I've just discovered that making your own tiramisu can be both simple & daunting at the same time. Simple cuz you don't have to bake it. It can be daunting due to the difficulty to get the right ingredients at an affordable price unless there's a shop at your neighbourhood which supplies baking needs.
Mascarpone cheese & whipping cream are easily available at supermarkets but with a hefty price tag. Took me a while to prep all the ingredients cuz I was foolish for not visiting the baking shop that my colleague recommended earlier.
With all the ingredients laid on the kitchen counter, I read through my colleague's recipe & strictly followed the instructions without missing a step. Instead of using rum, I replaced it with kahlua (coffee liquor). After sifting the cocoa powder generously on the mixture surface, the cake was left to chill for 4 hours or more.
Upon checking the cake, I found out that the texture was too soft & a little watery. It was difficult to cut & the sliced cake always ended up in a mess. Nevertheless, the taste was heavenly with strong coffee & liquor.
Finally, I discovered the mistake - apparently my colleague missed a step & forgot to jot down that the gelatin powder needs to be mixed with hot water before pouring into the mascarpone mixture. I only poured the gelatin powder into mixture instead. Haha. It's no wonder that the cake was too soft. Somehow chilling the cake for more than 12 hours gave even more distinct taste to the cake. And the longer chilling time allows the cake to harden a little more in order to compensate for my mistake. I'll definitely try making this again so watch this space! =D