Family Mart #4: Tiramisu Parfait (Rm 5.97)

Disclaimer! : So in this post, I’m going to review the Tiramisu Parfait, if that was not obvious enough. I might be a little biased or harsh on this review, but please bear with me. This is one of my favourite cakes due to its lightness, and coy abilities.

Although the Tiramisu is one of the most well-known and easily accessible Italian dessert, however it is (like many other well-known Italian desserts) a very recent tradition. The first Tiramisu was concocted in the 1960s making is a 20^th century creation.

Legend has it that the owner of the restaurant “Le Beccherie”, Roberto Linguanotto, first made it in 1969, but of course the debate for originality continues! This restaurant, the MVP and OG in the Tiramisu game, is still open for business! Located in Treviso, which is in the Veneto region of North-eastern Italy. Veneto’s capital is the all too popular, Venice. I am so not surprised that such a wonderful dessert comes from such a romantic background <3

BONUS FACT: Tiramisu means ‘Cheer me up’. It’s a dessert served for enjoyment and happiness.

Appearance

The Tiramisu has a very universal appearance, as it is a layered cake. In appearance the Family Mart Tiramisu parfait has lived up to the Tiramisu standards. With the coffee soaked biscuits at the bottom layer, the white of mascarpone cheese (Although I think Family mart used something else) and powdered coffee on top. What they have done differently, from we can see, is the addition of the whipped cream on top, and they’ve lightly dusted the top with coffee powder instead of blanketing the whole thing.

On a whole, it looks young and light. This is unlike the traditional appearance of the tiramisu, which is known to have a more sophisticated look.

First Bite

As I held the parfait in my palm, one was for sure, it was lighter. I get quite excited because the mascarpone cheese, although light and creamy, can sometimes be too much for me. I take a bite.

My first bite was confusing since I didn't have all the components on my spoon. I had managed to only taste the whipped cream and some of the cheese. The whipped cream was super light and airy, but it managed to taste almost chemical. While the cheese was a sugary sweet, it was also heavily creamy. It was not a good first taste, as the coffee taste was missing, and the unmistakable chemical taste was overwhelming. I hesitated on continuing this journey.

Getting Through it

The second bite of this dessert was more whelming than the first. I know I left a cliff hanger there. If you had the patience and care to scoop up a little bit of everything in the parfait, you’d be able to taste a wholeness rather than just a chemical taste. The sweet cake engulfed in, what could be, Family mart coffee was very rounded and delicious for a light dessert.

The addition of the coffee really round the whole up like glue and finishes up the dessert with a beautiful bow. It tames the cheese by piercing its way through the cream and giving body to the whipped cream. Lastly, the biscuit/sweet cake also added a much-needed texture.

I however, did not finish this dessert.

What it could benefit from

There are many things this dessert could benefit from.

The first was the whipped cream problem. Even though the coffee helped tame its chemically flavour, perhaps the removal of the whipped cream is better. Many arguments can be made for this case. For one, whipped cream is not necessary in a Tiramisu. Traditionally, Tiramisu is made only with biscuits, coffee, and mascarpone. The addition of whipped cream bears an additional cost and due to the quality has affected the taste of the Tiramisu, as a whole.

The second is the sweet cake. Although the sweet cake really did add a texture to the Tiramisu, it needs to do a little more. I suggest Family Mart switch to biscuits instead, usually they are cheaper to make. If that isn’t possible, perhaps they should look into decreasing the amount of sugar added into the cake and soaking it in coffee for a less amount of time.

The third, is the coffee itself. Sweet coffee is great for drinking but for this Tiramisu, with an already sweet cheese and sweet cake, there is too much sweet things and a lack of a bitterness to cut through it. Also, the sprinkles of coffee powder on top should be more because its very hard to get to the Coffee part at the bottom. Even traditional tiramisus have coffee matted top due to this problem.

Verdict

As I said before, I might be harsh on this critique because Tiramisu is one of my favourite desserts. However, I do think that these points are valid. This dessert is too airy and full of sugar. It is very under-whelming for a Tiramisu, but over-whelming as a light parfait because of the cheese. Being neither here nor there isn’t always a bad thing but in this instance, it has backfired.

3/10