Raspberry Tiramisu

And why I'm spending less time on Instagram & TikTok — and more on Facebook?

Lately, I have been less and less interested in scrolling my Instagram feed. By that I mean up and down on posts — not left to right on Stories. I actually like watching stories because they’re a better way to keep up with what’s actually happening with people, which was the whole point of social media to start with! A big reason for this is overexposure to the same type of content. I follow a lot of other food creators and seeing my peers’ (sometimes excellent!) output can absolutely deaden any creativity or inspiration I once had.

The same goes for TikTok — although I actually try to not follow food creators over there. Instead I follow hot fashion guys, realtors, interior designers and economics experts (???). I also fall into the trap of feeling guilty for posting, like, one TikTok a week while other people manage to post multiple times a week or every day. And when I do post, the commenters who find my videos can go way beyond the reaches of my regular followers and are *way* more abusive than anyone on Instagram. This is in large part due to the fact that TikTok is primarily a place where people consume videos and engage anonymously, and the vast majority don’t post under their own name, if they post at all. (Do you see many people writing abuse on LinkedIn where everyone can see their real name and where they work, and they’re being surveilled by their coworkers?) Plus, with a ban looming, and with the knowledge of how it’s somehow even more addictive than Instagram, I have just slowly been slinking away from it.

Of course I’m not going to let that valuable lost scrolling time go to waste by reading a book, taking a walk or phoning a friend, NO! Like a good phone addict, I’m replacing — with Youtube and Facebook. I want to be clear: The reason I’m on Facebook isn’t so I can see the McMansions and children of the folks I went to high school with. I’m there to buy furniture and décor for my apartment on the Marketplace feature — in theory. I haven’t bought anything from it yet. I used to think watching long playlists 3 minute clips from The Office on TikTok (instead of just, watching it on the TV?) was self-soothing. It wilts in comparison to the rush I get when I save the fifth Bissel Little Green Machine on sale for $50 that one day (!) I will pull the trigger on. But I sometimes slip up and find myself scrolling the main feed reading a post about how the cast of The Rocky Horror Picture Show got along on set — at which point I have to put the phone down and scream into my pillow.

The thing about YouTube is … the videos are longer, higher quality, more informative, and more aesthetically appealing than anything you could find on Instagram or TikTok. However, their short-form video platform Shorts (which is very integrated into the regular site and app) is by far the worst. Not just in terms of who is posting on it, but also the algorithm (still doesn’t get me) and how toxic it can be. So I stay on the main site; I have been watching the podcasts I like (instead of just listening to them), Trixie Mattel putting on makeup, more interior designers, and, this is going to shock you, kitchen backsplash tiling videos.

As an inverse to TikTok and Instagram, I actually feel great about watching people’s videos on YouTube and window-shopping on FB Marketplace. I feel no FOMO or guilt because … I don’t post on YouTube and Facebook anyway! Whether it’s because I feel the dread of comparison for creators I admire — or revulsion at the stuff I really don’t agree with, really dislike, find really annoying or toxic, or at the world events I find horrific — I don’t feel like shit after being on those platforms! Of course, I’ll still be posting on IG and TT, but it’s been a nice balance shift and also a window into a future where, maybe, short-form video platforms are not as ubiquitous, all-consuming and fucked up as they are now.

EGO Recommends

Video Series 📱: Boy Room
Now that I’ve completely shat on short form video platforms, I’d like to recommend a short-form video series to you! It’s called Boy Room. In it, a young lady ventures into the shockingly messy, depressing and hoarder-y NYC apartments of men in their 20s and 30s, and interviews them about what’s going on in here?? In a way, it is sad to see. But in another way, it’s a searing indictment of how some straight men get away with letting their mothers and partners take care of them their whole lives, and seemingly no one ever teaches them to take care of themselves. Any time you think your living situation is in shambles and you can’t get your shit together, watch an episode of this and you will instantly feel better.

This Week’s Recipe

This recipe started as something pretty different. I set out to make a hibiscus strawberry tiramisu — also using Campari? Instead of the usual espresso, I soaked the ladyfingers (the long, airy cookies that form the base of tiramisu) in orange juice steeped with hibiscus tea, sugar, Campari, and macerated strawberries. There was just … too much going on, and I realized pretty quickly that hibiscus was just never going to come through the way I wanted by flavoring the cream or the soak with it. Plus, the tea turned the cream grey.

So I pivoted to all-raspberry, all the time. Now, ladyfingers are soaked in a bath of broken-down raspberries, lemon juice, sugar and raspberry liqueur (optional but highly recommended). Freeze-dried raspberries and more liqueur get whipped into the dreamy mascarpone-egg-cream filling. And as if that’s not enough, the whole finished tiramisu gets doused in a shower of freeze-dried raspberries or strawberries, instead of the traditional cocoa powder.

The raspberry liqueur in this recipe is optional only because I don’t want you to have to go buy a bottle just for this. However, it adds a raspberry flavor (not artificial, but powerful) that just can’t be achieved by the fresh or freeze dried fruit alone. Then again, a bottle will last forever and you’ll have it for other things like raspberry Eton messes, macerated fruit for shortcakes, or fizzes and sangrias! If you opt out, try subbing the liqueur in the cream filling for a tablespoon of the raspberry soak.

Raspberry Tiramisu

Makes tiramisu in an 8-inch square pan or a 2.5-quart baking dish, about 8-10 servings