Cement Tiles

One color pattern of 4 tiles

CEMENT tiles look cool with modern or antique furniture

In our old palazzo we have beautiful cement tiles that we were able to preserve. For our new project we were thinking of having cement tiles too. But the ones we have are no longer produced anywhere. However, as one can observe, another kind of cement tiles are very popular nowadays, especially crazy tile mixes can be seen everywhere. The pattern that are popular are probably Moroccan origin and are very hip in America and Southeast Asia. There are factories in the States and in Spain that produce them, but not in Italy. Since we see them allover in Bangkok (in the newly opened EM Quatier I would say 1/3 of the restaurants use Mediterranean cement tiles and crazy tile mixes) we found a factory here that produces beautiful cement tiles with classic pattern. We went to an architects fair and were in heaven at the BEZZ booth.  

2 color 1 tile pattern

5 color 4 tile pattern 

Should we really import for our project in Italy Mediterranean cement tiles made in Thailand? I was searching for producers in Sicily, but it does not seem that any Italian factory is still specialized in real cement tiles with a good choice of pattern. We were told that cement tiles are so delicate, even more than terracotta tiles, that customers turned to other products, porcelain tiles or wood. Cement tiles need constant care, mainly waxing and special cleaning products. Therefore cement tiles should not be used in wet area, not in bathrooms and even not in kitchens, we were told.

When we were in Italy, fake wood was allover the showrooms. It seems very popular and actually looks great. Should we use that in the kitchen? The only Sicilian company that offered products close to what we were looking for never replied to my email inquiry. Probably their hand made tiles would cost us a fortune anyway in comparison to the amazing Thailand tiles that are just 30 Euro per square meter! Sigh, I would really like to support Italian economy and have Sicilian tiles in my Calabrian home. 

After having visited the fair in Bangkok and having found the factory's showroom and discussing pattern and color, and finding out the amount of sqm we would need, and having confused Angelo about the floor preparation, two weeks later we finally came up with a decision for two patterns.

pattern for entrance and small bedroom

pattern for living room and other small bedroom

Then a day later, I visited the new EM Quarter in Bangkok and - what a coincidence - most tiles on the new restaurants' floors looked very familiar to me and indeed were by that factory we had discovered. Shockingly, in one restaurant they were in a terrible state. I had seen the same scratches and cracks in the showroom before, but ignored it as I thought it's impossible what I see. These tiles had black marks allover and cracks. Black shoes and moving chairs seemed to leave black scratches. A lot. I went home and told my husband, that I have made a new decision. No imported tiles. It is a total different quality from what we have in our 200 year old house. 

There must be another quality of tiles that you see allover Pinterest. They are used in shops, in restaurants, in highly frequented area, and they can't be that high maintenance. The Spanish factory is about three times the price and probably delivers more durable quality than the Thai production. But I need to see tiles and touch them before I can order. I have nothing to do with Spain. Thailand was just an option since we live here.

Why can't an Italian company just jump in and pick up the trend? But wait! Bisazza does now cement tiles! They are not the joyful elaborated Moroccan patterns and colors we were looking for. Bisazza's tiles have larger scale geometrical designs and mainly opaque colors. Cement tiles with a modern twist. And very Italian! 

bisazza cement tiles

bisazza cement tiles

Maybe we should stress the budget for those Bisazza tiles?!

I can't believe we are back to zero. Feeling kind of disappointed if we would go for the good old oak panels. At least that kind of floor would not distract from the stunning sea views!

Tiramisu - the recipe and story

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Ingredients

• 5 egg yolk
• 5 table spoons sugar
• 500 gr Mascarpone
• 1-2 table spoons Cointreau
• 1-2 packs of vanilla sugar (vanillin)
• a bit of lemon skin
• espresso coffee (one pot or about 2 cups)
• 1 pack (2 x 12) Savoiardi (aka ladyfingers, sponge fingers) 

How to

• Cook coffee first and let it cool in a bowl.
• Separate egg white and egg yolk, use egg yolk only.
• Mix well egg yolk with sugar.
• Add vanillin sugar and Cointreau.
• Move the mascarpone by hand.
• Add a bit of lemon skin before finishing with the mascarpone.
• Keep the mass in the fridge (raw egg is delicate!) and start working with the Savoiardi.
• Roll each Savoiardi in the coffee (it need to soak the coffee in but not be too wet to fall apart).
• If you want to prepare servings by glass like in the photo above, then break on Savoiardi in half and lay in each glass 1 biscuit broken in half. You will get 12 servings. If you want smaller servings, use espresso cups and use only half biscuit for each cup. You will get 24 servings. You can also prepare one large container and serve by spoon. 
• After the first layer of biscuits, add a layer of egg-mascarpone-mass on top.
• Add another layer of biscuit.
• Top with a last layer of egg-mascarpone-mass.
• Sieve dark chocolate powder on top.
• Cover with clear wrapping or aluminium foil and keep in the fridge at least for 4 h before serving.
• Before serving sieve one more time a bit of chocolate powder on top.

Tips:

• Although raw eggs are delicate, and you will only use freshly bought eggs, you could prepare the tiramisu the night before serving it as it even taste better the longer the Savoiardi biscuits are soaked with all the flavors.  
• Don't use the electric mixer for working the mascarpone. Work only with a hand mixer and do not over-do it as some mascarpone is more delicate than others and its consistency might become liquid. To rescue the desert you would then need to freeze it and serve "tiramisu ice cream".
• Some more recent recipes include beaten white egg or cream. This results in double of the amount of mass. It might appear more light, but it is also more liquid and has a more intense egg taste.  

Story:

Tiramisu is an Italian desert originally from Piedmont, Northern Italy and the name comes from the Italian words "tira mi su" which translates as "pull me up". Some say "pick me up". But it is less about picking or pulling someone, and rather more about something that needs an uplift or support ...

The stories vary, and there are also pastry shops in Treviso, Venice and Siena that claim to have invented or re-invented the recipe. But since Savoiardi biscuits (The Savoy were the Nobles from Piedmont) are part of the recipe, I will just tell the story I heard from Turino in Piedmont: Once upon a time there was a signora that had a pasticceria near a brothel. And the brothel's male customer passing by were in need of something heavy in calories and protein to gain back strength. So the signora prepared a special desert with sugar and eggs. It was very tasty and apparently had a 'lifting up' effect. A kind of early Viagra. So the desert was called "tira-mi-su" and became famous. Today, the desert is still called Tiramisu, but most people, like me, have never heard about the brothel story. BTW, the stories from Treviso and Venice also include brothels. ;-)