Does authentic Italian tiramisu contain large amounts of espresso? I see a lot of tiramisu recipes that soak savoiardi in pure undiluted espresso coffee.
Usually the recipe asks for a cup or more of espresso. As a person who regularly makes and drinks espresso, this seems way too much. It's both too much to prepare (8 shots!), and will make for an overpowering coffee flavor in the tiramisu.
I can understand if the recipes are adapted. Especially if the recipe asks for &quot;espresso or strong brewed coffee&quot;, while no strong brewed coffee is a by-volume equivalent of espresso.
But, wouldn't original tiramisu recipes use espresso, but in some reasonable amount?
Or, is authentic tiramisu really so intensely flavored with coffee?
A typical tiramisu will serve a good number of people, so each serving is unlikely to have more than about a shot's worth of espresso. There's a limit to what the savoiardi will absorb so you'd struggle to get more coffee than that into a portion. Further, the flavour is diluted by the flavour already present in the savoiardi as well as the alcohol, mascarpone, cocoa on top and other ingredients. I wouldn't worry about the coffee flavour overpowering the rest. Obviously if you've made it before and felt the coffee was too strong then reduce the quantity.
Note that in Italy, caffè will by default refer to espresso, or at home to the product of a Moka pot or equivalent. Filter or drip coffees are not a native part of Italian coffee culture (hence the americano, imitating filter coffee by diluting espresso). You could search for older recipes in Italian (although according to Wikipedia, tiramisu is not an especially old dessert) but they will probably just say caffè.
Remember that tira mi sù means 'pick me up', alluding to the fact that the dessert contains enough coffee to wake you up a little at the end of a meal.