Please help me interpret this recipe ...

[justasiam]

https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/irish-cream-tiramisu

In the first paragraph it says:
"Separate the egg whites and yolks into two large bowls. Whisk the whites until stiff. Add the sugar to the yolks and whisk again (no need to clean first) until thick and foamy – this will take about 5 mins."

Does it mean whisk the egg whites again, or whisk the egg yolks?

It means whisk the eggs sugar mixture, after you have finished whisking the egg whites.

is the following step to fold the two together?

In the comments section someone said it was better whisking sugar into both.

Yolks.

I think there might be a mistake - it possibly should be whisk the whites, add the sugar to the whites and whisk again. The amount of time seems about right for making the meringue type mixture it’s aiming for

theres no benefit to whisking yolks, and the next step is adding other ingredients to the yolks.

It's clunky but it means literally whisk again - just this time whisking something else.

It will be the yolks and sugar that it's referring to, and it means you don't need to clean the whites off the whisk as it won't be a problem (it would the other way round, but yolks will always have a little white residue on then).

Disagree that there's no benefit to whisking yolks - it aerates them and gets them smooth and creamy. It's like when you make custard.

Actually, ignore this - the reference to it being thick and foamy suggests it probably is the yolks that are whisked

Tiramisu is made by whisking egg yolks and sugar, like a sabayon without using heat, mixing in the mascarpone then folding in the egg whites so it is light and smooth. I think the tip about not having to clean the whisk throws the instructions off a bit.

Thanks for asking this question OP, there's a recipe for pistachio tiramisu on BBC Good Food which I've decided I'm going to make for Easter pudding.

Thanks for alerting me to the comments. I'll try this.

Exactly this 👆

It does mean 'whisk the yolks with the sugar until very thick and creamy'. In cake-making you sometimes see the instruction 'beat until ribbon stage' - it needs to be thick enough for the mixture to fall off the beaters and rest on top for a while. Otherwise it will be too loose when you fold in the mascarpone and the 50ml Bailey's.

A lot of the comments say the finished dessert was very wet but I suspect it’s because the yolks and sugar weren’t properly beaten at that stage.

ETA and of course you also fold in the (previously) whisked egg whites for extra lightness.

It is just to save you washing up the whisk. So suggesting you whisk the egg whites first and then move on to the rest.

Yolks and sugar for second whisking. No need to clean off any egg white left on the whisks first though, just use as they are.

I found that by the time I'd whisked the yolks, the whites had turned back to liquid. 😬I whisked them a bit more before spooning them into the yoke mixture.

Not convinced it's going to set, so I did it in individual bowls and will let my guests know it was an experiment.😃

Wish they'd put the "ribbon stage" line into the recipe or that I'd read your post before I got to that bit.😁

The whites shouldn’t turn back into liquid, especially not so quickly 🤔

Egg yolks and sugar look something like this when beaten.

Oh no! Sorry!