them for making trifles and some other types of desserts that need to have a cake-like base. Other cakes or biscuits can also be used but the best is ladyfingers which help to soak up all possible flavor and liquid.
Your ladyfingers are later soaked in the mixture of sugar, sweet cheese such as cream cheese, coffee, and egg yolks. This will allow the ladyfingers to be permeated by the flavors within this soaking solution, making it sweeter. Liqueur could also be sometimes used. On the final note, as an extra garnish, cocoa powder is then dusted on the ladyfingers.
You can make and serve it in small or large batches. In almost all bakeries and restaurants, the slices are usually served either singly or doubly most times to be enough to share. It could be served alone or with coffee. Dessert connoisseurs love it because it has a unique texture and strong flavors.
The Step-by-Step Guide to Freezing your Tiramisu
Freezing tiramisu will ensure that you can store it for later use. This will help you to save the leftovers for later if there are any and you wouldn’t need to waste them. Also, you could make it in advance for a very large occasion you might have in the nearest future and then use it when the day comes.
There are some extra benefits associated with freezing and refrigerating tiramisu that makes it better than even when it was made fresh. The flavor will be stronger the longer you allow the liqueur or coffee mixture to infuse the ladyfingers. This means that though fresh tiramisu might be lighter, it might have a weaker flavor than your tiramisu that you have allowed to chill for a very long time probably in the refrigerator or freezer.
How to Freeze your Tiramisu
Whenever you want to freeze your tiramisu, the main trick involved is to tightly wrap your tiramisu as possible as you can so that no extra air pockets will form. The flavors will be locked in and any liquid leakage within it will be tightly sealed. You should also ensure that the additional toppings like nuts or cocoa powder are not frozen with the tiramisu because they are likely to get soggy once you thaw them. Check below for the best method to use for freezing tiramisu:
- First, remove any additional nuts, cacao nibs, or cocoa powder that you have used as toppings from your tiramisu.
- Tightly but carefully wrap your tiramisu with plastic wrap and then you should wrap it again with plastic wrap for the second time. This is to ensure that the liquids are tightly sealed. You could wrap one piece of your plastic wrap continuously around the tiramisu twice or use two different pieces.
- Use aluminum foil to cover it and then place it inside your freezer to be well stored.
For best outcomes: In case you are working with a large portion of tiramisu, you could cut the tiramisu into single servings or smaller pieces to store optimally. This will help each of the individual pieces to better maintain its individual integrity while frozen. You might not get the best outcome when you freeze a batch that is too large. You could use the tiramisu you purchase from a bakery or restaurant that has an airtight container, but you will get the best outcome when you wrap them in aluminum foil or plastic wrap.
How Long to Store your Tiramisu in a Freezer
Though some people may claim otherwise, frozen foods cannot last inside the freezer forever. The product will either expire or freezer burn will eventually allow it to become spoilt. Despite this, freezing tiramisu can allow it to remain edible for a long time. It could be well kept inside your freezer for about 3 months.
How to Defrost Tiramisu
Whenever you want to defrost your tiramisu, the easiest and best way to do it is to remove it from your freezer and put it inside the fridge overnight. It will become naturally thawed this way as against using a microwave that could ruin the tiramisu’s consistency. You must importantly remember to ensure the tiramisu is kept tightly wrapped when it undergoes the thawing process.
This will help to prevent the dripping out of liquids, ensuring the flavor is kept in for a long time. After thawing, it can be topped with any topping of your choices such as nuts or cocoa powder. It is just a way to make sure the toppings remain fresh.
Alternatives to Freezing your Tiramisu
Keeping food inside the freezer comes with some certain risks and some of them include not defrosting quickly, forgetting that you have it inside the freezer or freezer burn. The other alternative you have is to place the tiramisu inside the refrigerator. If you will be eating your tiramisu within some days, then this could be the best choice for you.
You should ensure to keep your tiramisu cold irrespective of how you store it. Tiramisu usually tastes best when cold and it will also ensure the ingredients do not get spoilt before eating. This means that if you are not serving tiramisu, it should at least be kept inside the fridge.
The downside of storing tiramisu inside the fridge is that it will not last as much as it will inside the freezer. The refrigerator will only keep your tiramisu good for a maximum of 4 days and this is a shorter time. Furthermore, if you don’t wrap the tiramisu and you simply leave it inside the container you purchase it in, a lot of the liquids will eventually escape from it. It will likely get the ladyfinger pieces at the bottom oversaturated with the topmost parts being dry. Liquids escaping the tiramisu will not allow the flavors to remain intact. If you want it to last long, retain the texture and flavor, freezing it will offer you a better option.
Summary
If you are looking for a decadent and delicious dessert that you can enjoy at any time, tiramisu is your best bet and the good thing is that you can also save it for later. Use two different plastic wrap layers to tightly wrap it and then use aluminum foil to wrap it before you keep it inside the freezer for about 3 months. The moisture and flavor will be kept locked in.
The longer you allow it to stay inside your freezer, the higher the chance that it will get freezer burn or get spoilt. You should defrost it inside the fridge overnight. It could take some additional effort to properly wrap the tiramisu, but the wait is worth it.
Related Questions
Should I unwrap my tiramisu before thawing?
You should not unwrap your tiramisu before you thaw it, allow it to remain wrapped in the plastic wrap and aluminum foil. It will allow the liquids to be kept intact, retaining the flavor. Even if you only lock it inside an air-tight container, excess liquid will escape and dry the tiramisu out.
How long does it take to thaw tiramisu from the freezer?
You should always keep tiramisu cold if you want it to be kept fresh. It will get spoilt if you leave it at room temperature. You should also not defrost the tiramisu inside a microwave if you want to allow it to remain spongy and light. Also, don’t put tiramisu under running water because it could ruin it.
If you want to best thaw the tiramisu, put it inside the fridge for a minimum of 8 hours. You can eat it within 2 to 3 days, allowing it to stay overnight is enough time to thaw your tiramisu.
Does it matter if the tiramisu is homemade or store-bought?
Any form of tiramisu can be frozen whether it is purchased from the restaurant or bakery or it is homemade. However, ingredients that are commercial grade may allow for better uniform quality. Tiramisu bought from the restaurant or bakery usually contains more preservatives or additives that help it to remain good for a longer time.
This should, however, not stop you if you want to make homemade tiramisu that you will store for later. Leave off all the toppings such as cocoa powder if you will not be serving the homemade tiramisu immediately, i.e. you want to freeze it. When you want to serve it, you will add the fresh toppings because flavor could be affected if you freeze the topping together with it.
